Fifth book in series!
Silence of the Lamps by Karen Rose Smith is the fifth book in the Caprice De Luca series. Caprice's sister, Nikki owns Nikki's Catered Capers. She has been having trouble with Drew Pierson. Drew used to work with Nikki until she spurned his advances and did not want him to become her partner. He is now out to make her life miserable and shut down her business. Nikki and Drew had a heated exchange at an open house that Caprice was staging. Then another incident at the local wedding expo. Nikki goes over to Drew's house (actually he lives with his grandmother, Rowena) to talk to him with Caprice and they find Drew dead on the floor. A beautiful Tiffany lampshade is nearby and the base is missing (I wonder what killed him). Nikki ends up being at the top of the suspect list (of course). Caprice will do anything she can to clear her sister's name (as expected). Caprice (despite warnings from loved one's) is determined to find the real killer. Join us is Kismet for another Caprice investigation and her intriguing vintage fashions.
Silence of the Lamps was my least favorite book in the series (which I have really enjoyed up to this point). The novel contained very little mystery. The clues were not provided until before the killer was revealed (not that you really need the clues to solve the crime). The focus of this book seemed to be on Caprice and her relationship with Grant, the animals (a cat that needed rescued, Lady and Patches), Uncle Dom becoming a pet sitter, and Caprice's constant need for someone to watch her dog (which I really do not understand). I read cozy mysteries for the (you are going to be shocked) the mystery! Silence of the Lamps is nicely written and easy to read (it had a good flow as well). The characters are interesting, and I enjoy Caprice's unique style of dress and decorating (vintage). I give Silence of the Lamps 3 out of 5 stars. If this novel just had more mystery (clues, investigation) and less about finding pet sitters, I would love it.
I received a complimentary copy of Silence of the Lamps from NetGalley in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel.
