Art of Murder by Elaine Viets

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Helen Hawthorne has held a lot of dead end jobs in her time—it’s a long story, but involves an ex-husband who wanted alimony—but she’s settled into being a private eye. This time around, she was just touring a wonderful historic home when a woman in an art group dies suddenly.  It appears to be natural causes at first, but Helen one of the woman’s friends insists Annabelle must have been poisoned and hires Helen to investigate.  Helen goes undercover as an aspiring artist to try to discover who had motive, means, and opportunity. 

Meanwhile, Helen’s new husband Phil has a case of his own, involving a thief who targets upper floor condos and who may have murdered one of the residents.

Viets has done several series, but the Dead End Jobs series in one of my favorites. As Helen takes on new temporary positions, I learn about what it takes to be a salesperson, telemarketer, etc.  And yes, Viets really did work all of these odd jobs in real life, so she knows her subjects!

I also thoroughly enjoy the south Florida setting and the strong supporting cast who all live at an older apartment building with a spritely landlady.  I love mysteries, but I also like well-developed characters who change and grow as a series progresses.  I may have figured out whodunit before the end of the book, but the journey was a pleasure—helped along, I have to say, by Phil’s hare-brained scheme to catch a thief which had me giggling as I walked on the treadmill. The mix of interesting characters, well-considered plots, good locations, and a dollop of humor is just up my alley.

Sadly, this was the last in this series so I would advise starting with an earlier book. In order:

Shop Till You Drop

Murder Between the Covers

Dying to Call You

Killer Blonde

Just Murdered

Murder Unleashed

Murder with Reservations

Clubbed to Death

Killer Cuts

Half-Price Homicide

Pumped for Murder

Final Sail

Board Stiff

Catnapped!

Checked Out

The Art of Murder

Viets is the author of several different series, so be sure to check them out!