Artistic License

by Julie Hyzy

Two months ago Annie Callaghan thought she'd planned for every contingency. After five years in a bad marriage she filed for divorce, began to pursue her dreams of being a full-time artist, and quit her job to work for herself. Now, well on her way to a brand-new start with her mural painting business and her handsome new client, life finally holds promise again. But, as she finds out, things are not always what they seem. An unexpected pregnancy and the intrusion of her loser, soon-to-be-ex-husband back into her world send things into a tailspin. Determined to get back on track and get her life together by using a little artistic license, Annie inadvertently puts events in motion that sweep her into a maelstrom of intrigue involving a stolen masterpiece, a powerful lawyer with questionable connections, and a murder for which she's the prime suspect. Julie A. Hyzy lives in Chicago's southwest suburbs.

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Cozy

344 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

New York Times bestselling author, Julie Hyzy, has won the Anthony, Barry, Phobos, and Derringer Awards for her fiction.

Novels include:
Virtual Sabotage
The White House Chef Mystery series
The Manor House Mysteries
Deadly Blessings
Deadly Interest
Dead Ringer
Artistic License
Playing With Matches


Visit:
www.juliehyzy.com

Reviews

[Book Concierge]

From the book jacket: Two months ago, Annie Callaghan made a mistake. She thought she’d planned for every contingency. After five years in a bad marriage she filed for divorce, began to pursue her dreams of being a full-time artist, and quit her job to work for herself. Now, well on her way to a brand-new start with her fledgling mural painting business and her handsome new client, life finally holds promise again. But, … [now she is in the center of] a maelstrom of intrigue involving a stolen masterpiece, a powerful lawyer with questionable connections, and a murder for which she’s the prime suspect.

My reactions
I came to know Hyzy through her White House Chef cozy mystery series. A challenge to read an author’s debut work had me looking back at a number of favorite author’s first works, which is how I came across this one.

I liked Annie Callaghan, though I wanted to slap her several times for her poor decision-making. I also really liked her new love interest, a stand-up guy who is mature and steady and genuinely concerned about her. The other characters, including the detective, seemed a little too cookie-cutter and/or straight out of central casting. The lawyer’s wife was a stereotypical bimbo, her kids were complete brats, the bodyguard and lawyer came from every bad Mafia movie, and her ex-husband and his best friend (the complete loser, Pete) had disaster written all over them.

Don’t misunderstand, though. I got hooked on the storyline and was entertained by the entire book. It was a quick, fast read that didn’t require much thinking. Perfect for an escape from all the stuff that’s going on in real life right now.

[Grey853]

My biggest problem is that I didn't like the main character at all. She's divorcing her husband, but finds out she's pregnant by the loser. He's presented as a thief and an asshole. It begs the question as to why she can't send the rat on his way. Why does she let him get away with so much like taking her to bed, demanding bail, and then moving into her house again after she threw him out? She's like nearly every wimpy woman I've ever met who can't seem to say no and mean it without another man in the wings. I was extremely put off by the characters and the personal part of the storyline.

Also, halfway through the book, the point of view suddenly starts changing, like the author can't decide what the story is really about and where to focus the attention.

This one was a major thumbs down for me.

[John]

I thought that the author's female and male protagonist were quite unnatural in their judgement and expression of feelings as well as their interaction to the remaining characters. In my opinion this book is not up to Julie Hyzy's great recent efforts.

[Dlora]

This is author Julie Hyzy’s debut novel and as such I was expecting it to be not so good. I was surprised by how good it was, although not as polished and well-crafted as her later novels. My favorite series are her White House chef books. I was tickled by the book blurb from William Kent Krueger because I’d just read his excellent first book in his Cork O’Connor series. He said, “A strong heroine [I liked the heroine but thought she was majorly stupid in allowing her soon-to-be ex-husband to manipulate her so much], a winning romance [yep, I agreed with that], and nail-biting suspense [hmm, maybe not nail biting but interesting bad guys ranging from incompetent bunglers to conniving arrogant selfish bastards keeping the story line rushing forward], what more could you ask for in a mystery?” I’d love to have heard more about main character Annie Callaghan’s painting abilities and techniques; that was interesting. Annie’s Uncle Lou was a hoot. I wish there had been more depth to the love interest; Sam is almost too good to be true. So though I liked the book much better than I was expecting, it still was a bit lightweight at times.

[Ellen White]

Enjoyed others by the author this was a little scattered. Like the woman in the story, Trying to straighten her life and dreams, she became the center in a murder investigation, given audio and was enjoyable for my voluntary review

[Carol Palmer]

Fun, interesting, great characters, loved the ending, what more can I say? For anyone who enjoys mysteries, this is a great choice.

[Dani Graf]

Eh.

[Anita]

I could not even get halfway thru this book. Although the writing was fine, the main character was so stupid that I just could not read another word.

[Matt]

Having read two of Hyzy’s most recent series, this book, written years earlier, is much more thorough and detailed than either the White House Chef Mysteries or Mansfield Manor books. The book seems to move away from the lighter fare the two aforementioned series promote and actually presents a realistic mystery and romance that has the reader pushing forward and, for most, not rolling their eyes with bad puns and silly sleuthing. While some seem to be torn as to whether it is a mystery or a romance novel, the book is surely both, perhaps forging ahead into the romance mystery genre. That said, it is nothing that many of the great mystery writers have not penned already, placing it nicely in a well-stocked niche.

Hyzy does well laying out a back story for the main character that is both amusing and angst-filled. The story and plot are highly realistic and could surely come to pass without raising too many questions. Sure, there is the cheesy romance that one can see from a mile away, but it is also one that shows some nuance and maturity. The last third of the book pushes the whodunit to the forefront, though the reader can surely piece together some of the clues to bring it all together. Nothing is overly ‘trap door in the floor’ about the tale, but it does entertain and is surely worth the investment.

I highly enjoyed seeing a more mature writing style and can only wonder if Hyzy used it in her Alex St. James series. Kudos to you, Madam Hyzy for a job well done and a book well worth my time.

[Nancy]

An unexpected pregnancy and the intrusion of her soon-to-be-ex-husband back into her world send Annie into a tailspin. Determined to get back on track and get her life together by using a little artistic license, Annie inadvertently puts events in motion that sweep her into a maelstrom of intrigue involving a stolen masterpiece, a powerful lawyer with questionable connections, and a murder for which she's the prime suspect. Annie is hired to paint a mural on an ice cream store whose owner is attracted to her - it is mutual. She tells Sam Morgan her whole history and he is supportive. In the mean time she begins working for a family where the husband is a lawyer and deals in stolen art. Annie's almost ex husband is murdered by this man's bodyguard after he (Gary) steals Annie's key and security code for the client and attempts a robbery. Eventually the lawyer and his bodyguard as well as Gary's partner in crime, Pete, are captured and Annie and Sam get together.

[Patti]

I really loved the main character, Annie Callaghan, in this book. She was human, she was learning how to take care of herself after a bad marriage, and building on her strengths for good future.

Annie's husband Gary's life was really spirally down the drain, especially after he developed a friendship with Pete. She'd already filed for divorce, and restarted her art career by painting murals. Gary moved back in with Annie after he said that he and Pete had been evicted, and she even let him help her with one of her murals. Things go from bad to worse as Gary and Pete attempt a robbery on one of Annie's clients, and Gary is killed. Annie needs to figure out how this all happened, and take care of herself and her newly discovered pregnancy.

Highly recommended!

[Judy]

I am Julie Hyzy fan because of her White House chef series and the Grace series about a historic home curator, so I jumped at a chance to read her first published mystery. Artistic License surprised me with its terrific tension and suspense, with just a bit of semi-steamy romance thrown in. This one kept me reading and biting my nails. Hyzy devised a complicated plot, and its suspense in the best definition of the term--the reader knows who the villains are and holders his/her breath witing for the protagonists and the bad guys to collide. Hyzy delivers. A great first outing and now I'm going to look up some of her other backlist books while waiting for the next Grace title.

[Wendy]

What a fun surprise! I love Julie Hyzy for her Manor House Mysteries and her White House Chef Mysteries so when I found out about this book I just had to take a look. It's a very different offering-what I would call a romance/suspense. Couldn't put it down! In the midst of a divorce Annie finds her self involved in an out of control hot mess with her soon to be ex, his lazy ex-con buddy and a mobster client for her hew mural business. I loved the romance and the descriptions of Annie's murals but I did keep asking myself what in the world a nice girl was doing with a guy like that. A great beach read!

[Ed]

Julie Hyzy debuted with this 2004 stand-alone mystery before embarking on her Alex St. James, White House Chef and Manor House series.

Mystery - Recently pregnant by the estranged husband from whom she is about to be divorced, Annie Callaghan begins a new career painting murals. Her first job brings her into contact with a fancy but secretive lawyer who may be able to help with her divorce. She is bothered by the unwanted intrusiveness of her husband and his slimy roommate.

[Paty Jager]

I lost interest because of the back and forth in time. Rather than showing the scene as it happened the character thought back to scenes that would have made the book better by staying chronological. The characters were interesting.

[Teesa]

Early glimpse into what is to come. An introduction to Detective Lulinski who is a character continued in the Alex St James books that are my personal favorites. The story itself was a bit too predictable for me along with the characters, a nice cozy read regardless.

[Kelly]

I enjoyed the characters in this book and found it to be an interesting read. I guessed a few of the things that happened in the book before they happened, but it was still an entertaining story.

[Leslie Angel]

a good cozy. Main character is a muralist and there's a stolen Durer (can't do umlauts) and a love story too. Fun.

[Cary]

So I enjoyed her other White House Chef mysteries but this book had an identity crisis. Love story or mystery? It took 8 chapters to even get to some semblance of a mystery.

[Jan]

Loved the characters and the plot for the most part but could have done without the extensive romance novel-like love scene. Otherwise it was really very good and I'd love to see it become a series.

[Jennifer]

The author would make an excellent journalist. As a storyteller, she falls short.

[Gloria Rohde]

Kindle Book

[Lisa Swanepoel]

Well written, good romantic story with a little bit of a thriller in the mix

[Linda Haring]

Enjoyed the book. Julie hyzy has a very easy style to read. It was a little predictable but for my summer reading list, it was just perfect.

[Margaret Boehm]

Good mystery. Humorous.

[Liz V.]

I picked this up because I've enjoyed Hyzy's series: the White House Chef Mystery series and the Manor House Mystery series.

Artistic License was Hyzy's debut novel. Most enjoyable.

[J]

It was her first novel. The character was frustratingly dumb sometimes. Her books definitely get better.

[Mary]

I can see the promise of a good writer. This book was interesting; but fatally flawed in many ways. I found myself trying to get through; because the end really happened midway through the book.

[Jill]

easy read. predictable ending

[Penny]

Number One