Monday, April 4, 2016

#Sleuth Extraordinaire, Caprice De Luca, and Her Retro #Fashion Sense by Karen Rose Smith



My sleuth, Caprice De Luca--home stager extraordinaire--wears many styles and  most of them are retro. Her favorite is probably bohemian, Stevie Nicks style only with bright colors.  Caprice is a 60's enthusiast in her home decorating schemes as well as her clothes. Her favorite colors are turquoise and fuchsia whether she's dressing up for a Valentine's Day dance or playing fetch with her cocker spaniel, Lady
Another of her favorite styles is classic Audrey Hepburn, especially the kitten heels or the red coat as Audrey wore in Breakfast At Tiffany's.  For something more sedate, she might choose Katherine Hepburn's tailored style with a boxy jacket and wide legged, high-waisted slacks. 
Since her favorite singing group was The Beatles--her music taste pulls from all decades--you might see her dressed in a military styled jacket reminiscent of the Beatles concert at Shea Stadium with loose legged khaki slacks and low patent leather pumps. Caprice's fashion sense is all her own.  





Her favorite store to shop in is SECRETS OF THE PAST, with its vintage clothes and accessories for sale. The shop's owner also carries present day designers whose clothes have a vintage or retro feel.


 My readers tell me they can't wait to see what Caprice wears next! Feel free to comment about what fashions you like best. 



Caprice De Luca mysteries are on sale now!
Caprice's house staging is disrupted by Drew Pierson, her sister Nikki's business rival. The caterer opened Portable Edibles and plans to bury Nikki's Catered Capers. His successful launch deal for his blackberry barbecue sauce must have stirred up his enemies. When Nikki visits the house where Drew lives with his grandmother to resolve differences, she and Caprice find him dead--murdered with the base of a valuable Tiffany lamp. And Nikki is the police detective's #1 suspect. 



Pre-order SILENCE OF THE LAMPS on Barnes and Noble


These days, home stager Caprice De Luca's calendar is a full house. Her grandmother's health is failing, her wayward uncle is stirring the pot, and she's torn between two equally eligible suitors. With so much drama in her personal life, Caprice is grateful to have Ace Richland, a former 80s rock star, ask her to stage his girlfriend's house. But Alanna Goodwin is a tough customer who balks at Caprice's ideas and all but commandeers the staging. Caprice almost isn't surprised when the snappish Southern belle is strangled to death with a tieback from her tacky velvet drapes. But just as she draws back the curtains on the truth, Caprice realizes she may be next on a murderer's set list… 



Caprice De Luca's latest house staging is all about hearts, flowers, lace and chintz since Valentine's Day is around the corner.  She never expects her client to be murdered in the greenhouse the day of the open house.

With her six-month-old cocker spaniel pup Lady by her side and her own love life in disarray, Caprice ferrets out clues from the victim's best friend, Caprice's mother, the housekeeper and a special male friend who insists his relationship with the victim was platonic.  However, as Caprice digs deeper, she finds the victim's past is filled with secrets that she kept from her husband for thirty years.

The past isn't merely history.  The present isn't always what it seems.  When hearts are involved, passion and even murder aren't far behind.



Quiet Kismet, Pennsylvania, may look like any other small town, but as a home-stager, Caprice De Luca can see behind closed doors—and it seems someone has designs on murder...

Life is a full house for Caprice these days.  She's dating, she's rescuing adorable cocker spaniels, and she's decorating the roomy interiors of Kismet's most well-heeled residents with fun fantasy themes.  But when a house painter Caprice frequently employs is found dead, it's time for Caprice to stage an investigation.  She must shift her attention from finding the perfect curtains to finding the perfect culprit.



Welcome to Kismet, PA, where home stager Caprice De Luca helps her clients shine in a lackluster real estate market—and where someone may only be in the market for murder...

Caprice De Luca has successfully parlayed her skills as an interior designer into a thriving home staging business.  So when her old high school friend Roz Winslow asks her to spruce up her mess of a mansion to perk up a slow buyer's market, Caprice is more than happy to share her skills.  But when Roz's husband Ted is found skewered by one of his sword room's prized possessions, it appears the Winslows have a few skeletons in their palatial closets.  With the stage set for murder, Caprice will discover she can track down an antique tapestry and a cold-blooded killer with equal aplomb—as long as she's not the next victim.






I hope you enjoy all of Caprice's adventures and feel as if you're part of the De Luca family. I love to chat with my readers and I do much of that on Facebook on my KarenRoseSmithBooks page. 



******************



USA TODAY Bestselling Author Karen Rose Smith is an only child who delved into books at an early age. She learned about kindred spirits from Anne of Green Gables, solved mysteries with Nancy Drew and wished she could have been the rider on The Black Stallion. Yet even though she escaped often into story worlds, she had many aunts, uncles and cousins around her on weekends. Her sense of family and relationships began there. Maybe that's why families are a strong theme in her novels, whether mysteries or romances. Her 95th novel will be released in 2016.

Readers often ask her about her pastimes. She has herb, flowers and vegetable gardens that help her relax. In the winter, she cooks rather than gardens.  And year round she spends most of her time with her husband, as well as her four rescued cats who are her constant companions. They chase rainbows from sun catchers, reminding her life isn't all about work, awards and bestseller lists. Everyone needs that rainbow to chase.

Karen looks forward to interacting with readers. They can find her at the links below. 

*****************





******************













1 comment:

scaro said...

Love the first hat pictured...the white with the pink and white
roses. Reminds me of the hats my Mom wore when I was
a child.
Carol Smith
penelope223@yahoo.com