Shades of Wrath by Karen Rose Smith - Feature and Review

ABOUT THE BOOK: 

SHADES OF WRATH is book 6 in Karen Rose Smith's Caprice De Luca Home Staging cozy mystery series.  Between her booming business, her family, and her work rescuing stray animals, home stager Caprice De Luca's life is packed. But when a murder unsettles peaceful Kismet, Pennsylvania, she adds amateur sleuth to her resume. 

Thanks to a wealthy patron, Kismet's women's shelter, Sunshine Tomorrow, has inherited a run-down mansion. Now the shelter's director, Wendy Newcomb, wants Caprice's decorating expertise. Caprice is happy to help, but when she glimpses a few heated encounters between Wendy and some locals, she fears that Wendy may be in need of protection herself. 

When Wendy is found dead inside the old house, Caprice is compelled to poke around in her affairs--and discovers she had her share of enemies. Now, with countless clients, a TV gig that could make her a household name, and rumors of a marriage proposal on its way, Caprice must find time to design an investigation that will lure a crafty killer into the wide open--before someone else winds up in a state of permanent disrepair...

MY REVIEW:

glitter-graphics.com Shades of Wrath by Karen Rose Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Shades of Wrath by Karen Rose Smith is a 2016 Kensington publication.

The deeper into this series, we go, the better it gets!

This sixth installment in the Caprice De Luca series sees Caprice helping with the redecoration of a transition home for abused women.

But, before she gets too far along with her plans the proprietor, Wendy Newcomb is found murdered. Caprice is once more sucked into the investigation as she prepares for a competition and irons out her future with Gant.


I love this series! The decorations, the pets, Caprice’s large and loving family, and the added element of romance and realistic relationships has me eagerly awaiting an update on these wonderful characters.

The mystery is always compelling, too. With many cozies the mystery can sometimes seem rather thin, but not with this series. Caprice is a terrific and smart amateur sleuth, and her eye for details helps her notice things others might miss.

In this case, Wendy’s death draws attention to a very important issue and KRS did an amazing job of handling such an edgy topic. Domestic violence is still a troubling and oft hidden problem in our society and I applaud the author for centering a story around it.

Once again, Caprice impresses me with her faith, value system, and dogged determination to find the truth.

Overall, if you love cozy mysteries, this series is outstanding and I highly recommend it. Those who have been following along, I think you are going to love joining Caprice on her latest adventure!!

 A WORD FROM KAREN ROSE SMITH

Hi!  I'm Karen Rose Smith.  I write mystery, romance and women's fiction. My 97th novel will be released in 2017.  Besides writing, my passion is caring for my four rescued cats--Zoie Joy, Halo, her daughter Paddy, senior London...and siblings--Bonnie & Clyde--who are strays who come twice a day at least for wet food.  My hobbies are gardening, cooking, watercolor painting and photography.  An only child, I've always delved into books as an escape.  But as part of a large Italian family, I had cousins and relatives around me often. Families are a strong theme in my novels, both mysteries and romances.  In my Caprice De Luca mystery series, my sleuth Caprice takes in stray cats and dogs and finds them homes.  I love to chat with readers so feel free to search my Facebook pages--lots of cat photos--and join in. 

SHADES OF WRATH is a special book to me for two reasons.  I tackled the subject of domestic violence.  I hope I did it in such a way that I brought an honest glimpse to this crisis for women.  I've interwoven this plotline with healthy relationships too to bring warmth and joy to the novel.  The second reason SHADES is heartfelt is the dedication to Sunnybud and his inclusion in the book. He was a yellow tabby that I befriended for 3 years.  He was a wanderer but he came to trust and depend on me and my husband.  We lost him last February to an FIV complicated infection.  But I'll never forget how he trusted me to feed him, warm him with heat bags in winter, and simply give him love. 

I hope you enjoy every bit of SHADES OF WRATH.  This novel was more than a mystery to me. It was a labor of love. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

In college, Karen began writing poetry and also met her husband to be. They both began married life as teachers, but when their son was born, Karen decided to try her hand at a home-decorating business. 

She returned to teaching for a while but changes in her life led her to writing relationship novels. Now she writes romances as well as mysteries full time. Her first book was published in 1992; her 80th novel will be published in 2013. A winner of New Jersey's Golden Leaf Award in Short Contemporary Romance, Colorado Romance Writers Award Of Excellence for short contemporary, as well as the Phoenix Desert Rose Chapter's Golden Quill for Traditional Romance, she has also been honored with Cataromance.com's award for Best Special Edition and Washington Romance Writers Career Achievement Award. Her romances have made both the USA TODAY list and the Amazon Romance and Contemporary Romance Bestseller lists. 

She has written for Meteor/Kismet, Kensington, Silhouette and Harlequin. Readers can contact Karen through her website, on Facebook (Karen Rose Smith Author) and on Twitter @ Karenrosesmith. They can also follow her monthly e-zine IN TOUCH with KAREN ROSE SMITH which has the latest news about her books, recipes and contests.

Social links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenRoseSmithBooks/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/karenrosesmith

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/karosm/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21863.Karen_Rose_Smith

Romance Website:  http://www.karenrosesmith.com/

Mystery Website:  http://karenrosesmithmysteries.com/

Blog:  http://karenrosesmith.blogspot.com/