Easier Dead Than Drawn

A Paint by Murder Mystery #3

Author:    Bailee Abbott

Genre:     Mystery

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    978168512639

Level Best Books

238 Pages

$16.95; $5.99 Amazon

May 7, 2024

⭐⭐⭐

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.

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Chloe Abbington and her sister Izzie live with their parents in small town Whisper Cove, New York, near the finger lakes.  They own a paint-your-own shop and also do events, hoping to make enough money to expand a little.  

A man in town has brought the floating amphitheater back, and has just hired Chloe's muralist friend to paint it.  Lana Easton and Chloe were roommates in Paris, before Chloe decided to give up her art there and help her sister.  She's happy with her choice, but will having Lana here make her also have doubts?

Lama is accompanied by her boyfriend Nick, and employees Tate and Audrey, who each have their own skills.  Everything seems to be going nicely until one night while Chloe is going to pick up Lana for an evening out, hears a scream, and finds her lying dead below the art lift.  Now the lead detective on the case, Winsell, thinks Chloe, along with others, might be a viable suspect.  Chloe and her sister have no choice but to do a little investigating themselves, or Chloe might be looking at the inside of a jail cell instead of outside her shop window...

I read the first two books in this series and I enjoyed them very much.  But this one is a little different for some reason.  First, there is a huge issue with continuity.  Chloe was talking about an argument between two of the townspeople, and I thought I missed something, so went back to check.  But I found out the argument hadn't happened yet!  This is just one example, but I won't list the others.  There are also a lot of grammatical errors that should have been caught by an editor.  These things detracted from my enjoyment of the story.

Anyway, Chloe and her sister Izzie are trying to gather clues in between running their business, and it keeps them busy.  They have four main suspects of their own, but need to question them and weed through everything to get to the truth.  There are plenty of red herrings, and pointing to the actual killer isn't easy.  But in the end, it comes with unexpected help from someone to find out everything they want to know.  It's rather sad, but it all comes together nicely.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Easier-Dead-Than-Drawn-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0D15342M1/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6848916946

More on Bailee Abbott's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/a/bailee-abbott/

A Brush With Murder (A Paint By Murder Mystery #1)

Author:    Bailee Abbott

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781643857749

Crooked Lane Publishing

317 Pages

$21.25; $13.99 Amazon

October 12, 2021

⭐⭐⭐

For Chloe Abbington, the transition from fine art painter in New York City to painting-event business owner in charming Whisper Cove is more than a little jarring.  But when poison-pen journalist Fiona Gimble writes a viciously negative review of the newly opened Paint With a View, Chloe learns that critics are the same everywhere.  And when she finds Fiona's body behind her shop with a painting knife in her neck, Chloe realizes that this picture-perfect town offers anything but peace and quiet.

Suddenly, bustling Artisian Alley is a crime scene, and Chloe is the prime suspect.  Her sister and business partner, Izzie, isn't much help -- she's busy running the shop, and besides, she has secrets of her own.  As shrewd detective Barrett tries to paint her into a corner, Chloe soon finds that Fiona had plenty of enemies.  The Whisper Cove Gazette columnist wielded her pen like a sword, slicing and dicing just about every shop owner in the lakeside town.

Chloe sets out to prove that she's been framed for Fiona's murder.  But she'd better learn the fine art of detection quickly, before the real killer paints the town red again.  Otherwise, she may end up trading in her paint smock for an orange jumpsuit...or a green burial plot.

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Chloe Abbington returned home, with her dog Max, from New York City to Whisper Cove, where her family still lives.  The lakeside town is beautiful, and usually has tourists abound.  Her sister Izzie has started a business named Paint With A View, where people come to paint scenes and enjoy company.  She's just starting out, and is looking forward to it, although she's worried about a newspaper columnist named Fiona who trashes every business in her articles.

Izzy thinks inviting Fiona to the grand opening will help.  But when Fiona receives a text, she abruptly leaves, and Chloe hopes they'll get a good review.  Turns out, they won't get a review at all when Chloe finds her body behind their store, with a painting knife sticking out of her neck.  Now, she and her sister are suspects in the murder, and unless she can find out the truth, she just might spend the rest of her days in jail...

This is the first book in a new series, and I do like to give new authors the benefit of the doubt.  But as far as doubt goes, I wonder if the author knows that painting knives are pliable, and unable to be used as murder weapons.  Hmmm...

The second thing that bothered me is Izzie.  If she's starting a business, wouldn't you suspect that she'd want to be there?  Well, she isn't.  She dumps everything on her assistant Willow and sister Chloe.  Who does that?  She spends about 15% of the time at her business, and disappearing somewhere else the rest of it.  I also don't like their parents.  Their mother is a nutcase.  So what if she wants to go natural and vegan?  Why does she push it on her children?  They're adults.  Let them eat what they want, not what you want to shove down their throats.  Seems to me she's more 'hippie' than 'artsy.'  

As for Chloe, she can learn to be less snarky to everyone.  Get rid of the chip on her shoulder.  She also doesn't tell Izzie that she needs to be at her business.  Nope.  She just does whatever Izzie wants.  We also never learn about why Izzie hates the detective.  What's up with that?  Actually, the only likeable person in the book is Ross, and he's not even a permanent character.  Bring him back.  At least he makes the book readable. 

Unfortunately, while the writing was good and the plot as well, the characters need a lot of work.  Less mom and dad.  More Izzie being at her store.  When the ending comes and the killer is revealed, I felt rather cheated, since there weren't any clues leading up to it.  But I will give this author another chance, and perhaps read the second in the series.

I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Brush-Murder-Paint-Mystery-ebook/dp/B08SVXS4J3/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5276167893

More on Bailee Abbott's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/a/bailee-abbott/