Hailey Lind Brush with Death

Brush with Death

Hailey Lind

Signet, Jul 2007, $6.99

ISBN: 0451221796

Annie Kincaid owns a faux-finishing business; her attempt to gain some respect from the art community. Her reputation does not allow her to work as an art restorer since she was arrested when she was seventeen and her grandfather is notoriously known as one of the great art forgers of all time. She presently works at the Chapel of Chimes, a columbarium, mausoleum and crematorium fixing faded art when she meets Cindy Tanaka at a nearby cemetery.

Cindy asks her if the reproduction of La Fornarina by Raphael could actually be the original. While they talk, two men dressed as goblins leave a package that they stole from the crypt that Cindy picks up just before leaving. Later Annie tracks down Cindy, but finds her dead. The police believe she committed suicide, but two people connected to La Fornarina end up hospitalized. Annie believes a killer is tying up loose ends so she starts snooping see if the link to Cindy is as strong as her gut feels it is. She almost becomes the next victim, but that does not stop prevent her from continuing her inquiries.

This is a humorous enjoyable amateur sleuth starring a roguish heroine who has larceny in her genes especially involving art forgeries. The puzzle of the painting leads curious Annie into some scary BRUSH WITH DEATH scenarios while the quirky support cast adds a sense of place to the plot. Hailey Lind provides a creative art of larceny thriller.

Harriet Klausner