mystery with a touch of murder
an Author's Life - Plotting & Writing
NEW RELEASE -A TINT OF MURDER
A priceless hidden painting is discovered. An art heist, a murder, and a friend is accused of both.
#4 in the Paint by Murder mystery series...
Trouble is stirring when murder comes wrapped in the guise of a seascape painting. The gift from a close friend who deals in art becomes a mystery to solve after Izzie and Chloe Abbington accidently discover that hidden behind the seascape is a priceless Vermeer which many would kill to possess. When the seascape with its hidden masterpiece is stolen, and a murder hits too close to home, their friend is accused of the crime.
Determined to help clear his name, Chloe and Izzie follow the clues, which take them beyond the comforts of their small town community and into the art world’s unsavory side. However, the more they learn, the more guilty their friend looks. They question many involved, both dealers and collectors, as well as the patrons of the arts group their parents belong to, but everyone has their secrets. Even the seascape has a story to tell, if only the sister duo can decipher the details. Troubled and frightened of what they’ll uncover, Chloe and Izzie won’t stop searching for answers, even if the killer turns out to be someone they know.
Teaser -A BRUSH WITH MURDER
With the paint tools cleaned, dried, and put away, the only task remaining was to take the trash to the dumpster in the alley. I collected the wastebaskets from the front, the bathroom, and storage room, and emptied everything into one bag. Taking a deep breath, I lifted the heavy load and staggered to the back exit. “Should have used two trash bags.” I dropped my cargo and, with the swipe of my foot, shoved it to one side.
Closing my fingers around the handle, I pulled the door open and shuddered. Dark alleys shouldn’t scare me. After all, I’d been a New Yorker for two years. But that label also meant I kept my guard up to prepare for anything. I flipped the switch to turn on the floodlight. I grumbled then toggled the switch again and again, but the alley remained pitch black.
“Well, that’s just fantastic.” I blew out air and dragged the trash bag across the floor. Lifting the load with both arms, I stepped into the alley. My foot caught on something lumpy. I frowned. Another bag? Izzie wouldn’t leave trash in the doorway. Of course, I didn’t know Willow or if she was lazy or careless enough to do so.
Frustrated, I pulled out my phone and switched on the flashlight app. “Somebody is going to hear about this.” I scowled, waving the light across the alley pavement until it rested directly in front of me. My eyes widened, and the phone slipped from my hand as the floodlight flickered. A scream built in my throat, and I couldn’t stop the sound. A body lay at my feet with arms and legs spread out in a disturbing, awkward pose.
I back shuffled but couldn’t pull my eyes from the horrible sight. A knife protruded from the neck while blood tinged the mop of white hair with red. The curved handle of the weapon looked familiar. So did the body. I cringed and clamped one hand over my mouth to keep from screaming again.
Fiona Gimble was dead, and she’d been stabbed with what looked to me like a painting knife.
Teaser -KILL THEM WITH CANVAS
I walked alongside her. With a frown puckering my brow, I squinted. “And your hands are shaking like you overdosed on caffeine. Are you on that diet again? The one where you eat next to nothing? I remember last time you ended up in the hospital eating your meals through a tube. Not a smart thing to repeat.” I shook my head. Dewey was as thin as the stem of a rigger paint brush. He couldn’t afford to lose any weight.
As we came to within a few feet of him, Dewey backed away from the edge of the deck and sobbed. I turned for a second. He stuffed his fist in his mouth, and his eyes bulged as if they could pop out of their sockets at any second. Something had upset him, which wasn’t so unusual. Everyone in town knew he was prone to hysterical episodes.
Puzzled and curious, I shifted my attention from Dewey to the lake water. I leaned over, searching exactly at the spot where he had been looking a moment ago. My insides lurched like they’d turn inside out, and I clutched my stomach with both hands. “Good lord.” I strained to speak.
Izzie gripped my shoulder and let go of a low, feeble cry. “Is that really…is she…?”
Even though my brain told me to look away, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the horrible sight. A body was floating face down in the water near the shore, a woman with long red hair, spreading like tentacles around her head. Her blue wool coat was snagged on a huge tree trunk that had landed in the lake and been left there after lightning struck it down in a summer storm. An inch or two of her red dress showed along with the bottom half of her legs that had turned white and wrinkly. This image was almost exactly like in the painting we’d found left behind at the lodge, only this scene was terrifyingly real. Viola Finnwinkle was dead, and she’d been left floating in Chautauqua Lake. As if my mind finally caught up to what happened, I fumbled in my pocket to pull out the knit hat. I gasped as the hint of what it could likely mean hit me. The knit hat with a narrow brim was purple, and it looked exactly like the one Aunt Constance had been wearing at our event.
EASIER DEAD THAN DRAWN
A wall muralist falls to her death and when the authorities cry murder, Chloe is the prime suspect.
#3 in the Paint by Murder Mystery Series...
When the town council hires Chloe Abbington’s close friend, famous wall muralist Lana Easton, to paint a mural advertising the return of the floating amphitheater, not everyone in Whisper Cove is happy about the theater or Lana. Naysayers think the noise from concerts and visitors will disrupt their quiet community. It doesn’t help that a lot of money taken from the town’s budget is being used to pay the muralist for her services. The mood turns even more grim when Lana is found dead, and since Chloe was there alone to discover her body, that makes her the prime suspect.
Before Chloe finds herself painted into a corner as the killer, she and sister Izzie hurry to solve the case and find the real criminal. The suspect list grows to include Lana’s boyfriend and her intern, as well as a couple of local residents. The task is a tall order for the sisters, and it doesn’t help that the detective on the case is someone who doesn’t seem to care for Chloe or her interference. Clues about Lana’s past surface and point to more than one suspect. The challenge will be to decide which one is the real killer.