Brenda H. (booksinvt) - , reviewed on 6/7/2015 + 458 more book reviews

Drape Expectations is the 4th installment in the Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mystery series. Set in the quaint town of Kismet, Pennsylvania Caprice has been hired by her rock star friend Ace Richland to stage the home of his new girlfriend, Alanna Goodwin.

Alanna is a Southern Belle with a Texan twang. Caprice is very protective of Ace and his daughter Trista and does not have good feelings about the Southern beauty. Butting heads over the Antebellum Ecstasy staging theme does little to endear Alanna to Caprice and things get even worse when Caprice meets Mirabelle, the homeowner's beautiful yet obviously neglected, white Persian cat.

During the Open House which is catered with delicious foods prepared by Caprice's sister, Nikki, Caprice overhears Alanna conspiring with Ace's keyboardist Len Lowery. It seems that Alanna wants to pressure Ace into marrying her as soon as possible and does not want Ace to go out on the road with his band plus she does not want Trista to living with them. While Caprice is debating on whether or not to tell Ace what Alanna is up to she discovers that Mirabelle has been locked in the homeowner's utility closet with no bedding, food or water. As if her blood wasn't already boiling, the inhumane treatment of the cat by its owner really sets Caprice off and she storms out of the Open House.

When someone breaks into Ace's Secure Room and steals two of his valuable guitars, Caprice is sure that it was the work of either Alanna or Len. But when Ace stumbles on the strangled dead body of Alanna, and becomes the number one suspect, Caprice must jump in and try to clear her friends name. With encouragement from Ace and Alanna's sister Twyla, Caprice sets out to investigate. She also becomes the new owner of Mirabelle, and begins the slow introduction to her own cat Sophia and dog Lady.

Caprice quickly discovers that Alanna is not who she appeared to be on the surface. Her marriage to Barton Goodwin looked good to outsiders, but extramarital affairs and illegitimate children resulted in a bad case of insecurity for Alanna. Having inherited a sizeable estate from her late husband, Alanna leaves behind a considerable estate and plenty of motive for murder. Did Twyla or stepson Archer Ford need the money bad enough to kill her?

Caprice is struggling with her feelings for long time and now absent beau Seth Randolph and her brother's law partner Grant Weatherford. Complicating personal matters, Uncle Dom has moved back in with her parents and the tension in the house is making Caprice's grandmother, Nana sick. I was glad that the author has Caprice make a decision regarding her love life and isn't going to drag the love triangle out through future books.

Another fun addition to this series. I enjoy these characters and their pets so much that I wish I lived in Kismet. There are some terrific recipes in the back of the book and I can't wait to try and duplicate the Chocolate Coffee Loaf and I will definitely be making the Baked Cinnamon Apples on the next cold winter day here in VT.

I'll be waiting patiently for May 2016 and Silence of the Lamps!

I received an Advanced copy of Drape Expectations from NetGalley via publisher Kensington books. While I was not required to write a review I am more than happy to share my honest opinion.

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