This mystery gets off to a clunky start, with the author awkwardly presenting background from the previous book in this series. Penny's hallmark is the emotional luminosity of her writing, but that was only spottily in evidence here and there in the book, particularly in the ending. I had a hard time believing that jealousies and feelings in the art world are as murderous as portrayed in this book, but I still feel drawn to her village of Three Pines and the characters who appear throughout her series.