Book Blurb:
How do you catch a killer who thinks murder is art?
Michael Fisher sees himself as an artist rather than a killer and poses his victims to resemble famous paintings.
Detective Nick Kelly is called to attend the latest crime scene and finds himself at the centre of a media storm. But while the rest of the police department feels under pressure, Nick relishes the attention.
Karen Kelly, Nick’s soon to be ex-wife, watches in horror as this brutal game of cat and mouse plays out. But Karen has secrets of her own.
And when another body is found, Nick is disturbed to discover he knows the victim and things start to get a little too close to home.
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My Book Review:
RATING: 3 out of 5 Stars
THE ART OF MURDER by Rebecca Muddiman is a suspense/thriller by a new to me author. Each chapter alternates between the perspectives of the three main characters.
Detective Nick Kelly is on an NYPD team working the case of an unknown serial killer who poses his victims to replicate famous paintings. As the number of victims increases, the pressure is on from the media for more information. Nick’s superior does not want the public to know how the victims have been displayed, but Nick enjoys the spotlight and wants to release more information.
Karen Kelly is cohabitating unharmoniously with Nick as they wait for the court to decide which one of them gets their NYC apartment in their divorce. Karen owns an independent bookstore which is struggling financially and is generally unhappy with her life at this point in time. She meets a nice man on her birthday while she is out on her own, but she had such poor taste in picking Nick, she does not know if she can trust this charming new man.
Michael Fisher wanted to be a famous artist. His father belittled him and he dropped out of art school. Now he works on his personal masterpieces to replicate famous master paintings to prove his talent to his father and the world. The backdrops are painted, but the main figure is not. If you are squandering your true talent, Michael will make a painting to feature you.
I felt this book was predictable for about the first third of the story, but then the author does manage to insert a few curve balls that increase the suspense and pace. I enjoyed the serial killer in this book more than Nick and Karen. Nick is a narcissist in every sense of the word. Karen was a whiny wimp until the very end and I find it surprising that she even came through then, which somewhat limited the believability for me. This was a group of characters that I did not like, but the plot does have a few unique twists that carried me through to the end.
Thank you to Bloodhound Books for allowing me to read this eARC in advance of release.
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Rebecca Muddiman was born and raised in the North East and worked in the NHS for many years. She has published six crime novels – Stolen, Gone, Tell Me Lies, Murder in Slow Motion, No Place Like Home, and The Art of Murder. Stolen won a Northern Writers Award in 2010 and the Northern Crime Competition in 2012. She is also a screenwriter and was selected for the London Screenwriters Festival Talent Campus in 2016.
Most of her spare time is spent re-watching Game of Thrones, trying to learn Danish, and dealing with two unruly dogs. Sometimes all at the same time.
https://rebeccamuddiman.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/rebeccamuddimanauthor
