Florrie Fox manages a bookstore in Washington, D.C. and is an adult coloring book artist. When her friend Dolly shows her a rare first edition coloring book she found at an estate sale, Florrie unwittingly becomes a target when the estate wants the valuable book back plus international buyers seek to find the book, also. Dolly hid her precious find before someone killed her.

More than one mystery is skillfully blended into this plot and the pace is steady and absorbing. The author has outdone herself inserting mysterious characters into the storyline at different points making you wonder ‘who on earth is this person’ before nicely connecting all the dots at the end. The cast of characters, whether good ones or not-so-good ones, are each enjoyable in their given roles. Delicious recipes to try at end of book.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

A clever and charming read. I love the Georgetown location and the interesting information about books, particularly coloring books. Florrie is a solid amateur sleuth who has a clear motive and a set of skills. Fun!

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

The Coloring Crook is the second book in the Pen and Ink Mysteries. I have really enjoyed reading this series. The characters are likable and not over the top or annoying. The story lines are a bit more realistic than some other cozies I have read. The mystery takes center stage, the characters and the romance fall into place.

I look forward to other books in the series.

The Coloring Crook is the second book in this great series by Krista Davis.
Florrie Fox is a fun, likeable character who is very relatable.

When Florrie attends an estate sale, she doesn't find her own treasure, but her friend does. The treasure sets the pace for a string of tragic events that hits close to home for Florrie.
The author tells a great story and I was engaged from beginning to end. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep the story fast paced.
I highly recommend this book.

I volunteered to read and review an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

Florrie Fox, manager of the Color Me Read bookstore in Washington, D.C., is excited about the new coloring club she instituted. When one of the members, Dolly, discovers the first ever coloring book at a garage sale, Florrie is stunned. But, when Dolly is found dead, and the book is missing, Florrie starts investigating and finds that many people will do anything to get their hands on the book.
This was a great cozy mystery read. I loved the plot and the suspense kept me up late to finish the book. I was very surprised with the ending. The characters who were suspects made great red herrings. I love Florrie, and can’t wait to read what happens next. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

This was an exciting cozy. Rare books, dynamic characters, well developed plot, this cozy is a charming read. This is continuing to be a good cozy series.

I enjoyed the first book in the series but this latest one just didn’t hold my attention. It did have all the standard expected hallmarks of a cozy mystery.

I adore this series! Super fun read. Hard to put down. Loved the multiple mysteries and all the twists and turns. Just when you think you have things figured out, you find out there's another piece to the puzzle that doesn't fit. Fantastic! Highly recommend!

I am a big colouring fan and have always loved adult coloring books so this book was a good read for me I thought it was thrilling and really enjoyable as well as a fast read

I liked this book from the start.
Easy to follow characters and the plot is well developed.
The story centers in the finding of a rare book and the implications of all the people involved, when a murder is committed and the book is lost. Almost everyone seems to have motive and opportunity to take the book.
It was nice to see the story flow in the direction the author expertly lead it.

This is the first book by Krista Davis that I have read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The plot was full of twists and decoys that kept me guessing.
The characters are deep and really well build up.
This was a gripping page Turner and I really look forward to reading more in this series .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Coloring Crook is the second book in a new series and it’s fast becoming one of my favorites. Finding an extremely old and valuable coloring book at an estate sale, Florrie’s friend Dolly is thrilled, and tells everyone, including Facebook, about her find. But she blabs to one person too many, and Florrie finds her dead in her home clutching a piece of the book in her hand. When Maisie, her estranged daughter comes back to town she asks Florrie to go through all the books for resale. But Florrie, falling from a ladder, finds much more than books as she kicks open a hidden panel exposing a skeleton. And this is only the beginning of the twists and turns in this book! A great cozy mystery read, and I look forward to the next.

Such a fun, quirky, and creative series that had sucked me right in. Love the twist in antique books with the coloring book. Well written and a wonderful read.

The Coloring Crook by Krista Davis is the second book in the Pen & Ink series and was a entertaining addition to this series.

Florrie attends an estate sale with her sister and friends/patrons of the bookstore. Although she finds nothing of interest to her she does meet a sleazy young man who maligns books. However, one of the patrons does find a rare book at the sale but before she can do little than celebrate her great find she is killed. With Ms. Davis writing I felt like I was with Florrie every step of the way as she attempted to find out who had killed her friend and stolen the book. The pace of the plot was quick, plenty of suspects and a reveal that was shocking. I did feel that the ending was rushed as it seemed like everything was brought to light within the last couple of chapters. All in all it was an enjoyable read and I definitely want to read the next one.

I loved the first installment of this series, and this second installment has me completely invested in it! The characters and setting, although seemingly similar to other stories, really are uniquely different. The mystery was perfectly executed, not even really giving a hint on the end until the author revealed it. I cannot wait until the next book.

The Coloring Crook is a fun mystery about a bookstore called Color Me Read, managed by Florrie Fox. There is a group of friends that meet each week at the bookstore to do some coloring and chatting. Florrie is busy creating her own adult coloring book, when one of the regulars stumbles on a collectible coloring book at a flea market. It happens to be the first coloring book made and would be worth a fortune if Dollie and keep her hands on it.
When Dollie ends up murdered while holding a piece of the book in her hands, story takes off with all the locals from the bookstore trying to solve the mystery along side the police.
This is a fun and light read. It wasn’t exactly my kind of mystery but it was cute, Thank you to Kensington Books, NetGalley and the author Krista Davis for this advanced copy. My opinions are my own.

This is a delightful cozy mystery with engaging characters and a well developed plot. Florrie Fox manages the bookstore Color me Read in Georgetown, D.C. and she is also an artist who designs adult coloring books. When Dolly, one of the women in her bookstore's coloring book club finds a very valuable old coloring book called the Florist at a yard sale and is later murdered with the book going missing, and Dolly and Florrie's friend Zsazsa becomes the chief suspect, Florrie is determined to find out who was really responsible for her death. Further mayhem ensures when Florrie finds a skeleton buried in the wall of Dolly's house, the bookstore is broken into and other members of the coloring club attacked but Florrie, with the help of the coloring club and her boyfriend, police officer Eric are able to finally find the truth. Not only did I enjoy this book, but before reading it I had never thought of trying an adult coloring book and now I think I may have found a new hobby.