The Fine Art of Murder

 

In this blog post, I reviewed Emily Barnes's The Fine Art of Murder, the first installment in the Katherine Sullivan mystery series. This debut will keep you hooked from the first page. It all started for Katherine Sullivan, a widowed police chief, who returned to Edina Minnesota to visit her daughter Elizabeth and her two grandchildren. When Randolph Pierce, a prominent wealthy son is arrested for Stacey Jordan's murder, she needed to help her daughter and her client out in an unofficial capacity. She teamed up with her late husband's former partner, Nathan Walker, who worked in security with an unique crew. Together, they investigated Stacey's life and unearthed some hidden secrets before she met her untimely demise. While she dealt with the investigation as a private investigator, she talked to her daughter about her family issues, things gotten heated up for Nathan and Katherine to solve this murder in no time.

This delightful mystery debut is captivating and intriguing. I cared for Katherine who wanted to have a normal visit with her family, when it had gotten interrupted by this shocking murder. I loved how she had the balls to go against her former boss and put on her thinking cap as a PI. I also loved how she worked with Nathan and his crew. There's some chemistry brewing between them since they had a long history together. The location of Edina Minnesota made this sleepy small town the perfect play to set a murder. It had picturesque scenic settings from Buckhorn Mansion to her daughter's home pop on the page. The theme of the story is jealousy would lead you to greed when family matters to the heart.

This compelling mystery is a great first start to kick up the series to keep up on reading the other books. I did have one small nitpick, that there were some places when the author should've showed than told more with deep POV, due to some telling words. I rated this book, four out of five stars for no reason. If you love great whodunit murder mysteries, grab a copy of The Fine Art of Murder this summer. This book is recommended for readers who love great capers, cozies, and tons of mysteries like Deborah Crombie, Donna Andrews, and Louise Penny for example.