Skeleton in the Art Closet: A Watercolor Mystery by Gail Langer Karwoski

 

I feel like I've just spent a terrific weekend wrapped in the warmth of good times and friends. I hated to leave. Even in the midst of solving a murder, Jane and her artist friends are wonderful company, full of delightful chatter and quips. They're also wonderfully caring, albeit Jane finds herself frustrated at times when they become distracted and veer off subject. They're people you'll wish you knew, from energetic Pam's love for her not so well behaved Newfie, Tillie, Donna's tendency to faint when stressed, and Jane's laser focus, they are definitely people I'd love to know. Heck, besides Tillie's rambunctiousness, cats Levi and Lotus have personalities, too. In other words, I like them all.

Artists tend to see details many of us miss. I don't want to detail the plot too much and spoil things, but will tell you to pay attention to details. In this book, like a painting, tiny details build one layer at a time, often seeming innocuous, creating the whole picture. So, first, let's just say, the book title tells us how it all begins...but that's just the beginning. Skeletons, well, fake ones, aren't unusual in artist setting. Students and even accomplished artists use them to help visualize the whole body, so to speak. But, wait. There's a second skeleton and, yikes, this one isn't fake. Even worse, it's a child's skeleton. 

That sends the ever curious Jane, not to mention the police, off to find answers. Officer Beau Strickland treats her with respect, I was glad to see, as so often amateur sleuths are ridiculed and dismissed in cozy mysteries. So, how did a real skeleton get in the AAC facility's closet? Is it somehow connected to a loud, bottle throwing, oh, so angry artist? Are you claustrophobic? If so, stay out of the tunnel. And, if, like Pam, you tend to sneeze when dust flies, you should probably take an allergy med if you do ever have cause to venture into the tunnel. 

Sorry, no more teasers. I'll just say that like a skeleton, one clue is connected to another. One stroke of the brush, so to speak, allows Jane to finally paint the whole picture in her mind. I'll just add that a cemetery and broken human bones are involved, not to mention visits to an antique shop, orthopedist, and more. No, not spooky. Just puzzling. From the opening screams of a child to what was surely Jane's relief at the arrival of....oh, no, never mind. Too much.  You're just going to have to read the book. I'm betting, like me, you'll wish the painting group was in your group of friends, too. Highly recommended.