What a page-turner! I really had a hard time putting this one down. Savanna Shepherd has recently moved back to her hometown and finds herself wrapped up in a little bit of romance and a LOT of mystery! I liked the characters in this story: Savanna and her sisters Skylar and Sydney, their almost-grandmother Caroline, and doctor Aidan. I'm hoping this will be first in a series - just based on the way the title includes "A Shepherd Sisters Mystery" - so I can continue to follow this charming trio of sisters. I also think this could make a really great movie or miniseries (hint, hint, Hallmark!). This is the first book I've read by Tracy Gardner, but I hope to read more in the future!

I received an advance copy of this book. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Exciting Cozy Mystery
This book was very difficult to put down. The mystery was slow to unravel and the reader could feel the tension build. This is not a thriller, just a good, and well-planned mystery. I love a mystery that challenges the reader's mind and this book does that. I will love reading more of this author's work. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

OUT OF THE PICTURE will be the perfect book for you if you are a fan of the Hallmark movies and mysteries.
Our author provides the reader with a delightful blend of mystery with the perfect hint of romance.
I had been longing to read this book since I first heard it mentioned. Art? Mystery? A lake side setting? Yes please.
My only disappointment was the lack of description. I am not from the region, nor am I familiar with the landscape, and therefore I would have loved to have had the setting described in a way that I could picture it. As soon as a read a line early in the book, in which a character complained a book club title had too much in the way of description, I knew I would have to reconcile myself to living without it. That said, the writing otherwise made up for it and it was an overall enjoyable read.
ARC provided by NetGalley and Hallmark Publishing in exchanged for and unbiased and voluntary review.

Out of the Picture is the first installment of Tracy Gardner’s Shepherd Sisters mysteries. Savanna Shepherd is the middle of three sisters from the small town of Carson, Michigan located on the banks of Lake Michigan. Savanna has recently moved home from Chicago after her long time fiancé decided he needed to go find himself. In Chicago Savanna, an art authenticator, has worked for the gallery owned by her fiancé’s family. Moving home was a refuge at the time but Savanna soon realizes that home is exactly where she wants to be,

Now, rather than authenticating artwork, Savanna is reveling in teaching art at the local elementary school. Her younger sister, Sydney, owns the local dog grooming salon. As a favor to Sydney, and to see her beloved borrowed grandmother, Carson matriarch Caroline Carson, Savanna escorts poodles Princess and Duke home to the Carson estate. While there, Caroline engages Savanna to do a mural for her. Itching to get back to painting and also eager for the time that can be spent catching up with Caroline, Savanna accepts as long as she has an opportunity to bring her portfolio and discuss the project before fully accepting the task.

Arriving a few minutes early, Savanna is escorted by Caroline’s granddaughter Lauren into the large living area just as Caroline’s book club is breaking up. All leave except Caroline’s good friend Eleanor. Savanna joins the two older ladies for a glass of claret while discussing the project and showing her samples to Caroline. As Savanna and Caroline talk, leaving their wine untouched, Eleanor slumps dropping her empty glass. The glass of wine ends up costing Eleanor’s life.

When more incidents occur, it becomes apparent that there is a threat to Caroline’s life. But why? Between Savanna’s older sister Skylar’s connections and Savanna’s art expertise and the help and support of Dr. Aidan Gallagher, those closest to Caroline bind together to protect her and remove the threat.

This is an interesting story with rich characters and a lovely setting. The mystery is well plotted and will keep the reader guessing until the end. I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

What an adorable cozy mystery! I'm so thrilled to see Hallmark venturing into mysteries. This is a fun, sweet, cute one! A perfectly enjoyable afternoon read.


Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Savanna Shepherd has moved back to her hometown after a bad breakup. She wants a fresh start and things seem to be looking up for her. she loves her new job as an art teacher at the local elementary school and is enjoying spending more time with her two sisters. She is thrilled when an old family friend and art collector, Caroline asks her to paint a mural. Unfortunately, her happiness is short-lived when she starts noticing bizarre things occurring in the woman's home. First, there's an unexplained death in the house. a suspicious accident and then a break-in. Savanna doesn't think things could get any worse but then she starts suspecting that Caroline's priceless paintings are forgeries. Savanna, with the help of her sisters and a cute doctor named Aidan, decides to get to the bottom of things. I enjoyed this book. It was a light, entertaining read with an interesting plot, strong, likable characters and a beautiful lake setting. The mystery was a bit slow-paced but once the plot picked up halfway through the book, I was hooked and couldn't stop reading. If you're a fan of Hallmark Mysteries then you will definitely enjoy this book. Overall, I loved reading about the Shepherd sisters and look forward to more books by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Hallmark Publishings for approving me for this ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Out of the Picture by Tracy Gardner is the first book in A Shepherd Sisters Mystery series.

I really enjoyed this book. It has all element of a good cozy. A well plotted mystery, likable and relatable characters, beautiful setting and a bit of romance.

Savannah Shepherd has come back home, after a broken engagement she quit her job and decided that some changes are in order. After ten years in a big city she craves her small town, located on a beautiful lake and most of all her family.
Family friend, lovely and charming Caroline Carson is having a really rotten time at the moment, She isn't feeling her best and need some additional medical attention, her best friend dies at her house, and series of accidental incidents just keep happening. But are they really incidents or is there something sinister lurking? It is up to Savannah to discover what is going on with a help of her sisters and a charming and handsome doctor.

I liked the slow pace of a book, especially when is the first book in the series. I appreciated that I had enough time to get to know three sisters, learn about their jobs, their life and get to meet them properly before the murder happened.
I also liked how even though Savannah is the main protagonist they all compliment each other and bring their strong points to solve the mystery and help each other out.
The book is easy to read and flows nicely.
I loved the strong connection Savannah family has and their relationship is truly special. I learned a lot about art and forgeries and I am looking forward to reading the next book.

I fell in love with the Shepherd Sisters, Sklyar, Sydney and Savannah. Caroline is another key person in the story and I really like her. She is an 90 year old woman who is set in her ways, she reminds me of being a little bossy but she really isn't she is independent. She listens to her good doctor Aiden. Caroline and her husband have collected a lot of artwork work so she has decided to get rid of a few pieces. She has contacted her husband's old friend Felix to help her do this.

Savannah was asked to paint a mural for Caroline and so she goes over there in the evenings when she can and works on it. While she is there she begins to notice things that don't seem quiet right to her.

I really enjoyed this book and think that you will as well. A must read for anyone who likes mystery and romance together.

I enjoyed this entertaining and well-written cozy mystery that revolved around the three Shepherd sisters. This book features the middle sister, Savanna, who moved back to her hometown to teach art at the local elementary school. Savanna has given up her art authentication job at a gallery in Chicago after her broken engagement to the owner. But all is not as it seems in her small town and Savanna’s eye for small details makes her an excellent amateur detective. Her talents are put to good use after the mysterious death of an elderly friend.

The setting of this story is along the shore of beautiful Lake Michigan, and the author does a great job of brining this town to life. I liked the fact that Savanna and her family are close and she was genuinely happy to be back home again. The characters are likable and the interaction among Savanna and her two sisters is fun. There’s the beginning of a love interest between Savanna and a local doctor, but this isn’t the main storyline of the book. The mystery takes center stage and although my suspicions were correct about the murderer, it was satisfying to read the twists and turns of the story. If you like the Hallmark channel mysteries, you’ll like this book. Savanna makes a great modern-day Nancy Drew. I’m hoping there’s going to be a follow-up book to this one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This was a really sweet cozy mystery series that could be a really nice addition to the other Hallmark’s Movies And Mysteries series.

Savannah Shepherd is an artist who has come home after her break up with her fiance. Glad to be home, Savannah is thrilled to paint a mural for the woman who has always treated her as a granddaughter.

When strange things start occurring with one person winding up dead, Savannah isn’t all convinced that the whole thing is one big coincidence.

With the help of her sisters and a handsome doctor, Savannah may just have the savvy to crack the case wide open.

This book was great. I do wish that the ending had more suspense instead of just casually coming to a close but this was a all around a great story.

I recommend this book for all ages. Like all Hallmark content, this book is clean so no need to worry about sexual content, graphic violence, and bad language.

This is a 1st book in a new series by Tracy Gardner and it was awesome!! It has everything I love about cozy mysteries - interesting likable characters, family, friendship, an intriguing cozy mystery, and potential romance! And the characters have common sense! What's not to love! Savannah moves back to her hometown after she and her fiance break up. Her sisters ,Skylar and Sydney, really add to the story in their relationships with each other. Their elderly next door neighbor,Caroline, is like a grandmother to them. She is having a big birthday party and is having some renovations done on her house. A friend of Caroline s dies suddenly and then accidents happen. What is going on? Savannah and her sisters, Dr Aiden Gallager, and Detective Jordan work together to try to figure out what is going on. It kept me guessing until the end! This is the best cozy I have read lately! Very enjoyable!

This is a awesome read, it is an adult version of a Nancy Drew Book. It is part of the “Shepherd Series”. Savanna has returned her home after her engagement has been called off. She cannot believe she is home, living with her sister and teaching art at the local school. Savanna literally bumps into Aiden delivering the poodles back to Caroline. Caroline is a like a grandma/aunt to Savanna. Aiden is Caroline’s, Cardiologist. Read on and find out what happens when Savanna is commissioned to paint a mural at Caroline’s house.

When Out of the Picture appeared on NetGalley, I was delighted to see that Hallmark decided to publish this kind of novels, because I enjoy their mystery movies as much as the romantic ones. Set in the art world, the book is well written and successfully maintains the suspense until the final twist. I thought it was a light, easy read with an interesting cast of characters. The Shepherd sisters make for fun banter scenes. A solid base to build on multiple sequels hopefully.

After this promising first cozy mystery, I hope Hallmark will publish more in this genre!

A enchanting tale taking place in a picturesque setting. At first the reader might think it is a similar tale, but, after page one they will be hooked by engaging characters and twists that make it less like other stories and really pushes the unique story.

I really enjoyed this good clean mystery. Good plot, characters and writing. I look forward to reading more books in this series. Thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

4.5 Stars
I knew within the first couple of pages that I was going to love this story. Ms Garner's writing style is enjoyable and breezy. The mystery is set in the art world and what could have been boring was anything but, keeping my interest. I loved the Shepard sisters and impressed by their close and protective relationship to their elderly friend Caroline. All in all, a well written mystery and I can't wait for another story in this mystery series.
Thank you Hallmark and NetGalley for a reviewer copy!

Since I don't watch TV I haven't seen the Hallmark Channel. This a delightful easy to read book introducing the Shepard Sisters, Savanna an artist, Skylar, a lawyer and Sydney, a dog grooming business.
Savanna has returned to her town town and has a job teaching art at the local middle school. The sisters are helping a closed friend Caroline Carson to celebrate her 90s birthday. Savanna is printing a mural on Caroline's wall. Strange things are happening at Caroline's. During afternoon tea a closed friend of Caroline collapses and dies. The death is ruled suspicious, a stairway breaks and Caroline injuries her arm. Savanna notices one of the art piece might be a fake. Working with her Sisters, Savanna begins to check the one art piece out to be sure it's a fake. Will the Sisters find an answer to the events at the mansion? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.
A Recipe is included.

Disclosure: Thanks to Hallmark Publishing for a copy through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

What an amazing book. Absolutely loved the story line and the characters. I am going to have to check out other books by this author . You should definitely read this book if you haven’t

This was a good cozy mystery.

I liked the angle of art authentication. Learning more about ways to figure out if a painting is a forgery was really interesting. In fact. I like that the sisters all had slightly unique occupations - art teacher, dog groomer, attorney - that weren't the usual book/coffee/knitting store owner. I also like that this series is set on Lake Michigan instead of the typical Southern or Pacific Northwest coastal town of cozy mysteries.

However, I just don't care for when authors make it seem like moving a 2 hour drive from home is equivalent to living on the moon. I find it really hard to believe that Savanna didn't come home for holidays and regular visits when she lived in Chicago. Or that a family as close as the Shepherds would have met Savanna's fiance of over two years more than once.

My other minor quibble, why don't we know what the mother does for work. We know Charlotte travels but to do what? Why is she in Boston one week and Japan the next?

On a similar note, it is confusing that their father is introduced in Chapter One as just Harlan who renovated the hair salon into the grooming salon. No mention that it is their father and that he is a general contractor. I assumed it was Sydney's boyfriend/husband and that he was a DIYer not a professional.

I thought this was a good introduction to the community of Carson Village and the people who will continue to be featured in the series. I would read another book with the Shepard Sisters.

There are quite a few grammatical errors in this ARC but I trust the editors will find them before September.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.* (less)

A clean and engaging mystery with a slew of practical characters! This is such a wonderful read and I hope the author continues writing mysteries in the series.