Laura Bishop just nabbed her first decorating commission—staging for sale a 19th century mansion that hasn’t been updated for decades. But when a body falls from a laundry chute and lands at Laura’s feet, removing flowered wallpaper becomes the least of her duties.
To clear her young assistant of the murder and save her fledgling business, Laura’s determined to find the killer. Turns out it’s not as easy as renovating a manor home, especially with two handsome men complicating her mission: the police detective assigned to the case and the real estate agent trying to save the manse from foreclosure.
Worse still, the meddling of a horoscope-guided friend, a determined grandmother, and the local funeral director could get them all killed before Laura props the first pillow.
Wow! The planning and misdirections in this first book remind me of the Golden Age murder/mystery writers!
Laura has a part-time assistant to help her with her fledgling business, Tyrone holds down 2 or 3 jobs, is putting himself through college, lives with his Nan and seems to be an all round good guy, so when he breaks a vase on their first paying job and gets into a little bit of a verbal argument with the house owner (who seems to think there is nothing wrong with outdated decorations and WAY too many knick knacks) nobody really thinks anything of it, until the home owner is murdered and Tyrone is suspect #1, with him hauled away to jail, his Nan comes asking Laura to help clear his name, now Laura needs to keep in top of the job at hand AND help Tyrone (and his Nan Mrs Webster), oh and she has some .... interesting help from her best friend Nita (along with Nita's extended Italian family) and the local Psychic!
Can Laura channel her inner Miss Marple and figure out whodunnit and why?
An Interview With A Character
What is your full name?
Laura Elizabeth Bishop
What is your Profession?
When I decided on a new career mid-life, I got training and certification as a professional home stager. My career in information technology bored me to tears. Being a home stager draws on my more creative side.
What is your current favourite book or movie?
I have so many. My favorite romantic movie is “You’ve Got Mail,” or almost any movie with Meg Ryan. My favorite humorous movie is “Galaxy Quest.” It makes me laugh no matter how many times I see it. A great line from the film is, “Never give up, never surrender.” Sounds like my goal in getting published.
What is your go to comfort book or movie?
Any book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, but mainly Ain’t She Sweet. SEP writes about wonderful characters that grow and develop in the story. And her books make me laugh, especially when I need comfort. They are the perfect books to have with you when you wait for the results of a mammogram.
If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?
I would love to be Thursday Next in the series written by Jasper Fforde. Thursday is a member of the literary police, and she can go diving into a book to sort out the characters who have gone rogue or help out a character that has gotten into trouble. She helped Jane Eyre, when she got into a sticky situation. Jasper Fforde has an amazing imagination.
What is your ideal evening?
My ideal evening would include seeing a stage production of an old favorite like Arsenic and Old Lace; Hello, Dolly; Mame. The ones community theaters produce because they are so popular and always draw a crowd. And the ones that have you humming or laughing when you leave the theater.
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
Part One
April 25 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
April 25 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
April 26 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW
April 26 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
April 27 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
April 28 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 28 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
April 29 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
Part Two
May 6 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
May 6 – Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT
May 7 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
May 8 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
May 8 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
May 9 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
May 9 – Carole’s Book Corner – SPOTLIGHT
May 10 – Teresa Trent Author Site – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
May 11 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW
May 11 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
May 12 – A Blue Million Books – GUEST POST
May 13 – That’s What She’s Reading – CHARACTER GUEST POST
May 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
Thank you, Hillary, for the lovely review. To have my book compared to a mystery from the Golden Age was a wonderful compliment. I really appreciate the feature and interview.
Posted by: Grace Topping | 04/27/2019 at 06:05 PM
Thank you for your review on "Staging is Murder" by Grace Topping and for being part of the book tour.
Enjoyed reading the interview and meeting Laura. I'd love the opportunity to read the book and get to know her even better.
Posted by: Kay Garrett | 04/27/2019 at 06:39 PM