Color Me Murder

Pen & Ink Series, Book 1

By: Krista Davis

Narrated by: Rebecca Mitchell

By day, Florrie Fox manages Color Me Read bookstore in Georgetown, Washington D.C. By night, she creates her own intricately detailed coloring books for adults, filling the pages with objects that catch her eye. There's plenty of inspiration in her new apartment - a beautiful carriage house belonging to Professor John Maxwell, Florrie's boss. He offers the property to Florrie rent-free with one condition - she must move in immediately to prevent his covetous sister and nephew from trying to claim it.

When the professor's nephew, Delbert, arrives, he proves just as sketchy as Florrie feared. But the following morning, Delbert has vanished. It's not until she visits the third floor of the store that Florrie makes a tragic discovery - there's a trap door in the landing, and a dead Delbert inside. The esteemed Professor Maxwell is an obvious suspect, but Florrie is certain this case isn't so black and white. Doodling clues, she begins to consider other colorful characters on the scene, all with a motive for murder. With a killer drawing closer, Florrie will need to think outside the lines...before death makes his mark again.

©2018 Krista Davis (P)2018 Tantor

Color me murder slow start fantastic end.

The book Color me Picks up in the middle and has a great ending. Many colorful characters it occurs down in the DC Georgetown Alexandria area something I'm familiar with so I stuck it out and I'm glad I did I enjoyed the book.

Read in order

Great story line. Lots of ooooh, got to be him/her moments. Every one has a Norman.

Entertaining

Good, entertaining read. This was a new author for me and I will definitely be reading more of her books. I enjoy a good cozy mystery, and that is exactly what this series is.

COZY LIGHT

This was an enjoyable cozy with no sex or swearing. If a regular cozy has 5 common elements, this book has 2 of the elements. It was a nice change of pace from heavy murder mysteries and an enjoyable read before falling asleep. I've read the second book in the series and will read more .

excellent descriptions

greatly enjoyed the attention to detail in scene descriptions and subtle character building. but I did immediately figure out who the killer was, which is why it's four stars out of five

Color Me Happy

Such a cute cozy mystery. It was slightly off the beaten path and I truly enjoyed it

Not one of her better books…

This story was very hard to get through. I’ve read many Krista Davis books before (Diva Series) but this one really missed the mark. The story seemed disjointed and contrived. Did not enjoy it at all. I love reading series but I think I’ll pass on this one.

Color me murder

Good plot -well developed characters
Plausible outcome
Well done narration

Looking forward to next book by the author

Quite Original

I love cozy mysteries and we expect them to mostly use the same basic template...girl moves to new town to start a new life, inherited a bed and breakfast or shop, falls in love with cute law enforcement officer, finds dead body in her store or BnB. Except for the cute cop most of the plot felt original to me.

The writer included quite a few characters which in most books confuses me because the characters are not well developed nor is their purpose in the story clear. Then later I cannot keep track of who is who. For the most part I did not have too much trouble following the characters in this story. It helped that occasionally the writer connected them to the story again by referencing family affiliations or job related situations. Where I had a problem was when 2 people were having a conversation and the dialogue continued between them with no clarification as to who was talking.

Most of the characters in this story played a vital part in the plot and most were interesting. I completely liked the main character. She was smart, sharp, friendly and compassionate. No running into the dark alley alone to pursue the killer for her.

The mystery of the murder was intriguing and even though the actual murder was unique i did not find it interesting. But that did not detract from the hunt for the murder or murderers. Several of the characters were prime suspects but several others bore serious consideration. The relationship between different characters or situations was revealed gradually as they became known to the characters themselves. I could not at any point say I thought I knew who committed the crimes, and there were several different crimes during the story. Were they even connected? Maybe. I was still guessing right up until the big reveal including the reason for the murder and how it took place.

The narrator is questionable. While she did not do a terrible job a few times she became annoying. Her voice was slightly robotic with no natural flow, especially with a few specific characters. Her actual voice is pleasant and she read at a good pace. I believe I will read other books in the series.

Outstanding

Such a great cozy that kept me guessing. It's filled with humor, family love and romance that keeps you blushing