Open House Homicide

When real estate agent Starr Stiletta unlocks the door for her perfectly staged Sunday open house, she expects the usual nosy neighbors, bargain hunters, and maybe a request for some free wings. What she doesn't expect is a dead body on the living room floor—specifically, the body of her client-stealing office rival and all-around professional nightmare, Liza Richland. Welcome to Walnut Creek, California, where the real estate is hot, the shoes are designer, and murder is very bad for resale value. Starr is smart, stylish, sarcastic, and spectacularly unfiltered. She also happens to be the mayor's daughter, which means her accidental discovery instantly becomes a media circus. Within hours, her ruined Louboutins are evidence, every word she says is headline fodder, and her perfectly curated life begins to unravel. The police are suspicious. The press is relentless. The public is obsessed. And someone has cleaned out her bank account while she wasn't looking. As the investigation spirals, Starr finds herself balancing police interrogation, family "strategy meetings," an opportunistic journalist, and a boyfriend whose job at CVS suddenly makes him everyone's favorite suspect. Add a possible case of identity theft, a growing list of enemies, and the unsettling realization that she, not Liza, may not have been the intended victim—and Starr's life officially becomes unlivable without caffeine, sarcasm, and excellent shoes. Determined to clear her name, Starr begins asking questions the police seem oddly slow to pursue. Why was Liza in the house before the open house started? Who knew the homeowner was out of town? Why was the murder weapon one of Starr's own "for sale" signs? And why does it feel like everyone—from colleagues to clients—has something to hide? With the help of her fiercely loyal, wildly dysfunctional family (including a politically ambitious mother, a theorizing academic father, and two sharp-tongued brothers), Starr starts connecting the dots. Real estate rivalries, personal grudges, questionable finances, and media manipulation collide in a town that thrives on appearances and secrets. The deeper Starr digs, the clearer it becomes that this murder isn't random—and that the truth could destroy more than one carefully staged life. Sharp, funny, and unapologetically irreverent, "Open House Homicide" is a fast-paced cozy mystery with bite. It skewers small-town politics, true-crime media, and the absurdities of modern adulthood, all through the eyes of a heroine who refuses to be quiet, tasteful, or conveniently guilty. Perfect for readers who love smart female leads, dark humor, and mysteries where the shoes matter almost as much as the clues. After all, in real estate—as in murder—it's all about motive, opportunity, and what gets hidden before the showing.