BOOK TOUR
I'm excited to be a stop on the book tour for
STAGING WARS
Book 2 in the Laura Bishop Mysteries
by Grace Topping
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, replacing 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.
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.
📚🕮📚🕮📚
!!!GIVEAWAY!!!
1 lucky reader will win a print copy of
STAGING WARS
Enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.
Winner will be chosen after April 25 at the end of the tour.
This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.
A Word From Nita Martino
That’s What Best Friends Are For
My name is Nita Martino. You may have read about me in Laura
Bishop’s home staging adventures. Laura and I have been good friends since the
second grade when Sister Madeleine, our teacher that year, worked to nurture
our friendship. She noticed that Laura didn’t have much of a home life and
thought that my large Italian-American family would show her that life could be
filled with love and fun. After school and on the weekends, Laura joined with
my five brothers and me in driving my parents crazy. With Laura’s more serious
nature and my more daring one, we were a good balance for each other.
So when Laura started her home staging business and the
owner fell from a laundry chute and landed at her feet, I was more than willing
to help her solve the murder. She didn’t exactly ask for my help to clear her
young assistant of the crime. In fact, she kind of blurted out what she planned
to do and then looked like she regretted it. I think she didn’t want to
endanger me, drawing me into her investigation. I would have helped her, even
risking my own life. That’s what best friends are for.
When Laura said she no longer felt comfortable in the
homeowner’s home after her death, even though she wanted to finish the staging
work, I arranged for Madam Zolta to sweep the house of any negative energy or
the homeowner’s lingering spirit from the house. Laura was astounded by my
idea—in fact, she couldn’t even speak. That’s what best friends are for.
I had never done any investigating before, especially
looking for a killer, but I kind of think I have a natural proclivity for it. I
rather surprise myself. Laura tried to talk me out of some things, again to
protect me, but I convinced her that my ideas could work—at least some of the
time. Okay, maybe we didn’t have any success when I convinced her to pretend we
were office cleaners to get into my cousin’s law office searching for the copy
of a will we needed to point to some murder suspects. It might have worked if
my cousin hadn’t taken the will home with him that day.
STAGING WARS is officially on my list of favorite books of
2020!
This
second installment in the Laura Bishop Mystery series is the first I’ve read. I’m
always a little concerned not starting with book number one in a series, but I
found STAGING WARS as easy to get
into as a stand-alone (though I’m sure glad it isn’t!). Author Grace Topping
did a great job in making it so I didn’t feel like I was missing out on something.
Extremely
well written both story wise and style wise, STAGING WARS pulled me into the story with the very first page.
From getting to know protagonist Laura Bishop and her friends, to learning
about the importance of staging a place to help it sell, and of course, murder,
a hard to solve mystery, and many mishaps, I couldn’t put this book down. I was
actually really bummed when I finished the last page and had to close the book.
I didn’t read the first book in the Laura Bishop
Mysteries, STAGING IS MURDER, but
after reading, STAGING WARS, I’m rectifying
that. I just ordered my copy! And even though I still have the first book to
look forward to, I’m already wanting a third!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Topping is a recovering technical writer and IT project manager, accustomed to writing lean, boring documents. Let loose to write fiction, she is now creating murder mysteries and killing off characters who remind her of some of the people she dealt with during her career. Fictional revenge is sweet. She’s using her experience helping friends stage their homes for sale as inspiration for her Laura Bishop mystery series. The series is about a woman starting a new career midlife as a home stager. The first book in the series, Staging is Murder, is a 2019 Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. Grace is the former vice president of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and a member of the SINC Guppies and Mystery Writers of America. She lives with her husband in Northern Virginia.
Author Links
Website – www.gracetopping.com
Twitter – https://twitter.com/gtoppingauthor
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/GraceToppingAuthor
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomgracetopping
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/staging-wars-by-grace-topping
Purchase Links
GOOD LUCK!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
April 5 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 5 – Readeropolis - SPOTLIGHT
April 6 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE
April 7 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT
April 7 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW
April 8 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
April 8 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 9 – Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST
April 10 – The Book Decoder – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 11 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 20 – Baroness' Book Trove – REVIEW
April 20 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT
April 21 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW
April 21 – FUONLYKNEW - SPOTLIGHT
April 22 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
April 23 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE
April 24 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – REVIEW
April 25 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
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Thanks, Lisa. Happy Saturday, to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your review on "STAGING WARS" by Grace Topping and for being part of the book tour.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed hearing from Nita Martino and can't wait to hear more about her while reading the book.
Definitely on my TBR list and can't wait for the opportunity to read it.
2clowns at arkansas dot net