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A review by dollycas
Fatal Brushstroke by Sybil Johnson
4.0
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Rory Anderson is a computer programmer that works from her home in sunny California. As a hobby she enjoys tole painting. Sounds like a quiet idyllic life to me. But when a body is found buried in her garden things become chaotic as Rory is a suspect trying to clear her name.
This was an interesting debut. Rory has a past that the author explains over the course of the story that makes her a very vulnerable main character. She spends a lot of time with her mother but their relationship felt a bit off until more of Rory’s past is revealed and things start to fall into place. At first I thought maybe I missed a novella or a previous story in this series but after double checking found that was not the case I soldiered on. I feel if her past would have been addressed in full at the beginning the flow of the book would have been better and not so choppy.
Disregarding the flow, the theme and substance of the mystery was enjoyable. Painting instructor, Hester Bouquet, killed, but by who? The author gives a several viable suspects, and I had both of my prime suspects cast aside when additional facts were revealed. The police seemed determined Rory was the killer, what they lacked in evidence was trumped by the location of the body and they seemed satisfied. We do learn why the police chief is so determined to prove Rory guilty rather than really investigating the crime, but I really didn’t like him as a character from the start. Thankfully Rory kept digging and digging to prove him wrong. She does hold things back from him and was not always forthcoming but that is just a normal part of cozy mysteries.
I always say first books in a series are difficult because the author has a heavy lift, introducing the characters and giving us a mystery that grabs us and holds us to the last page. While the character introduction was a bit murky at first, the mystery was skillfully composed. The description of the setting, Vista Beach, was pleasing as well.
Now that I have gotten to know Rory’s backstory I am really looking forward to the next book in this series, Paint the Town Dead, which I plan to read very soon as the 3rd book in the series, A Palette for Murder is being released at the end of the month.
Rory Anderson is a computer programmer that works from her home in sunny California. As a hobby she enjoys tole painting. Sounds like a quiet idyllic life to me. But when a body is found buried in her garden things become chaotic as Rory is a suspect trying to clear her name.
This was an interesting debut. Rory has a past that the author explains over the course of the story that makes her a very vulnerable main character. She spends a lot of time with her mother but their relationship felt a bit off until more of Rory’s past is revealed and things start to fall into place. At first I thought maybe I missed a novella or a previous story in this series but after double checking found that was not the case I soldiered on. I feel if her past would have been addressed in full at the beginning the flow of the book would have been better and not so choppy.
Disregarding the flow, the theme and substance of the mystery was enjoyable. Painting instructor, Hester Bouquet, killed, but by who? The author gives a several viable suspects, and I had both of my prime suspects cast aside when additional facts were revealed. The police seemed determined Rory was the killer, what they lacked in evidence was trumped by the location of the body and they seemed satisfied. We do learn why the police chief is so determined to prove Rory guilty rather than really investigating the crime, but I really didn’t like him as a character from the start. Thankfully Rory kept digging and digging to prove him wrong. She does hold things back from him and was not always forthcoming but that is just a normal part of cozy mysteries.
I always say first books in a series are difficult because the author has a heavy lift, introducing the characters and giving us a mystery that grabs us and holds us to the last page. While the character introduction was a bit murky at first, the mystery was skillfully composed. The description of the setting, Vista Beach, was pleasing as well.
Now that I have gotten to know Rory’s backstory I am really looking forward to the next book in this series, Paint the Town Dead, which I plan to read very soon as the 3rd book in the series, A Palette for Murder is being released at the end of the month.