Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book which means I will not be able to review it. I truly appreciate the opportunity and apologize for the inconvenience the lack of review may cause you.

There is no doubt that Goya's paintings are disturbing. And this mysterious and suspenseful was just as disturbing.

15 years after the theft of the supposedly cursed painting, the four cousins are summoned back to the house of their grandfather. When Teresa and Audrey arrive they find the man dead. His face a frozen mask of horror and fear.

Questions fly as they find out the boys had all ready met with the grandfather and now not only is the man dead, but his housekeeper is missing.

When the entire family descends on the manor we quickly see that they are a cursed bunch. Whether the painting actually was possessed by a demon or whether the fear was instilled deliberately these were some very messed up characters!

Teresa, who has some mysterious illness that we never found out exactly what it was, was probably the only innocent in the bunch however I felt the characters weren't developed to the point that we knew or cared about any of them. 

In the end it appeared greed was the motive for everyone's actions and whether they were all stark raving mad to begin with or became that way later isn't clear. 

The tale is a fine idea, but the character development I felt was lacking.

Netgalley/Hanover    Release January 09, 2018

Can't quite put my finger on why this didn't resonate with me but it didn't. It may have been because I couldn't warm up to any of the characters and the whole story seemed rather flat.

Or, maybe it was just my mood. Sometimes that happens.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance reading copy.

This book reminds me of the gothic mysteries I read as a young teenager - a crazy family, money to inherit, secrets everywhere, a mysterious painting. A quick, entertaining read.

Goya's Black Paintings are mysterious enough in appearance and in creation, but Neil Olson's novel gives an even more sinister legacy to the black painting owned by the patriarch of the Morse family.

Fifteen years earlier, Alfred Arthur Morse's black painting was stolen, causing accusations, suspicion, and the estrangement of family members. Now, the four cousins have been summoned to their grandfather's estate. Teresa and Audrey arrive together, but it is Teresa who discovers their grandfather's body in his study--in front of the space where the black painting had hung before its disappearance.

Teresa is intent on finding out more about the original theft and about her grandfather's death. Family secrets emerge.

Whether or not the painting was haunted, there is plenty of suspense and mystery surrounding the Morse family's association with the painting. A clever use of Goya's dark and nightmarish paintings to inspire a curse and a mystery.

(The book never mentions which black painting Morse owned; perhaps a totally fictitious one, but the cover partially reveals one painting from the series.)

read in April; blog post scheduled for Dec. 18.

NetGalley/Hanover Square Press

Mystery/Suspense. Jan. 9, 2018. Print length: 320 pages.

Thank you to the author, Neil Olson, Netgalley, and the publisher for providing me an advanced reader copy of this book.

I rated this book 2.5 stars. I was so disappointed with this book because it had so much promise. The setting and atmosphere lured me in: an old, mysterious house, a painting by Goya that supposedly has a demon lurking inside it, and a family with dark secrets. All this sounds great, right?

This book is a case study in what happens when characters aren't fully developed, and when the storyline meanders without truly committing to a plot. I <b>really</b>, <b>really</b> wanted to love this book, but the creepy old house and painting completely got left behind after the beginning of the book. Teresa, the main character, was also supposed to be hiding a dark past or secret that I stopped caring about because it was only alluded to a few times.

The overall plot is that Teresa's grandfather passes away, and her relatives descend upon his southern manor to see what he has left behind for them. The grandfather was mean and cruel, and there was an ordeal with him acquiring (potentially via black market) the Goya painting that curses those who look at it. The Goya painting was stolen, and it's unclear who took it. Teresa is charged with uncovering the mystery of the stolen painting, and potentially undergoing a mysterious surgery so that she can receive money from her grandfather's will. There are so many side plots taking place in this book that I got lost and was constantly re-reading the book to make sure I at least attempted to follow it.

I also had such a difficult time following the immense cast of characters because none of them were fully developed. I often had no clue who they were when they popped up into the narrative. By the time I was 80% into the book, I didn't care about the characters, and I didn't care about the ending. It's a huge bummer, because again, the book started strong and faded due to the confusing cast of unpredictable, unreliable, and stiff characters.

Fifteen years ago, the Morse cousins left the family estate right after the theft of a painting that is known for its ancient evil history, with the power of killing the beholder after viewing it. And now the cousins are summoned back to their old home.
The story starts with one of them, Teresa, discovering their grandfather dead body in his study. And now, after the entire family gathers inside the house, she sets on finding clues about the painting's thief and her grandpa's mysterious death, with the help of An investigator.
Is the Goya painting truly capable of such doing? Can she trust her family, from whom she's been estranged since she was a child?
But how can Teresa - having been stuck with a mental condition she believes she's inherited from her long-gone father- trust her family when she can't even trust herself?

As I began to read this, it started to feel like Hawkins' Into The Water, except where the case here is 'the demonic painting' instead of the 'Drowning Pool'.
The author created Teresa as a like-able character, relatable in some ways but also unreliable often. And so is the rest of the characters (rebellious Audrey, introverted James,...) as you continue to dive through the pages, and it's fascinating how they take turns divulging particular secrets about themselves that makes it harder for the reader to recognize who to trust and who the guilty ones are.

What I liked most about The Black Painting, aside from the beautifully written paragraphs and its just-one-more-page effect, is that it's not only a thriller but is also mixed with a cinematic-like horror experience. Completely pulling you in until the last page.

With this read, Neil Olson takes psychological thrillers to a whole new level and I think it'll make fans of such genre very happy, for the concept is completely original and with a suspense development that almost turns its fictional characters into real ones into the mind of the reader.

If you enjoyed reads like Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn or Into The Water by Paula Hawkins, then this is one is a must-read.

***Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin and Hanover Square Press for providing me with an advanced reading copy of The Black Painting in exchange for an honest review***

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

A mystery surrounding a lost painting by Goya? A disfunctional family? An old house full of secrets?

Yes, please.

This book really engrossed me. I enjoyed all of the characters and it was so atmospheric. The characters were plausible, perhaps with the exception of Audrey who at times felt a bit over the top but hey, she was an over the top kind of girl. My only gripe was that I figured out the mystery fairly early on, however that didn't take away from my enjoyment. The multi-cultural elements, the twisted love interests, and the supernatural aspect made this a very enjoyable read.

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