Painting with Fire

An Artistic Murder Mystery

By: K.B. Jensen

Narrated by: Cindy Piller

Claudia Wilson never quite trusted her roommate, an artist named Tom. After finding a body buried in a snow bank outside her front door, her suspicions about his eccentric behavior only worsen. Unemployed and obsessed with the murder, she realizes how little she knows about the people who live around her, including Tom. Tempted by love but unable to trust a man with a past in light of the murder, Claudia does everything she can to find out about the killer. The results lead her to a startling discovery. When art and violence collide, the results can be explosive.

©2014 K.B. Jensen (P)2017 K.B. Jensen

Great book, if a little far fetched

I enjoyed this book but found parts a little hard to believe, i.e. single woman meets man and hrs later let's him move in with her knowing nothing but his name. The same character continued to make not so bright decisions throughout the book that I can not list without giving spoilers. Otherwise, it's a good book! The narrator did a great job.
I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Captivating Listen

The author was new to me with this book. I found myself captivated by the mystery in this book. This book is part murder mystery and part romance. The romance aspect of this book I found far fetched in the terms of a single lady allowing a guy she just met to move in with her. The character Tom did not hold much appeal to me. He came across as a freeloader. Claudia was the main female character. She had some good points, but the character Angel was the most intriguing to me. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book more than the romance part. My review is not a synopsis of the book, but rather my opinion of it. I was voluntarily provided with this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher, and/or narrator. Regarding the performance of the narrator, I thought she was able to put a lot of emotions into her performance and gave the right amount of suspense. This was the second book I've listened to by the narrator.

Thriller with a Romance

What did you love best about Painting with Fire?

I loved the fact that I was kept guessing until the end. Every time I thought I had it figured out, Claudia would have an internal monologue the brought up extra questions and had me guessing all the way to the end.

What other book might you compare Painting with Fire to and why?

No other book comes to mind when I think of this book, however, I did think the story was well written and easy to follow. Also, I liked that the loose ends all get tied up. It drives me a little crazy when an author leaves a loose end.

What does Cindy Piller bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Cindy Piller has a voice that seems to perfectly suit the character of Claudia. She is able to portray emotions with different voice modulations and makes it able to distinguish which character is talking by different voices.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I loved the romance part. It was very well done. Not overboard, yet progressing at a believable pace.

Any additional comments?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Suspicion will drive you crazy

Where does Painting with Fire rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the top.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Claudia was tenacious in finding out who the killer is.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Stan the cop tells Claudia that Tom has a police record. This builds the tension even more.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Art imitating life

Any additional comments?

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review”.

Some mystery, a little romance.....

What made the experience of listening to Painting with Fire the most enjoyable?

Finding out who Angel is was a nice turn

Would you be willing to try another book from K.B. Jensen? Why or why not?

This book was okay so I'm sure I would

Which character – as performed by Cindy Piller – was your favorite?

Angel, an unexpected but evil character made the book a little more interesting

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Nothing extreme or terribly exciting here....

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

A Decent Murder Mystery

Painting With Fire was an okay listen. I found my mind wandering straying from the story quite a bit until a word or phrase brought me back in. The story seemed to jump around a lot. I liked it but didn't love it. For a first audiobook by K.B. Jensen, I think it was a good start.

What I enjoyed the most and I think what saved the story was the narrator.

Cindy Pillar's performance was excellent. She had a rich tone along with great voice inflections which kept me listening. She made this a more cohesive listen.

I was gifted this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Painting with Fire

Any additional comments?

If you ask me what kind of book is it, some can say detective, other will says it has something romantic and also something for every listeners.. This books covers a lot and is really a book of this century.You have to look at the cover too it's amazing

Great!!

I really enjoyed this story. The murder mystery was really well done and had me intrigued. The romance also fit perfectly into the story and didn't take away from the mystery. The narration was really good. I look forward to listening to more by this author and narrator.

You'll never trust your neighbours again...

Would you consider the audio edition of Painting with Fire to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version but the audio version is really good. Ms Piller is one of those narrators who make you forget it's not you who's reading the book - she reads so naturally it's like listening to your mother reading you a bedside story:) On a more serious note, I liked her interpretation of the novel a lot; she doesn't really act out any parts or situations, or only slightly changes her voice sometimes when it's necessary, for example to differentiate between two women having a conversation, other than that she just reads the book to you, but it sounds very natural and flows so smoothly that I never once lost track of what was going on or who was speaking... I do like this kind of narration a lot, I prefer it to one that is "overacted", with voices of the characters of the sex opposite to the interpretor's usually sounding really unnatural or slurred...- this is definitely not Ms Piller's case. Her interpretation of the book is clear, smooth and brings the story itself to the foreground.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The book starts with the main character Claudia finding a body on the doorstep of the house she lives in with a roommate she doesn't really know much about. Her neighbours are a colourful set of folks with their own problems, some bigger than others. But can she trust any one of them? And can she trust her roommate Tom? Especially that, as it turns out, the killer is definitely one of their flock and Tom has a police record and doesn't want to tell her what he did in the past... That's the starting point for the book which turns out to be a definitely engaging listen. Claudia tries to find out who killed the poor guy, discovering things about her neighbours she never suspected of them, discovering also things about herself she never realized before. This is not a police procedural, but it's also not a typical cozy mystery, I'd say. There's not much of an investigation going on in the foreground, it's just Claudia talking to her neighbours and to Tom, sometimes learning things and finding facts almost by accident, not really realizing how important the things she's got to know might be, and still it's an intriguing novel, keeping you listen until the end:) And, as it should be, the discovery of the killer is surprising and the ending itself is full of action and suspence:) To sum up, it was a really captivating listen and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes good, classic, a little Agatha Christie style crime stories:)

Which scene was your favorite?

It's difficult to choose one particular scene to call my "favourite"; K.B. Jensen is very good at painting the scenes with words... If I had to choose, I'd say the last few chapters would be my favourite part, when we discover who "Angel" is and what happens to Claudia and Tom right after that (but I can't give you more details here not to spoil anything for you:))
Generally, K. B. Jensen is a really good story-teller; the characters are intriguing, they feel real, and their actions and emotions stay true to their personalities. The plot develops smoothly, with some red herrings here and there and some twists on the way to keep your interest unwavered until the big finale:)

Any additional comments?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Passable Whodunit, Fun Story!

What did you love best about Painting with Fire?

Discovering who the killer was.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was well written and it was interesting enough to keep me listening.

What aspect of Cindy Piller’s performance would you have changed?

It was a bit difficult to tell who was talking. She needs to work more on different character voices.

Any additional comments?

This book was given to me for free by the author for an unbiased review of the material.