DRAPE EXPECTATIONS – Karen Rose Smith
A Caprice De Luca Mystery , Book 4
Kensington Books
ISBN: 978-1-6177-3770-1
August 2025
Mystery

Kismet, Pennsylvania and Environs

She's at it again! When a friend's girlfriend, for whom Caprice De Luca had staged her home for sale, was murdered, and Caprice's friend became the prime person of interest to the Kismet police, Caprice could not help herself. She had to start looking into it. Hadn't she actually solved three murders in the past? Not that her friends and family didn't worry about her or that the detectives were happy about her sticking her nose into their business…

Caprice's friend in this instance was Ace Richland, a famous musician currently staging a comeback. He was in love with a beautiful widow, Alanna Goodwin, whose husband left her very well off, but she wanted the celebrity that goes with a powerful husband. Their plan was to sell her house and live together in his. Ace was preparing to take a road tour with his band.

The house multi-millionaire Barton Goodwin had built for his Southern wife was named after its white pillars, and Caprice chose her staging theme to be Antebellum Ecstasy.

Considering that Alanna was difficult to work with, the open house went well. But before Caprice left, she couldn't help letting her know how she felt when she found Alanna's cat stuffed into a broom closet without food, water or even a rag to lie on. Then, going back the next day, she overheard Alanna talking to one of Ace's band members, the one Alanna had been cozy with the day before. They were plotting against Ace and the tour. Could that be connected with the recent theft of two valuable guitars from Ace's house? Caprice left without making her presence known .

Not long after, Ace called Caprice to say he'd gone to Alanna's and found her dead on the floor and asked what he should do. Caprice told him to call the police and not to touch anything.

Caprice has a loyal and caring heart, whether it be for her close-knit family, her many friends, or the animals she's alwaysrescuing. She longs for a family of her own, but right now she's not sure with whom. The man she once thought was the one, Dr. Seth Randolph, moved to Baltimore to further his career and has little time to spare, and who knows where he'll go next? On the other hand, Caprice had a long term crush on her brother's school friend and now law partner, Grant Weatherford. Ever since they delivered pups for a stray dog they found some months ago, they have become good friends. They often walk their pups in the dog park. Grant has agreed to be Ace's attorney, and he's concerned that Caprice is putting herself in danger by asking questions.

DRAPE EXPECTATIONS moves right along to acquaint readers with Caprice and all those dear to her, and otherwise. We watch through her eyes how the plot develops. And it's fun getting an inside view on how she stages individual homes for her upscale clients. If you've read the earlier books, you'll welcome meeting her family again, two legged and four. Ms. Smith gives her readers good visuals with her descriptions, whether it's houses and their furnishings orCaprice's retro wardrobe.She also clearly portrays the various characters. I recommend this captivating mystery to new readers and old.

Jane Bowers