A Brush with Murder (Paint by Murder 1), by Bailee Abbott

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A Brush with Murder (Paint by Murder 1), by Bailee Abbott, was the April pick for The Cozy Mystery Book Club, so it's been on my calendar for this month since last year. This is a new-to-me author. With this adorable cover and colorful design, I have really been looking forward to reading it.

Chloe Abbington is a former artist living in New York City who has come home to the small town of Whisper Cove, New York to help her sister, Izzie, run her new Paint with a View business. It doesn't take long for Chloe to find herself in the midst of a murder investigation, where she is the prime suspect. Chloe sets out on a quest to prove she is innocent and find the real killer.

I enjoyed this book. The premise of a painting business is something I have not seen in any other cozies I've read. I appreciated the artistic theme, although I would have liked to have seen the painting be more a part of the mystery. Also, there is a touch of romance, with potential to grow, but not so much that it overpowers the mystery.

I love a good mystery and that is what we get here. There are plenty of viable suspects with opportunities and motives. I did identify the culprit early on. However, this was not based on anything specific, except that I was simply suspicious of this person. As the story progressed, I was led in a completely different direction and I changed who I thought the killer was. About three quarters of the way through the book I was certain it was someone else, only to be surprised in the end that it was the original suspect I had in mind from the beginning.

My thoughts on the characters are complicated. I was not crazy about Izzie, Chloe's sister. Paint with a View is Izzie's business, yet almost as soon as Chloe arrives, Izzie excepts her sister to handle things. And Chloe accepts the challenge. I thought Chloe could have been more assertive when responding to her sister's expectations. To make matters worse, Izzie doesn't even tell Chloe why she can't be around. It's a secret and Chloe doesn't do much to try and find out what's really going on with Izzie. Chloe simply does what she is asked to do. I liked Chloe for the most part, but not this aspect of her personality. That being said, though, the two sisters really do seem to care about each other. 

Chloe and Izzie are living with their parents, which is fine. However, I don't think their parents' presence in the story added anything to it. I did enjoy the descriptions of their boating outings. Reading about the scenery truly did feel relaxing. But that was about it. I also did not like the way some of the characters bashed quinoa. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but it felt to me like they were poking fun at those who eat quinoa. I personally love quinoa and eat it fairly regularly. That sounds like such a minor thing, but the quinoa "joke" happened throughout the story.

There was one character, whom I won't name because at one point I thought this person was the culprit and I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read it yet, who I wasn't crazy about in the beginning, but by the end of the story I warmed up to them. One conversation they had with Chloe had be laughing out loud to the point of tears. 

The biggest problem I have with this book is that there are so many unresolved issues and I was left with a lot of questions. I know that it's not unusual to have this in book 1 of a series, but it was excessive this book.

All of these issues are not enough for me to give A Brush with Murder less that four mushrooms (a.k.a. stars). What I look for most in a cozy mystery is the mystery. This one delivers a strong mystery. I also really liked the setting. Whisper Cove is a place I would love to visit and I would definitely sign up for one of Izzie's painting events. Although I was not crazy about all of the characters, there is room for them to grow. For these reasons, I will most likely read the second book in this series, Kill Them with Canvas, which, according to the description, takes place around Halloween. It sounds like a really fun story and I'm adding it to my October TBR for later this year. (If you're looking for a summer read, A Brush with Murder takes place in June.)

Have you read A Brush with Murder or do you think you will read it? Tell me in the comments!