A Brush with Murder: A Paint by Murder Mystery

A Brush with Murder takes us to the charming town of Whisper Cove that has an Artisan Alley where Izzie has located her new venture. Painting classes with friends and family are becoming popular especially when wine and food are offered. I liked Chloe but was not a fan of her younger sister, Izzie. Izzie tends to be bossy and has a laissez-faire way about running her business. You can tell she wants it to be a success, but then Izzie fails to show up for planning meetings and leaves the first event in hands of Chloe and her shop assistant, Willow North. Fiona Gimble is not well-liked in the town thanks to her nasty reviews of the local shops. It is not a surprise when she turns up dead. Chloe finds herself preoccupied with the crime. She decides to do a little snooping. There are multiple suspects in her death including Chloe’s sister. There are clues to help readers solve the crime if you pay close attention. The resolution was complete which I appreciated. Chloe’s New York boyfriend arrives in town determined to win her back. I did not feel this storyline was necessary. It will only cause a love triangle with Chloe, Detective Barrett, and Ross (and I for one am not a fan of love triangles). I also found it odd that when Izzie decided they needed to pass out flyers to promote the business, she felt it necessary for them to wear costumes (Minnie and Mickey Mouse) as well as sandwich boards. I liked Chloe’s cute dog, Max. He was a sweetie. It will be interesting to see what happens next at a Paint with a View. A Brush with Murder transports readers to Whisper Cove where there is a wrathful departed reporter, pleasurable paint projects, shop owner suspects, a cuddly canine, a determined detective, a bothersome ex-beau, and a curious Chloe.

The story was easy to follow and the characters are very likable. it was nice not to have 3-4 very threatening people killing families and friends.

amateur-sleuth, art, artist, small-business, small-town, family-dynamics, friendship, law-enforcement, pets, cozy-mystery**** Very interesting view into artists, galleries, and curios. Unfortunately I just wasn't invested in this one, the characters weren't terribly positive and the general atmosphere was better suited to another reader. I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.