Picture it: artist Chloe leaves Manhattan for small-town living for peace, quiet, and to help her sister run her new painting-event shop. After their grand opening, journalist and notorious critic Fiona is found murdered behind the store and soon Chloe’s name lands right at the top of the list of suspects.

Oh, and there’s a cute dog, lots of tension—romantic and otherwise—with the local detective, lots of ill-advised sleuthing, and plenty of small-town quirks.

Author Bailee Abbott offers up all of these traditional elements of a cozy mystery, and yet A Brush with Murder never feels paint-by-numbers. Chloe, dejected after both a crumbling career and relationship, stumbles back to her hometown in a fashion that’s unfortunately highly relatable to many folks in their 20s, 30s, and beyond. However, most of them don’t have to contend with being a prime suspect in a murder after their arrival. Abbott writes with such empathy of this situation that, as Chloe begins to slump under all this pressure and misfortune, it makes complete sense she would find the need to take an investigation into her own hands. Absolutely nothing else can go wrong. It’s an interesting twist that makes her both sympathetic and a force as a main character.

The mystery is solid and Abbott has no issue with adding secrets and turmoil onto the canvas. There are no happy accidents here—everything is meticulously plotted, including an ending that’s as satisfying as it is natural.

With a solid mystery, fun characters, and a sleuth in need of a win, A Brush with Murder is like a fresh coat of paint for the cozy genre.

I loved the first book in this new series.
I love cozy mysteries, and this one was for sure a great read. A Brush with Murder is full of mystery and intrigue, and a little bit of relationship drama. I loved the small town vibes and like how unique this is. My first cozy that is about a painter.



I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook.

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

A Brush with Murder is the debut cozy by Bailee Abbott.

It follows Chloe, the artist who moves back to the small town of Whisper Cove after a breakup and after not making it big in NYC. Her sister, Izzie, owns a paint event shop getting ready to open. Right before it did, the town gossip columnist is found dead in the back alley. Chloe is the prime suspect.

The story goes on to introduce an awful lot of characters, so if you don't read it in one fell swoop, it's tough to keep track of all of them. The story wrapped up nicely at the end with no cliffhangers and with a hint that Chloe and Detective Hunter are thinking about liking each other. It's a cozy series, so the romance arc takes time! :-)

Side notes:

* The main characters, namely Chloe and Izzie are kind of judgy throughout, often thinking (by way of narration) that people have an attitude and the like. They're quick to anger.
* Izzie also cries her way through the story and for a business owner, she doesn't spend a lot of effort actually working on her business. Examples include handing off opening night to Chloe who literally just arrived in town and to her part time employee, Willow. Several times in the book, she just left for no reason and was gone for huge blocks of time. Another example was telling Chloe to answer all her emails. Huh? isn't it your business?
* While the mystery was solved, the culprit kind of came out of left field - a little too conveniently.
* Chloe's ex-boyfriend, Ross, also came to town, under the guise of being on vacation. He helped a little bit, but I hope it doesn't turn into a love triangle.

I'm giving this three stars. I liked a lot of it, but it's also a new series. The series is just starting, so I'm interested in seeing how the characters develop over the course of a few books. I'd really like to get to know detective Hunter more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A fun cozy mystery with a small town New York setting and a charming animal companion. Perfect for a cozy afternoon read.

Chloe Abbington returned home, with her dog Max, from New York City to Whisper Cove, where her family still lives. The lakeside town is beautiful, and usually has tourists abound. Her sister Izzie has started a business named Paint With A View, where people come to paint scenes and enjoy company. She's just starting out, and is looking forward to it, although she's worried about a newspaper columnist named Fiona who trashes every business in her articles.

Izzy thinks inviting Fiona to the grand opening will help. But when Fiona receives a text, she abruptly leaves, and Chloe hopes they'll get a good review. Turns out, they won't get a review at all when Chloe finds her body behind their store, with a painting knife sticking out of her neck. Now, she and her sister are suspects in the murder, and unless she can find out the truth, she just might spend the rest of her days in jail...

This is the first book in a new series, and I do like to give new authors the benefit of the doubt. But as far as doubt goes, I wonder if the author knows that painting knives are pliable, and unable to be used as murder weapons. Hmmm...

The second thing that bothered me is Izzie. If she's starting a business, wouldn't you suspect that she'd want to be there? Well, she isn't. She dumps everything on her assistant Willow and sister Chloe. Who does that? She spends about 15% of the time at her business, and disappearing somewhere else the rest of it. I also don't like their parents. Their mother is a nutcase. So what if she wants to go natural and vegan? Why does she push it on her children? They're adults. Let them eat what they want, not what you want to shove down their throats. Seems to me she's more 'hippie' than 'artsy.'

As for Chloe, she can learn to be less snarky to everyone. Get rid of the chip on her shoulder. She also doesn't tell Izzie that she needs to be at her business. Nope. She just does whatever Izzie wants. We also never learn about why Izzie hates the detective. What's up with that? Actually, the only likeable person in the book is Ross, and he's not even a permanent character. Bring him back. At least he makes the book readable.

Unfortunately, while the writing was good and the plot as well, the characters need a lot of work. Less mom and dad. More Izzie being at her store. When the ending comes and the killer is revealed, I felt rather cheated, since there weren't any clues leading up to it. But I will give this author another chance, and perhaps read the second in the series.

Read this several months ago and I thought it was a decent start to a series. I really liked the main character, though the sister was a bit annoying. Will try more.

The plot is regular, it could have improved if the protagonist had solved the case, but the truth is that in addition to almost becoming the third victim, she had no idea who the murderer was. 
Another really annoying detail: Izzie, the protagonist's sister, spends more than half of the book crying.  Moreover, the chapter where Izzie hiccuping is not mentioned at least a couple of times is a rarity. 
I decided to give the author another chance and am going to read the next book in this series, Kill them With Canvas.  I hope less hiccuping from Izzie and that this time Chloe manages to solve the mystery and not just be the town's busybody!

This book was a fun start to the series. I liked Chloe and her relationship with her sister, Izzie. The premise of opening the painting event business was unique to me for a cozy mystery. I also enjoyed the setting and thought the mystery was well done and kept me guessing. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Fun new cozy mystery series which follows the Abington sisters as they open a new painting event business. The sisters are close-knit and enjoy working together. The secondary characters seem to be full of secrets which we slowly discover what they are hiding. The mystery is well-written with plenty of surprises to keep the reader guessing who was behind all the murder and chaos. I recommend this book to cozy mystery fans.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and no one has influenced me.

A charming cozy mystery. It got off to a slow start, but then caught my attention and kept it. A clever mystery with lots of interesting characters. I was thrilled to have guessed the culprit based on clue, so wasn't surprised that the other suspects were innocent. There were other individuals that did surprise me. A hint of romance. I look forward to reading the next one in this new series.

Chloe moves back home following a failed relationship to regroup and help her sister, Izzie, with a new business venture. Izzie has opened a painting workshop studio that is about to be ruined before it opens thanks to a nasty journalist. When said journalist is found murdered Chloe is the only suspect. She sets out to clear her name without any help from her dear sister. Izzie is easily the most annoying book character ever. She wants to start a business without actually working at the business or offering any explanation to the people she dumps her work on. The mystery was not very mysterious. The employee was almost as annoying as Izzie. While I like the premise, I am not sure this series is for me.

When Chloe Abbington returns to Whisper Cove, New York to run Paint with a View with her sister Izzie, she has no idea the trouble she will face or the threat of being a murderer's next victim after the town's highly critical newspaper columnist is murdered!

I liked the premise of the book and admired Chloe for picking up and starting over after a failed relationship and career. Her determination to help her sister Izzie with the fledgling business, set the foundation for the book. However, when Izzie has secrets and won't tell Chloe what's going on, I was a bit annoyed. By the end of the book, all is well. The mystery is well-written and the pieces of the mystery fall neatly in place.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A Brush with Murder by Bailee Abbott is book one in the A Paint by Murder Mystery series.
Chloe has recently moved back to her hometown to partner with her sister in a painting event business. On opening night, a journalist is found dead behind the business. The victim, Finona, has been publishing some scathing reviews on some of the local businesses but, who would be mad enough to commit murder.
There are plenty of suspects in this Cozy. The protagonist is likeable. The setting will have you wanting to visit Whisper Cove. I wish there would have been more with the puppy, Max, though.
I was given an ARC by Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. Mainly due to Izzie. This character was irritating to me. She had no filter and no self control-just blurting out things. Why and how the main character (her sister) didn't blow up at her, I'll never know.

Thanks to Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. I never posted this as I DNFed around 30%. The writing was good I just personally could not get into the story.

Interesting start to a new series. There were a few cozy clichés going on here, but hopefully the second book will be a little more original. I liked this book and will read the second book when it comes out.

A fun first in series! I loved that the characters had a unique profession and I really liked the setting since the author did a great job with its description of the town's shops and other points of interest. The mystery was well-planned and I definitely had a hard time figuring out whodunnit! The addition of the main character's dog was a welcomed bonus character since pets always make cozies just a little bit better. Definitely an author I will follow in the future.

Chloe Abbington arrives home to Whisper Cove, NY after spending a few years disappointing years in New York City. Her sister, Izzie, asked for help to start her new Paint with a View shop in the gallery shopping district. Opening night Fiona Gimble is there to write an article for the newspaper. She isn't well liked. Chloe was the one who cleaned up after the first event. When taking the trash out, Chloe trips over something in the dark. Using her phone she sees Fiona dead on the ground with a painting knife sticking out of her neck.

I liked this story. It's an easy fast read that will keep you on your toes trying to figure out who committed the murder.

This was a fine enough read but honestly not great. The writing felt like it was rambling on and got repetitive. Sadly, the characters weren’t all that likeable either.

But one thing I did love was all of these quaint artistic shops. Like a small town artist quarter. That was a great idea.