ABOUT THE BOOK:
With her wedding day mere weeks away, home stager Caprice De Luca is busy arranging every last detail for the reception at Rambling Vines Winery--a stylish venue she redecorated two years earlier. But the closer the bride-to-be gets to saying, "I do," the more a celebration at Rambling Vines seems like a terrible mistake. As financial mishaps and unhappy customers put the winery in the red, an unidentified criminal plots to sour the business's already ailing reputation. Worst of all, a romance from co-owner Michelle Dodd's past could leave a permanent stain on Caprice's best friend's current love life. When Michelle's aloof husband is found stabbed to death on a chaise lounge in the tasting room, Caprice vows to name the calculating culprit and set things right before her dream nuptials dissolve into a deadly nightmare . . .
MY REVIEW:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Cut to the Chaise by Karen Rose Smith is a 2018 Kensington Publication.
A fun, fast paced, and very special addition to the Caprice De Luca Mystery Series!
I have been eagerly anticipating this installment, knowing that finally Caprice will tie the knot with the love of her life. But, of course, as with any wedding, there is bound to be a last- minute snafu or two. But, for Caprice, a murder investigation could put a serious damper on all her wedding plans.
Caprice is planning to have her wedding reception at the Rambling Vines Winery, but when one of the owners is found murdered, it looks as though all her carefully laid plans were for naught. To make matters worse, the widow of the murdered man, who once had a dalliance with Caprice’s brother Vince, asks him to represent her, should she need legal counsel.
This puts a strain on Vince’s relationship with Roz, one of Caprice’s best friends. In order to save her wedding plans and to help ease tensions between Vince and Roz, Caprice steps in to help investigate the murder, hoping to find the killer before her big day.
I read this book in one sitting! I really did want to savor it a bit longer, but I couldn’t put it down!!
As always, the adorable pets featured in previous installments make an appearance, and they deserve an honorable mention, especially since they add so much charm to this wonderful series.
However, the mystery and family drama is what we came for, and Smith delivers a slam dunk. I was riveted to the pages, caught up in the emotions the featured couples were experiencing. Pre-wedding stress led to flared tempers and second thoughts. The mystery kept me on my toes, with several clever red herrings tossed in. I never came close to figuring out whodunit.
Overall, this is a well- constructed cozy mystery, is fast paced, will real depth. This is a wonderful and fun series, filled with love, family, and adorable fur babies. Caprice is a terrific character!! With each new chapter in this series, I feel like I’m visiting old friends I’ve really come to care about. So, what’s not to love?
GET YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Cut-Chaise-Caprice-Luca-Mystery/dp/1496709799/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cut-to-the-chaise-karen-rose-smith/1128106188
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Karen is well-known for writing emotion-packed novels. An only child, she spent a lot of time in her imagination and with books--Nancy Drew, Zane Gray, The Black Stallion and Anne of Green Gables. She dreamt of brothers and sisters and a big family like her mother and father came from--seven children in her mom's family and ten in her dad's. On weekends she was often surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins. This is the root of her plotlines that include small communities and family relationships as integral to everyday living. She believes universal emotions unite us all and that is the reason she employs them to propel her plots.