This was an interesting mystery with a sprinkling of the supernatural and romance. Annora Garde is an art restorer. She is called to the town of BLiss River by her old friend, the mayor. A painting of a long murdered girl has been found in a decommissioned church and holds clues to the murder. The mural is covered in toxic mold and restoring it is painstaking, dangerous work. She is protected by Mac MacGowan, an inspector who is eager to solve the crime and more recent crimes that are cropping up. The mystery was solid, but what set this apart was the art restoration aspect. It was very interesting.

"Hidden away and decaying for decades, a cryptic mural holds deadly clues in this intoxicating mix of art, murder, and buried secrets, perfect for fans of Simone St. James.

It was a blood-curdling crime that rocked the town to its core, leaving some with permanent scars and others with deep regrets. A young girl had been brutally slain. Memories were beginning to fade, but during the renovation of the old parsonage, the murder rears its ugly head again when workers discover a time-ravaged portrait of the young victim. Conservator Annora Garde is hired by the local police to clean the painting and expose what lies buried within it.

Inspector Scott 'Mac' MacGowan is convinced the mural is a cryptic confession that will solve the cold case - but it's looking more and more like someone will do whatever it takes to keep the past in the past. Together, Mac and Annora struggle to put the pieces of the puzzle together, in order to provide closure to surviving family members.

Toxic mold obscures blood-chilling clues, and the painting has an eerie life of its own. Annora is haunted by what she reveals, by the dirt she digs up, by her own tragic losses, and perhaps even by the young victim herself. As she closes in on the killer, the killer inches ever closer to her, and she will come face to face with a brutal truth: some murderers never come clean."

Art as confession? Oh yes, just like Patricia Cornwell's theories about Walter Sickert!

Hidden away and decaying for decades, a cryptic mural holds deadly clues in this intoxicating mix of art, murder, and buried secrets, perfect book to settle down with.

A Cruel Light by Cyndi MacMillan is an intriguing gothic mystery.
I was so excited when I seen this approval because it sounded like something I would just love and I did truly enjoy the story that’s inside this book.
I liked this dark and twisty tale. The characters are interesting. And I found myself being pulled deeper and deeper into it.
The writing style is well done and the pace of the novel was just right.
I would defiantly pick up another book by MacMillan in the future.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!.

I really hate giving such a low rating however I really struggled with this one. If I hadn’t received it as an ARC it would’ve most likely been a DNF for me, however I thought I would honour my commitment and give it a chance and see it through to the end. It took me a few weeks all up but I was finally able to finish it so here are my thoughts.

I really had high hopes for this one as I love a good, suspenseful mystery! Unsolved cold case , mysterious murals …. The premise seemed to have potential Unfortunately for me however it missed the mark in a couple of ways and I just couldn’t get into it.

The language used through out was very inconsistent: at times far to eloquent and old timey (and required me to use a dictionary - thank goodness for my Kindle!) and unnecessarily confusing, then at other times to lax and modern not really matching the overall tone of the story.
There was also a huge number of adjectives used throughout this book, which I just a personal reading ick for me. Nothing personal against this book / author, I couldn’t even overlook it with beloved Danielle Steele and her writing style years ago! It just puts me off when reading and distracts me from the story when things are somewhat over described?

There were also times where I felt there could’ve been a bit more to actually connect the reader and characters. Like a couple of occasions where there could’ve been a cheeky spicy scene but there wasn’t . . . It just felt a little unfinished. I was left feeling like ‘wait what? That’s all I get?’

All in all however the plot had good promise and the overall concept was interesting and well put together. The characters were cleverly named. The themes were strong. I was just personally a bit confused and disconnected throughout.

Please acknowledge this is merely my opinion and preferences so don’t just take my word for it, there have been books I’ve loved which others have hated. If it sounds like something you’d enjoy then by all means give it a go.

Thank You once again to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the e-Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Just wanted to add as I it’s a personal trigger warning for myself :

I was kind of frustrated that around the 70% mark it started to take a turn towards Paranormal / Ghost Story :( Thankfully It didn’t delve too deeply into this theme! )
In line with my personal values and religious beliefs this is just not something I am interested in or would actively go seeking as entertainment. I hate that so many ‘thrillers’ lately seem to be incorporating this ‘twist’ …

An investigation of a mural that could hold the secrets to a cold case mystery. I thought it was a little slow, but overall a decent mystery.

An art conservator is called to duty by a friend who needs help uncovering a mural in the town's parsonage. It unveils some deep and dark secrets of who murdered a young girl years ago. As she struggles to survive her time there, she discovers forgiveness and love. I finished this book within a few days and found it fairly intriguing.

I am so beyond thankful for this advance copy.

Unfortunately, I've tried several times to start this book and get into it and I just can't seem to enjoy it or be interested. Definitely a "me" issue, nothing to the author's ability to write or tell a story. It was very well written.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I'm going to be honest. I finished this about a week or so ago, and then went to read it again because I'd completely forgotten I'd read it. Nothing about this novel really stuck with me until I read the synopsis.

Annora Garde is called in to restore a wall mural inside a decommissioned church. The mural could potentially hold clues to a grisly murder from decades ago. inspector Mac McGowan is eager to solve the old crime, but as they begin to uncover clues, someone is desperate to keep their secrets, at any cost.

This book was middle of the road. It was an okay read. It isn't memorable, or one I'd reach for again. I found the art restoration angle very interesting and enjoyed hearing about that process I figured out the mystery very early on and it felt a little flat to me. I also found the romance to be tepid and forced and it didn't feel at all organic. It's one of those books with potential that is never quite reached.

A bit of a slow start but it is worth sticking through. A young girl brutally murdered years ago has long been the town shame. When an almost destroyed mural is discovered in the parsonage Nora Garde is hired to restore the art so a killer might finally be found. This is suspenseful and will leave you thinking.

This is a gothic mystery taking place in a small town in Canada. The local Chief is convinced that a cold case - the mysterious death of a beloved young girl can be solved based on a newly found secret mural. Annora is a master art restorer and is called in by her college friend, the town's mayor to uncover the rest of the mural.

Not everyone wants Annora there - many of the town was employed to renovate the building that the mural was found in. Every day she spends working is one less day they are paid. More mysterious, are some of the locals who are uncomfortable with what she may uncover in the mural. There is a series of arsons in the area that are taking distracting the town, but the deaths begin to pile up. Can Annora get to the bottom of it before she is next?

This was a really fun mystery. I loved learning about the area, the small town and Annora's profession. I would definitely read a next in the series! #CrookedLaneBooks #ACruelLight #CyndiMacmillan

A young girl brutally murdered years ago has long been the town shame. When an almost destroyed mural is discovered in the parsonage Nora Garde is hired to restore the art so a killer might finally be found. Not an easy task,when the killer is determined the mural can not be restored. With enough murders to rival Midsomer Murder, and arson attacks Garde is still determined nothing will stop her from finding out what happened to Rosemary. Part mystery, part suspense, part interesting history on restoring art, a great read.

#ACruelLight #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn’t influence my review. This was an okay read, but I didn’t like the dual-POV. This was a great mystery novel

One of the best books I've read all year (out of more than 175)! Difficult to classify but easy to say how very intriguing the plot and main characters were. The plucky main character (art conservator) was refreshing as was the treatment of the town's head policeman. No clichéd characters here. All small towns have secrets and uncovering this one's could prove quite dangerous. Go read this new book!

I loved that this book blended together elements from mystery, thriller, romance, and paranormal writing in one intriguing story. The process of a long hidden mural being painstakingly cleaned to reveal its clues beneath years of mold and dirt, was such a unique way for the mystery to unfold. There is a ton of action that takes place, making this book a page turner I didn't want to put down. Annora and Mac are both struggling with trauma from their pasts as they work together to find the killer. Great reveal of the killer at the end that I didn't guess. This was the perfect fall read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for access to this arc.

Art conservator Annora Garde was called to the small town of bliss river to restore a painting of a girl named Rosemary. Rosemary was murdered a day after her 8th birthday. Mac told Annora that the killer painted himself in the painting and she has to restore the painting to find out who murdered this little girl.

Annora had been staying at the parsonage while she was restoring this painting. She was starting to not feel well and fell asleep. Annora was dreaming of Rosemary who was telling her to wake up. Annora woke up and she could barely breathe so she called 911 and the 911 operator told her she needed to get out of the house now.

After Annora’s stay at the hospital, Mac told Annora that she was not staying at the parsonage by herself anymore. She was to stay with either Lilith and her husband or with Mac and his daughter. Annora tried to say no but Mac said it was settled. Max even went to the parsonage to get her clothes while she slept.

Annora went back to work at the parsonage after thanksgiving. Annora went to work on the painting she thought she would find something but she hadn’t and she got frustrated and mac showed up. Annora worked on the mural and she found out that there was someone who had witnessed the murder of Rosemary.

I didn’t expect the killer to be who it was. I really liked this book. I didn’t want it to end. The story was well written and I devoured it from the very first page I was completely hooked. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you crooked lane books and netgalley for letting me read and review this book. It was amazing!!!

I really liked this. You have romance, a small town, and a of of information about art. There are a lot of greats twists and turns and our protagonist is tough. She was kind of lacking any self preservation tough. I was pretty concerned about her.
The ending was good. It was interesting book.

Oh and I loved the ominous moment with the bird hitting the window.

I want to say…The first half of A Cruel Light by Cyndi MacMillan was nearly perfect. I absolutely adored the concept of solving this mystery by unveiling an intricate masterpiece ridden with mold.

Annora was called by her long time friend, mayor of Bliss River, to restore a hidden mural within the town’s parsonage. What the conservator was expecting was a favor to a sorority sister, but instead she found herself wrapped up in the reopened murder case of a beloved little girl. Would she help find the killer? Would she find a lot more than she bargained for along the ride?

I found myself frustrated by the resurgence of “case information” every few pages. All details should have been revealed to Annora at the beginning as she agreed to take on the project. Disguised as Mac (the constable working alongside Annora) trying to protect Annora and not divulge too much secure information about the case, it seemed as if the author was trying to include more details in order to keep the book extending beyond 150 pages. A few other details included (like the sudden introduction to a ghost) felt questionable.

Overall, the MacMillan’s creativity is admirable and I loved the concept of the story.

⭐️ 3/5

Cyndi MacMillan's crafted a fun yet disturbing, fast paced immersive read.

A thriller based on a painting? How can this be. An engaging who-dunnit, pararnormal, romance based on the restoration of a painting of a girl murdered 50 years ago.

Definitely recommend for an engaging read that's not too taxing. Thanks NetGallery for the ARC.