Blog Tour and Book Review: DEATH A SKETCH - A Paint & Shine Mystery by Cheryl Hollon

 

In eastern Kentucky, Miranda Trent runs a unique tour company called Paint & Shine, but sometimes the peaceful mountains play host to murder . . .

 

Miranda’s business—combining Appalachian adventure tours with art and a bit of moonshine—is the perfect place for an outdoor sporting goods company to hold an employee retreat. It’ll be a challenge, but the money they’re paying will definitely help with building her new distillery.

Miranda has lots of teamwork-fostering activities planned, from sketching classes to Southern cooking, but the executive running things prefers a more competitive spirit. In fact, after the workers are split into teams, they’re told that only the winners will keep their jobs, and tensions begin to spike. Even after a participant is found dead, the contest continues—while Miranda starts drawing her own conclusions about the ambitious attendees. Now she just has to find the proof . . .

Review:

Miranda's on a mission - make enough money with her tour company to building her new distillery. Only there's a deadline on that. The combination of great scenery, art, and moonshine for her usual tours isn't enough. Hence her venture into the corporate world with what she envisions as a team-building experience. Unfortunately, the people in charge of the company have very different ideas, pitting the employees against each other. The silver lining is reconnecting with her old friend, Rowena, only Rowena is obviously fearful of losing her job if things don't work out.

If it had been her choice and she didn't need the money, Miranda would have cancelled the mess especially after the murder. Only the people in charge insisted it continue. Unfortunately, the misfortunes continued as well with an interesting cast of suspects. The bright spot is the forest ranger, Austin Morgan, with more than a passing interest in Miranda.

The characters are well-developed, especially Miranda, Austin, and others in the town. The plot played out with twists and turns, and a surprising ending. Hollon has done a great job of combining eco-themes with art and mystery, a cute dog named Sandy, and a budding romance. I look forward to reading more in this series, and have already bought the first one. Although this is the third  in the series, it can easily be read out of order. If you like cozy mysteries with a strong female MC, you'll enjoy this one.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.

About Cheryl Hollon

Cheryl Hollon now writes full-time after she left an engineering career designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for oil painting and creating glass art. 

Cheryl and her husband live in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Visit her online at http://cherylhollon.com, on Facebook or on Twitter @CherylHollon.

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