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katreader's review
4.0
COLOR ME DEAD by Teresa Trent
The First Henry Park Mystery
Gabby Wolfe returns to her childhood home of Henry Park, Colorado with two jobs, to start work as an illustrator for children's book author Clarence Bradford, and look after her younger brother, Mitch, a magnet for trouble. Gabby's always seen snippets of things to come, but now she starts to draw a disturbing image, and it's not from one of Clarence's stories. Reconnecting with old friends and making new enemies Gabby tries to make sense of what she sees, only to discover a talented young artist is seeing the same visions. It's too late to save the woman they're seeing, but will they be able to discover the killer?
Teresa Trent pens a winner with her first Henry Park Mystery. We're introduced to a reluctant psychic, her ne'er do well brother, a direct sales guru with cerebral palsy, and a lovable dog named Luigi. While the natural environment is pristine, the characters are a little rougher around the edges. With plenty of bad habits and foibles these characters provide a multitude of motives as well as the moxie to deal with adversity...and each other.
I appreciate so much about this book, especially the subtlety with which Trent writes about Gabby's psychic abilities; truly developing their importance and the way Gabby and others view this gift. In COLOR ME DEAD Teresa Trent takes a picturesque town adds interesting characters and a unique mystery to create a successful start to a new series.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC in the hopes I would review it.
The First Henry Park Mystery
Gabby Wolfe returns to her childhood home of Henry Park, Colorado with two jobs, to start work as an illustrator for children's book author Clarence Bradford, and look after her younger brother, Mitch, a magnet for trouble. Gabby's always seen snippets of things to come, but now she starts to draw a disturbing image, and it's not from one of Clarence's stories. Reconnecting with old friends and making new enemies Gabby tries to make sense of what she sees, only to discover a talented young artist is seeing the same visions. It's too late to save the woman they're seeing, but will they be able to discover the killer?
Teresa Trent pens a winner with her first Henry Park Mystery. We're introduced to a reluctant psychic, her ne'er do well brother, a direct sales guru with cerebral palsy, and a lovable dog named Luigi. While the natural environment is pristine, the characters are a little rougher around the edges. With plenty of bad habits and foibles these characters provide a multitude of motives as well as the moxie to deal with adversity...and each other.
I appreciate so much about this book, especially the subtlety with which Trent writes about Gabby's psychic abilities; truly developing their importance and the way Gabby and others view this gift. In COLOR ME DEAD Teresa Trent takes a picturesque town adds interesting characters and a unique mystery to create a successful start to a new series.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC in the hopes I would review it.
hugbandit7's review
5.0
I thought this was a great start to a new series. Gabby is an artist and is hired to illustrate some children's books, but that isn't all there is to her. She gets visions of things that are going to happen and is able to sketch the image she sees while in a trance like state. She finds out when she moves back to Henry Park (she lived there as a child/teen) that someone else shares the same gift. And then she has a vice that she tries to hide from everyone, she is a smoker. It is actually quite comical how she thinks she is hiding it so well but everyone else can see right through her.
Gabby has a dysfunctional family. Her brother, Mitch, who she has been tasked to watch over (even though he is in his 20's) by her mother. Let's just say he tends to get into some trouble (as most people that age can do). Her mother is a control freak and it was good to see her stand up to her mother near the end of the book (I won't say too much to not give away some of that dynamic).
The mystery itself was engaging because of Gabby and Gigi (a resident that has cerebral palsy and cannot speak) who both have the gift of the visions. There were lots of suspects as to who killed the "woman in the water" from their visions but the true killer might surprise you. It surprised me a little bit as to the why. I did sort of suspect this person because of all the characters in the book, no one else seemed likely. There are some strong indications towards a few specific characters (including her brother Mitch), but none of them really seemed likely while I was reading the story.
I think this is going to be a great new series and can't wait to read more.
Gabby has a dysfunctional family. Her brother, Mitch, who she has been tasked to watch over (even though he is in his 20's) by her mother. Let's just say he tends to get into some trouble (as most people that age can do). Her mother is a control freak and it was good to see her stand up to her mother near the end of the book (I won't say too much to not give away some of that dynamic).
The mystery itself was engaging because of Gabby and Gigi (a resident that has cerebral palsy and cannot speak) who both have the gift of the visions. There were lots of suspects as to who killed the "woman in the water" from their visions but the true killer might surprise you. It surprised me a little bit as to the why. I did sort of suspect this person because of all the characters in the book, no one else seemed likely. There are some strong indications towards a few specific characters (including her brother Mitch), but none of them really seemed likely while I was reading the story.
I think this is going to be a great new series and can't wait to read more.
valerielong's review
5.0
From the beginning, I was absolutely riveted by this book. It was very hard to read this when I was at work (breaks and lunch) because I did NOT want to put it down and go back out to the public desks. Mind you, I love my job and most of the time I love being out on the desks and helping people. That’s why I went to library school, so I could be a reference librarian and help people find the information they need/want. I was just so riveted to this book that I didn’t want to put it down, though because of life it did take longer to read than something like this usually does.
I thought the characters were very well-rounded and surprisingly complex for this being only the first book in the series. Often times, when the book is the first in a new series, the author leaves some background out to release in the other volumes and the characters end up somewhat flat and two-dimensional. These characters, however, fully came to life in my head. I’m certainly looking forward to learning more about them in the next book(s) in the series. I love all the side characters too, not just the main characters. Those add so much life to the book and the story. I had absolutely NO idea who the killer was until it was revealed and I love that in a mystery.
The setting descriptions were “just right” for me. There was enough detail that I could easily imagine the scene and yet I didn’t feel like the level of description was overwhelming and boring. Also, the setting sounds absolutely beautiful. I love living here in Michigan, but Henry Park, Colorado sounds like a beautiful place to live.
The plot line moved along at a pretty steady pace. As I said above, I had absolutely NO idea of who the killer was until the author revealed it. I tend to lose interest in a book if I know “who done it” early in the story line, so I was happy to be surprised.
I highly recommend this book to those who like cozy mysteries. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series to see where Gabby and Mitch lead us!
** I received a free ecopy of this book from the author. All opinions and conclusions are my own. **
Originally posted on: Valerie's Musings
I thought the characters were very well-rounded and surprisingly complex for this being only the first book in the series. Often times, when the book is the first in a new series, the author leaves some background out to release in the other volumes and the characters end up somewhat flat and two-dimensional. These characters, however, fully came to life in my head. I’m certainly looking forward to learning more about them in the next book(s) in the series. I love all the side characters too, not just the main characters. Those add so much life to the book and the story. I had absolutely NO idea who the killer was until it was revealed and I love that in a mystery.
The setting descriptions were “just right” for me. There was enough detail that I could easily imagine the scene and yet I didn’t feel like the level of description was overwhelming and boring. Also, the setting sounds absolutely beautiful. I love living here in Michigan, but Henry Park, Colorado sounds like a beautiful place to live.
The plot line moved along at a pretty steady pace. As I said above, I had absolutely NO idea of who the killer was until the author revealed it. I tend to lose interest in a book if I know “who done it” early in the story line, so I was happy to be surprised.
I highly recommend this book to those who like cozy mysteries. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series to see where Gabby and Mitch lead us!
** I received a free ecopy of this book from the author. All opinions and conclusions are my own. **
Originally posted on: Valerie's Musings
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