Author: Bailee Abbott
Genre: Mystery
Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781685129471
Level Best Books
254 Pages
$16.95; $5.99 Amazon
April 29, 2025
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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 accidentally 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. Troubles 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.
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Sisters Chloe and Izzie Abbington own a paint party shop, and they're finally (slightly) in the black. They live at home with their parents, and are fairly happy with their lives. But one day a crate arrives for Izzie, and it contains a painting of a seascape, which is nice, but not wonderful. They don't know why Izzie's friend Martin has asked them to take it to storage, but they are willing to do so. At least, until they accidentally discover another painting underneath -- and this one is a Vermeer, and rare. At first they think it is a fake, but later on discover the painting is real...especially when Martin disappears and it appears someone is after the painting.
They take it to storage, but it doesn't end there. A murder occurs, and the police think Martin is guilty. Determined to prove her friend innocent, Izzie asks Chloe's help. It doesn't hurt that Chloe's boyfriend Hunter is a police detective, who just might have information of his own. But with the police chief determined to convict Martin in order to appease the powerful father of the dead person, the women have to work fast...and hope they can avoid a killer in the process...
This is the fourth book in the series, and I have read them all. I have also enjoyed them all, but I do think that this one is my favorite so far. It had plenty going on throughout the book, with a few red herrings thrown in, and several clues that lead to the true murderer. But they are not as easy to find as one might think, which is a good thing. There is nothing so boring as knowing the killer almost immediately and then having to slog through a book to find the why.
The why is given nearly immediately -- the painting -- but the who and the reasons for it are not. This makes it a fun cozy, and along the way we get glimpses of Izzie and Chloe's personal lives and that of their parents; and even those of their friends.
In the end, when it all comes together, it is almost an accident how they discover the truth, and the epilogue to the story is comforting, to say the least. You cannot know the mind of a killer, and nor would I want to, but this cozy is definitely that, and I would recommend it to others.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Bailee Abbott's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/a/bailee-abbott/
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