Staged to Death (Caprice Deluca Home Stager Mysteries)

Caprice De Luca stages homes to increase their sale value. She stages a castle-like mansion for her high school friend, Roz Winslow, and Roz’s husband, Ted. But Ted is uncooperative and insists on displaying his antique knife collection at the open house, even though that could tempt thievery. When he is found with his most valuable dagger sticking in his back, his wife, Roz, becomes the main suspect. It’s up to Caprice to find the real killer and clear her friend. Ruffling feathers as she makes inquiries, Caprice’s life is soon at risk.

There’s much to enjoy about this book: Caprice is a likable sleuth. Her warm Italian family is nicely portrayed. Romantic possibilities are sprinkled in. And setting details of Caprice’s staging and her sister’s catering businesses were especially strong points. Pacing was good; the story kept moving.

Despite these pluses, the plot felt weak. The police and detective seemed too quick and too heavy-handed in their focusing on the wife as the culprit. Other red-herring suspects were painted by the author (through Caprice’s eyes) with an equally heavy hand. When I did find out who killed Ted Winslow, the motivation wasn’t convincing.

Still, an entertaining read.