I very much enjoyed Cheryl Hollon's Webb's Glass Shop Mystery series and have been looking forward to her new series, beginning with Still Knife Painting. It still has an artist protagonist, but the discipline and setting are very different.

Miranda Trent is an artist. She recently inherited her uncle's home in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. She designed and opened her business "Paint & Shine: which caters to tourists. She takes visitors on a cultural adventure tour consisting of learning about the area, painting a local spot, and a dining experience paired with local moonshine tasting. A caveat to her inheritance is that she also has to open a moonshine operation on the property, which has her jumping through hoops and trying to find her uncle's recipe. Things are staring off a bit rocky and when her cook is murdered in her kitchen, her business looks like it might shut down before it even gets a foothold.

I enjoyed this story and thought it was a good start to a new series. I enjoyed the characters, even though there is a lot of development yet to come. I really like Miranda, she is strong, smart, creative, persistent and capable protagonist. The setting and the premise of the business were very interesting and attractive to me. The mystery moved along at a good pace, with the murder occurring very close to the beginning of the story. I had no idea who the murderer was or why it had occurred until the reveal which had a bit of danger involved in it. Overall a fun, enjoyable cozy mystery which has me looking forward to the next on. There are also some recipes included in the back of the book.

I really loved this book in a new to my series. Tha characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end

I enjoyed this book, it has a great setting and unique main character job. However I found Miranda a little flighty and unable to carry through with her ideas. I will give the next book a try but I want to see where this series goes before I say I love it

This is a really delightful cozy mystery. The story was really interesting and keep me guessing until the end.

A fabulous first in series with a unique setting! The main character has an interesting occupation that makes this cozy mystery really stand out. The mystery was well-planned and I was kept guessing until the very end. I look forward to reading more books in this series!

Oh my gosh! This book was a bright start to a new series!! It was so much fun.  I loved the idea of a paint and shine tour...where do I sign up?  The author "painted" a beautiful description of the Daniel Boone national forest.  I enjoyed the small town tight knit community.  The mystery was entertaining, and there were plenty of zigzags that kept me guessing.  I will say I did think Miranda came across as somewhat entitled.  She expected a lot from a new community that she herself barely engaged in.  She also seemed disrespectful to townsfolk where she wants to make a home and business in.
This book really shined!
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Netgalley, the author Cheryl Hollon, and the publisher for this opportunity.

This book is an interesting start to a new series.  The characters are interesting but didn't quite seem developed enough.  I like the setting and really enjoyed the description of the area.

A delicious and delightful read that let me spend an afternoon engrossed in a well crafted mystery with engaging characters.

I am becoming a huge fan of the cozy mystery genre due to books like this. You can read this as an escape from the everyday in a weekend. A  really good mystery.

I really enjoyed this promising start to a new series. If you are from the South, a lot of this book and many of these characters will resonate with you! The mystery didn't grip me as much as I would like, but the characters and atmosphere made up for it.

This is the first book in a new series and the first book I have read from this author. This book is about Miranda Trent an artist from NY who has inherited a farmhouse from her uncle in Kentucky. She comes up with the idea to start her own business offering a hike with a painting lesson, a authentic country meal and a moonshine tasting. 
All seems to be going well until someone kills the cook. Of course Miranda being new to town and the fact the victim was found in her kitchen is the main suspect. The problems I had with the book is I found parts of it to be overly descriptive. I found myself becoming bored with the many details. My next problem was Miranda herself. At the beginning she was not too bad, as the story moves on she became a bit one dimensional and at times very judgmental and even rude.  I found that I could not like her at all even though the mystery part  of the book was well done.

I like the other series by this author so I settled in expecting to love this book.  Sadly I found the main character to be rude, clueless, and downright annoying.  Miranda supposedly has ties to the area and spent summers there.  Yet she expects the rural citizens to act like people in New York City and goes as far as getting annoyed when they do not.  Rural people are not ignorant, and it is offensive for the author to portray them as such.

I really can't say that I enjoyed this book.  It had a very slow start and it was very difficult to understand where the character was coming from.  Yes, we know that Miranda Trent is starting a new business in Campton KY but why she left NYC and moved to KY as well as the business model that she is working doesn't really coming to the forefront until much later in the book. She seems to whine a lot about people in this small town not being on her side, but she doesn't seem to engage them either. The other characters who are involved in the murder (there has to be one in a cozy mystery, right?) all seem to have issues that didn't make this a fun read.  Numerous characters have weak stomachs having a hard time retaining their lunches, and law enforcement officers all need a good swift kick in the pants.

I was very disappointed in this book because I love Cheryl Hollon's other series with Webb's Glass Shop and had high hopes that this one would be just as good.

IMHO, this needs a major rework and editing.  The storyline/plot, once the details came to light as to the motivation of the character, were sound.  The start just needs to be more informative so that the reader can become more engaged with the character.

Still Knife Painting was a charming start to a brand new series.  I loved Miranda’s idea of having guests go on a hike and paint the beautiful landscape to take home with them.  The scenery described sounded so breath-taking that I wish I was there with them.  The murder mystery was very well-written and I loved how it kept me guessing.  Looking forward to reading book number two and spending more time with Miranda.

This series was perfection! The setting and characters really kept me hooked. When book 2 comes out I will be getting it asap!

Princess Fuzzypants here:  Miranda has inherited a homestead in the hills of Eastern Kentucky in the Middle of The Daniel Boone Park where she wants to pair her own painting skills with her uncle’s moonshine talents for a cultural experience tour.  She realizes it may take time for the locals to accept her especially since some of them are very anti-moonshine.  She is prepared to win them over but she is not prepared for what happens on her first day in business.

The lady she’s hired to prepare authentic cuisine for her groups ends up with a knife in her chest just before lunch is served.  The fact that she and Miranda had words over the moonshine part of her package makes Miranda the leading suspect.  When the big shots from Lexington roll in, they clearly think they have their killer.  Thankfully the local law enforcement that has local knowledge but not the tools of the Lexington group, believe there is someone else who committed the crime.  It does not help that the two lead law officers on the case have a contentious history that keeps getting in the way of their playing nicely with others.

With the support of the local park ranger and others in the community, Miranda solves the mystery and learns she is now accepted.  It was an enjoyable first outing and filled with local atmosphere and interesting characters.  Four purrs and two paws up.

Still Knife Painting is an engaging start to a new series by Cheryl Hollon! I particularly loved that it’s set in my ‘stompin’ grounds’ as they say down here – and that it’s based on fun experiences the author had in this part of Kentucky as a child (as discussed in the author note that begins the book). Something about that kind of connection makes the book even cozier right from the outset. The characters are quintessential to this genre – delightfully quirky enough to make you love them but suspiciously quirky enough to keep them on your ‘potential culprit’ list. Miranda took a bit of warming up to, but I’m intrigued to see where Hollon takes this character through the rest of the series. Well-written and entertaining, this read is a fun way to spend a weekend!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

Title:  Still Knife Painting

Author:  Cheryl Hollon

Ch: 36

Pg:  304

Series: A Paint and Shine Mystery

Genre:  Cozy Mystery

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher:  Kensington Publishing

Still Knife Painting by Cheryl Hollon is the first book in A Paint and Shine Mystery. It’s only the second cozy mystery series I’ve read that set in Kentucky. And I’ve enjoyed this one.

It’s set in a small town in Eastern Kentucky and Miranda Trent the main character after inheriting her uncles farm is determined to open a cultural experience tourist place. That includes hiking painting classes in which the clients are walked through painting the local scenery with a moonshine tasting. She also hopes to open a moonshine distillery on the property.

But all her hopes are dashed when there’s a murder on the property. And she becomes the prime suspect. She’s determined to find the real killer and clear her name and save her business.

I loved reading a cozy mystery set in Kentucky. I’m a sucker for books with a Kentucky setting. There are a few stereotypes in the book some bad some neutral. Miranda’s favorite soda is Ale Eight which just happens to be Kentucky’s soft drink. They also refer to one of her sheriffs deputy’s as Barney Fife based on the way he acts. And the sad thing is there are some small town deputy’s that so remind me of Barney Fife.

The residents of the town are iffy of outsiders in the book which does sometimes happen in Kentucky small towns.

I look forward to the next book in the series.




I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

An exciting first installment in a new series. Full of mystery, engaging characters, fabulous setting, and a plot that just won't quit. An enjoyable read!

The first book in the new art and moonshine based cozy series “A Paint & Shine Mystery,” Still Knife Painting from Kensington Books, written by Cheryl Hollen is out now.
 
Miranda is a hard character to like. She does not appear to have any empathy for anyone; she is angry at the residents because they object to her providing moonshine to her art students. She is resentful of her inheritance, and most of all, she appears to be more concerned with her income than the murder that took place in her kitchen. Other characters aren’t much better. Even the man who may become Miranda’s love interest has issues.  
 
The setting for this new series is picturesque, yet the descriptions did not go far enough to get the reader invested in the area. Having tourists sign up to take an art class in the forest is a wonderful idea, add in a southern meal, and a moonshine tasting, and you have a recipe made for success.  But the cook doesn’t follow the menu and ends up dead in Miranda’s kitchen. Suspects are few, but most are believable. The evidence is a bit flimsy. The killer wasn’t difficult to uncover and was the most enjoyable character in the book.
 
Unfortunately, I did not find Still Knife Painting to be very enjoyable. I thought the premise of art and moonshine would be interesting, and there were some interesting parts to the story, but overall I couldn’t get past the main character being just a bit too obnoxious. She is portrayed as an introvert, but the truth is more likely that she just doesn’t like people.  All of this said I will give book two a try when it comes out.