t little book. I like the fast pacing and that the author just takes us right in to the story and we skip all the stuff in between. This book takes the span of a month or so in the short 279 pages. What an interesting concept as well. An art restoration specialist brought it to recover a mold covered mural that will solve an old cold-case involving the murder of a little girl. How neat is that? I know very little of art, also can art be used as evidence? No idea, but it definitely was a great catalyst.

As Annura carefully uncovers the long forgotten mural someone in town doesn't want her to see the history of this small town unfolds. It seems like the artist put a lot of clues in this mural because each section sends Mac and Annura into a tale spin. Then the arson's start and more murders. There is just a lot packed in to the story. I know some think the pacing may be a bit too quick, but it's perfect for me. We don't stray into too many tangents, or go on 4 page soliloquies of a tree or something like that. We are at the heart of learning the history of our murdered little girl and everyone surrounding her.

I don't like withholding things though, we are reading the the MCs perspective and she learns something or sees something but we have to wait until she mulls it over before we get to know what that something is! I know who did it! Well....who was it?

This story actually has a sweet little romance going on with 0 spice but 100% sweet. Love Mac and Annura together.

We also have some paranormal aspects with some ghosties and a haunted ghost tour, and a history of thinking this house was haunted. My brain was going, "is this a haunting or are we hallucinating because of the toxic mold?" So we have many genres going on.

I think that sneaky ghost story was done really well, the romance was sweet, and the mystery was enjoyable. I think this was a really well done novel.

This thriller will keep you staying up all night. This small town holds the key to the mystery killing of a young girl, and the answer has been in front of the town for decades in the form of a mural.
The plot twist is beyond imaginable and will keep you guessing throughout the book!

I love the narrator that was used. I am picky about voices for audiobooks. I really enjoyed the book. I kinda felt the ghost part was not the greatest at the end. I wish the ghost part was more involved in the book rather then just the end this crazy ghost experience. Overall a good read.

Mac a detective and Annora an art restorer work together to solve a brutal child murder case.

It was really fascinating learning about the art restoration process especially in the crime solving capacity. It was a bit slow moving in the middle but the surprise ending was amazing . Although I found the middle slow the book was very fast paced and didn’t leave much time for character development

The cover is stunning , and I look forward to reading more from the author.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape media

I tried to listen to the audiobook version of A Cruel Light by Cyndi MacMillan and I could not really connect with the book. I feel like I really liked the idea of the book but I ended up not really enjoying it that much so I was unable to finish it.

I got an audio copy of this one.
I think it was a decent book but it didn't wow me. Couldn't connect with the main character and although the mural premise was haunting the whole plot just wasn't interesting enough and I probably had it figured out about a third of the way into it. Overall I just wasn't interested in it enough and it might have just been me and not necessarily a reflection on the book itself.

A Cruel Light was a very unique read. Written by Cyndi MacMillan, readers go on an adventure through an art conservator who is called in to assist in the uncovering of an old piece of art on the walls in the parsonage.

There are a lot of layers as Annora uncovers the piece little by little. I was fascinated by her work in conserving the piece and how meticulous and time consuming the work is. I also enjoyed the romance in this book, but that's about it. It was far too messy for me. I enjoyed it for its uniqueness, but I felt like it was unmemorable once I put it down.

This book had such promise! I was so intrigued by the idea of a piece of art revealing clues + evidence to a cold case that has haunted a small town ever since the murder occurred. "Cold Case" was one of my favorite crime series, silly ghost appearances aside. I never understood that. Were Lilly + the team supposed to be psychic? Is everyone from Philly psychic? Must be the cheesesteaks. 

Anywho, this story left me out in the cold. It's told through the POV of Annora, an art conservator who is hired by her old sorority sister Lilith, now the mayor of tiny Bliss River, Ontario, to come and restore a mural no one knew about, discovered during recent renovations to an old building. I swear they called it a parsonage, but elsewhere I've seen it referred to as a Victorian mansion. Is that the same thing? Honestly, it doesn't matter. What matters is that this mural was painted by Bliss River's favorite artist son: Kingsley Boyland. Or so says Anorra after she saw several others of his paintings and declares it MUST be his work. Also, the entire town is pissed that Anorra is even there bothering with this, because 1. Who cares about a little dead girl from 50+ years ago who no one liked anyway because her mom, GASP, wasn't married? and 2. Anorra showing up has shut down restoration work on the rest of the building so no one is working, or getting paid. Hold up -- A shitty work/life balance where if you're not working you're not worthy of being paid? Is this story taking place in Canada or the US?   

So in our book stew we have: 1. A cold case; 2. Interesting evidence that needs investigating; 3. Creepy, gothic, dilapidated building that's probably haunted (it's definitely haunted); 4. A strong, independent woman to eventually solve the case but be terrorized along the way 5. A sexy cop to save our fair lady (I think he's supposed to be sexy, I don't remember a description of him, ever. Unlike Anorra who brags SEVERAL times that she looks like Sandra Bullock but hotter). Sounds like a recipe for success, right?

Much like Rachel's ruined trifle on "Friends", the author tossed in a layer of beef sautéed with peas and onions. There were too many characters, all intertwined and either former partners/spouses, or half-siblings, or somehow or another related, like any typical backwater small town. (Small towns can give the Hapsburgs a run for their money on inbreeding..#iykyk) Having grown up in just such a small inbred town, I could look past the inbreeding. The issue I had with this is it felt like everyone was a clone of everyone else. (Broken Record: Duh, inbreeding.) Even though characters were introduced with backstory + context related to the murder, no one ever felt fully developed. It was like: "Oh! That's so-and-so, you know, so-and-so's ex? Yeah, they work at such-and-such place, hang out with so-and-so down at the bar, don't ya know." If you're confused, good, because that's literally how it unfolds. May the odds be in your favor at unraveling that mess.   

The only thing I did enjoy was the author's disgustingly graphic description of both the murder + Anorra's car accident as a child. It was grotesque, especially as I was chopping up vegs for pico de gallo, that my partner, who happened to walk into the kitchen while it was playing, proclaimed loudly, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LISTENING TO?!" 
What can I say? I'm an informative murder porn obsessed millennial. Let me have my little bit of joy in these unprecedented days of our lives. 

Things I didn't like: 

1. Egghead. A week after meeting each other -- with pretty much zero setup -- a romance blooms out of literally nowhere between Anorra + Mac. His..."affectionate" nickname for Anorra? Egghead*. Literally: wtf is that? But oh! It's soooo adorable to Anorra! And she asks Mac what she can call him that's like Egghead! Mac's answer: Scott. No, not Scottie, you fool! -- only his grandma got away with calling him Scottie. Just plain 'ol Scott will do. Which is his first name. How romantic...
*I was listening to this on audio, and this is what it sounded like. Maybe I misheard the narrator and it was something that actually sounds endearing*

2. Weird motherly obsession. When we first meet Anorra, she talks about how wonderful her life is: not being married, not having children, being able to move freely + independently to wherever the wind blows her to restore priceless pieces of art. Basically, she's a boss-ass bitch. But as she's working on the restoration, she starts to develop what she constantly refers to as a "motherly obsession" for Rosemary and I just found it so fucking weird. Like she goes to the cemetery and promises to keep coming back. I understand developing an affection for your research subject (I've been there with my own family genealogy) but to refer to that affection as "motherly" makes no sense. Idk if the author was trying to tie in an eldest daughter syndrome thing here (considering Anorra's tragic past, that's the most likely answer) or what, exactly it was supposed to be. It was just bizarre.  

3. Anorra and her judgey-bitch era. The only reason Anorra comes to this podunk town to restore this art piece is because her friend from university happens to be the mayor and hires her for the job. The first night, Anorra stays with the mayor + her husband and things are...tense to say the least. But instead of being a good friend, and inquiring as to what is going on, Anorra avoids all conversation with her "friend" and even bails on her invite to stay with them for the duration of the restoration period. Anorra instead chooses to get up early the next morning and leave before anyone is awake, and stays at the rundown parsonage/mansion building, using the excuse of being able to work on the art at all hours to try and finish ahead of schedule. Without sharing too much, there is something going on with Anorra's mayor friend that is revealed, but, once again, instead of reaching out to her friend about what she's discovered, Anorra sits in judgement at what she considers shitty choices to the point she doesn't even want to talk to her friend.
Meet, Anorra: Little Miss Perfect.
*eye roll*

I was torn on this one. I liked the idea of it, but I found it very fast paced and a little hard to follow.

This was a slightly confusing police procedural. Annora is an art conservator who is commissioned to restore a painting the police believe hold the secret to a child murder from decades earlier. As Annora gets to work, crazy things start happening and someone is determined to keep the secret buried. It was fast paced and a little hard to follow the story. By the time the killer was revealed, I didn’t entirely remember who she was. Overall, it wasn’t a terrible listen on audio.

I wasn’t entirely clear on where the painting came from, or how on earth the police knew it would hold the answers to the murder, when they couldn’t even initially see it.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings for SA,child murder and references to suicide

Gothic,dark and thrilling, this fast paced mystery will pull you in and keep you interested until the very end. Annora Garde travels the world restoring art pieces. The traveling suits her as she has spent most of her life running from a tragedy that happened when she was young. When Annora's college friend calls her and asks her if she can come and help restore a recently uncovered mural she is not sure she wants to go but when she learns that it could solve the murder of a young girl she agrees to go the small town her friend is the mayor of. When Annora meets policeman Mac sparks fly even if she doesn't want them to. Before she knows it her life's in danger and the town is rocked by arsen. Can she and Mac solve the crime before it is too late.

I was impressed by Nan McNamara's narration and the great writing.

A delicious dive into art restoration alongside a twisting mystery, A Cruel Light was a tremendously fun listen! I genuinely couldn’t wait for another opportunity to listen to find out what really happened to Rosemary!

A Cruel Light is a taught thriller about an art restoration specialist pulled into a cold case of the murder of a young girl decades earlier when a hidden mural of the victim is found badly damaged in a Victor age during renovations. The mural has severe mold damage but it is thought to hold the secrets to what happened to the girl all those years ago and that possibly the artist might even be the killer. The story unfolds as our brave MC is besieged with setback after setback stalks the restoration and even several attempts on her life take place. The entire town is terrorized by random fires that destroy buildings homes and even the vicarage is threatened. Can the crime be solved will a killer finally be brought to justice? This audio book was fantastic and had me on the edge of my seat clear to the last pages. I found the ending a bit strange and it left me expecting a bit more from the story. However, overall I really enjoyed the book and look forward to more from this author. The book was well done and kept my attention.

i was looking forward to listening to this book, but i missed the archive date! I will buy it on audible though!

Suspenful and compelling myst3 that the narrator did an excellent job bringing across. I loved the extra dimension with the romance element overall a great debut

This story was good but it seemed to be rushed. It just feels like the detail could have been written better. The details of the storyline around the painting seemed to be lacking. The overall twist was surprising enough in the end but again, that seemed rushed. It seemed more about whoever was trying to kill the main character than it was about actually putting the details together in a cohesive way.

I LOVED this novel. I listening to it on Audio and it held my attention (which can be admittedly hard to do when I’m listening to a book). I loved the gothic feel of it, with thriller, romance, and paranormal arcs thrown in. The plot line was fast pasted, but not too fast to where I couldn’t keep up. The narrator did a wonderful job. I never knew I would be so invested in restoring a piece of art, but here I am! I was entranced!

Annora is an art restoration specialist and when her sorority sister called, she answered. When she gets on location, the situation is worse than she realized, and more urgent. A mural was painted in a parsonage, and it is absolutely covered in mold. And that painting? It is police evidence, potentially holding clues to a decades old homicide. And someone doesn’t want those clues uncovered.

I received this as an audio galley to listen to for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for giving me access.

A painting with visible and hidden secrets about a cold case. I am here for it all. Being MacMillan's debut, I would happily read anything else that they write. I was intrigued the whole time, even with some predictable plot twists.

I thought this book started out great. The art aspect of the book was super interesting, but by the middle it just started to lose me.

A young girl was murdered decades ago. A parsonage being renovated brings to life an old portrait of the victim. Art conservator, Annora Garde is hired to clean the painting and expose what lies buried within it. Inspector, Scott MacGowan is convinced the mural is a confession that will solve the cold case. Together, Scott and Annora try to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

I liked the idea of solving a murder through a painting. But unfortunately I had a hard time getting into it. It was just dull and never pulled me in. I just didn’t have much interest in the story. That’s on me. The narrator did a great job. She is what made the story less monotone. I hope others enjoyed it. If you like art conservation and murder mysteries, this book is for you.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, the story was interesting but the character development brought me down to 3 stars.

-spoilers ahead-

The female lead is honestly an amazing character. She is so fleshed out that I can really imagine who she is as a person. She is educated, travelled, skilled, empathetic, independent, and brave. Down to her snack choices, I truly loved her. What I don’t get is why she fell for the small town cop. It just felt so rushed, and then all of a sudden they were kissing, but there was just no tension there. There kept being little mentions to remind the reader of her clicking biological clock and how maybe she longs for the simple small town life. But honestly, it just seemed out of character. She is a strong person who has a fulfilling life and no real connection with Mac. If she had ended up quitting her job and moving in, I honestly would have been so disappointed. Luckily, the ending of the book seemed to match what her normal love life would have been. She resumed her traveling and they had planned vacations together.

The story itself was an interesting concept. I enjoyed the lightly supernatural elements, but I could have used even more of them, honestly. At times it felt like the story was moving slowly and then everything happened all at once. The mystery itself was good, but I wish there was a little more tension to throw me off the scent of the real killer. As soon as the paintings completed by the real killer were described, I knew who it was. Overall, it was a good book, but I am not sure I would read more if there were a sequel with their love story in it.