Staging Wars (A Laura Bishop Mystery #2) by Grace Topping

Staging Wars

(A Laura Bishop Mystery #2)

by Grace Topping

Paperback, First edition, 252 pages

Expected publication: April 28th 2020 by Henery Press

Goodreads synopsis: 

Laura Bishop's new home staging business is growing in popularity, though not with her nemesis. Laura has long suspected established interior designer Monica Heller of sabotaging her fledgling company--and having an affair with her late husband.

When the ultra-chic Monica is caught at the scene of a murder, Laura is plenty happy to imagine her languishing in a prison cell with bedsheets far from her normal 600-thread Egyptian cotton. But her delight is short-lived.

When Laura's friends land on the police's radar, Laura must overcome her dislike of Monica to help solve the crime. Not an easy task since Laura and Monica have been at war since the second grade.

***

4.5 Stars

This is the second book in the Laura Bishop mystery series by Grace Topping.

Basic premise: Laura’s home staging business is going well but she fears a rival is sabotaging her success. Then said rival, Monica, finds herself in jail after being found holding the murder weapon while standing over a dead body.

I am not sure I would have put myself on the line as much as Laura did trying to prove Monica’s innocence. The two had been at war with each other since second grade and the woman even had an affair with her ex-husband before his demise. Talk about conflict of interest.

There is not really a romantic interest in this series yet but I have a feeling the ground is being laid for a romance between Laura and Detective Spangler.  Even though there has not been a romantic spark, per say, between the detective and Laura, I feel like that could be coming in a future book. I look forward to that little plot point!

If you haven’t read book one, definitely go over and read that. The character base is pretty much the same as this one and it will give you a good backstory to work from when diving into this book. But in reality, this book really does give you a good idea of what has happened in the past and can totally be read as a standalone. But book one is so good! You have to check that one out too! Just a suggestion!

This series is just starting out gang busters! Books one and two are unputdownable!

If you enjoy a good cozy mystery, definitely give this one a try, you won’t be disappointed!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank Edelweiss, Henery Press and the author for allowing me to read this title.