From Publishers Weekly
First-time author Caine's decorating-theme contemporary cozy blends mystery fiction with design information to decidedly mixed results. Designer Erin Gilbert arrives at a bedroom redecoration job to find a bizarre decorating competition underway, a handsome rival (amusingly named Sullivan) pitted against her and a baby picture of herself hidden in the paneling she's slated to replace. Adopted by a mother who forbade her to search for her origins, Erin decides the photo is proof that one of the three unappealing couples sponsoring the competition must be her birth parents. Her search to determine which couple turns sinister, however, when two parental possibilities are poisoned and she herself barely escapes attack. The plotting of both the parentage and murder mysteries is patently absurd; Erin just happens to carry around cyanide given to her as a gift by her ex-boyfriend, for example. In addition, the story's momentum is frequently interrupted by strained decorating analogies ("my birth parents had shuffled me around like an odd-looking table lamp that didn't quite blend with their home decor") and lengthy design disquisitions on everything from curtain rods to kitchen islands. Sadly, this unnecessary thematic clutter overwhelms Caine's appealing heroine and warm, genuinely winning voice.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Sparkles with charm, design lore, and a sleuth with a great mantra. Cozy fans will embrace the Domestic Bliss series.” —Carolyn Hart, Edgar Award-winning author of Letters from Home
"Home decorating tips to die for!” —Sarah Graves, bestselling author of the Home Repair is Homicide series
“Leslie Caine deftly merges hate-fueled homicide with household hints in her “how-to/whodunit” mystery.” —Mary Daheim, nationally bestselling author of The Alpine Pursuit
“Talk about extreme makeovers!” —Parnell Hall, author of With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill
“Leslie Caine paints a winsome heroine with family woes, furnishes a well-upholstered murder, and accessorizes with well-patterned wit and a finishing touch of romance.”—Deborah Donnelly, author of May the Best Man Die
"A mystery within a mystery, a winning heroine, a yummy love interest, some laugh-out-loud lines…and as if that weren’t enough, some terrifically useful decorating tips."—Cynthia Baxter, author of Dead Canaries Don't Sing
“Her latest decorating job will make you feel like you’ve stumbled across the deadly side of HGTV.” —Jerrilyn Farmer, bestselling author of the Madeline Bean mysteries
From the Paperback edition.
"Home decorating tips to die for!” —Sarah Graves, bestselling author of the Home Repair is Homicide series
“Leslie Caine deftly merges hate-fueled homicide with household hints in her “how-to/whodunit” mystery.” —Mary Daheim, nationally bestselling author of The Alpine Pursuit
“Talk about extreme makeovers!” —Parnell Hall, author of With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill
“Leslie Caine paints a winsome heroine with family woes, furnishes a well-upholstered murder, and accessorizes with well-patterned wit and a finishing touch of romance.”—Deborah Donnelly, author of May the Best Man Die
"A mystery within a mystery, a winning heroine, a yummy love interest, some laugh-out-loud lines…and as if that weren’t enough, some terrifically useful decorating tips."—Cynthia Baxter, author of Dead Canaries Don't Sing
“Her latest decorating job will make you feel like you’ve stumbled across the deadly side of HGTV.” —Jerrilyn Farmer, bestselling author of the Madeline Bean mysteries
From the Paperback edition.
