Brush With Death

An Annie Kincaid Mystery #3

by Hailey Lind (Pseudonym), Juliet Blackwell

Working nights to restore murals in a building full of cremated remains is strange enough, but chasing a crypt-robbing ghoul through a graveyard is downright creepy.

In Brush with Death, San Francisco artist Annie Kincaid finds herself drawn into a decades-old mystery involving some illustrious graveyard residents and Raphael's most intimate portrait, dubbed La Fornarina, or "the little baker girl".

Could the Raphael "copy" hanging amidst funerary urns actually be the priceless original? Is the masked crypt-robber somehow connected to the Raphael? Or is the painting part of a larger puzzle involving Annie's unrepentant grandfather, master art forger Georges LeFleur, and an Italian "fakebuster" out to ruin him? Annie's under pressure to figure things out...before she finds her permanent home amongst the ashes.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Art, Cozy, Audiobook, Humor

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 3, 2007

About the author

This is a psuedonym for the author Juliet Blackwell and her cowriter/sister Carolyn.

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the best one yet of the three AND my next door neighbor wrote it. EVERYONE needs to read these books.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid plotting, and good use of local setting. I appreciated keeping the plot (pretty much) on the mystery, rather than on Annie's complicated, cluttered personal life.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 3rd installment of Hailey Lind's Art Lovers Cozy Mystery series, Brush with Death, Annie Kincaid returned to solve another art theft-related mystery. Back at San Francisco's Brock Museum, she restored murals and chased a grave robber from stealing Raphael's "Little Baker Girl" painting. She needed to prove, if it was a copy or the real deal. Or if he was involved Annie's grandfather or an Italian art forger. It was now up to Annie to figure things out, before she became one of the cremated remains in a graveyard.

[C.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really love this series. Once again Annie Kinkaid stumbles upon an art mystery. Annie remains a delightful heroine, talented, flaky, and as snarky as ever. He journey to straight and narrow respectability gets a leg us in this one, but that only makes her personal life, and the two men competing for entry to it, all that much messier. Lots of fun along with lots of art history and facts.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third in the series

All the usual characters were back. Takes place mostly in Oakland, where Annie is restoring some artwork at a chapel/cemetary. A little disappointed with some of Annie's decisions in the love dept., but I'm seriously into this series!

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fast-moving mystery story involving the art world. As I have a passing appreciation of many forms of art, I knew somewhat about how to make sure you don't overpay when purchasing any art, because of the growing trend of faux-artwork because many people want to display copies in their homes but want it to look as if they have the real thing. Because we have many nouveau-riche in America, there's a big push for this. But there's still the issue of authenticity rating.
Our main character Annie Kincaid is the grand-daughter of a famous art forger, who even wrote a book on his famous fakes, named George LaFleur, who is currently in hiding from the authorities because a person named Donato Sandino was looking for him. Unknown to both of them, their skill in differentiating fakes from original art was needed concerning a painting by Rembrandt know as La Fornarina that was missing from the museum that it was on display, and it was presumed to have been given by mistake to Julia Morgan, the architect of the columbarium, that Annie was working in to restore certain pieces of artwork murals. On one of the evenings, she was working, she saw a light shining on the grave of Loius Spencer so she went to investigate and met Cindy Tanaka, who was photographing the interior of the grave as part of her thesis for her studies, so she claims. While they were talking someone came running out of the area by the grave dressed in a green goblin type custom. When chased by Cindy and Annie he got away but dropped a box, which appeared after being examined to have come from Louis Spenser's mausoleum. Both of the women go back and find that one section had been moved by the sepulcher and tools had been left behind. They close up the mausoleum and exchange information with Cindy taking the box and Annie going back to work. Cindy did ask Annie to go check the copy of La Fornarina in the columbarium when she had a chance. The next morning, when Annie checks, she finds a digital copy that doesn't match the brass tag claiming it was a copy by Crispen Engels made in 1871. She consults with the director of the facility, Roy Cogswell, who refers her to the accountant Manny Ramirez, to answer a question on the assessment made on the painting, which when it is found answers her doubt about the digital copy that is hanging and makes her wonder where's the painting. Between dealing with her old partner Michael X Johnston and her landlord Frank DeBenton who are both looking for the La Fornarina painting and those who were attempting to absconce it, the story becomes a version of a Pink Panther escapade. It was a nice little read.

[Imjussayin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brush With Death: An Art Lover's Mystery 3
Reading in chronological order is recommended.

In A Nutshell: Annie is busy earning her crust faux finishing murals in the Columbarium crypt. A midnight stroll finds Annie chasing robbers and making friends with a grad student who says the Columbarium's Little Baker Girl by Raphael is the original. And soon after that Annie finds the graduate's body but Annie does not believe it is suicide. But it's an Annie story, so there is more, Annie's inquiries into Raphael's work lead to her precious grandfather master art forger Georges LeFleur being threatened! Another most entertaining Art Lover's Mystery

The Plot: Where is the original Raphael's Little Baker Girl?

The Protagonists: Annie spent her teenage years forging Old Masters with her grandfather in Europe. After a spell in a European jail, Annie has returned to America setting herself up as a respectable faux finisher in San Francisco. Inbetween fired by the Brock. There is something naive and yet appealing about Annie. She embodies joie de vivre although she is too trusting, a tad frustrating but feisty and comedic.

I am enjoying this series a great deal. It is a fun, well-written educational romp. The downside, I would like to see a more independent Annie. The love interests are wearing, but they make less of an appearance in this story.

Recommended.
Go for it 😉

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was irking me when I was reading it before because she acts like she is constantly on the run from the authorities for something her grandfather made her do when she was a minor. But I remember the mysteries being interesting enough and I didn't have anything else ready to read.

In this one she is working in a cemetery refinishing some stuff. There is a rumor that one of the paintings in the church is real, and of course Annie has to investigate. A couple people die, and the trouble starts.

There is the stuff that I remember making me mad from the other books, like her landlord tells her that she isn't allowed to associate with a man suspected to be an art thief. It's going to ruin his reputation and lose him business if his clients somehow find this out. Um what? Why would they be looking into the backgrounds of his tenants? How would they know they ran into each other in the street and said hi? Doesn't he have his own checkered past to worry about? Whatever - I think he was just jealous because that guy is sexy.

Also the cops are always mad at her for giving too little or too much information. No matter what she does, it's wrong.

But the end is exciting with a mudslide of bodies from unmarked graves.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series, and while this book wasn't my favourite, it was still lots of fun to read!

Annie's world is one big loony bin of crazy characters, ridiculous situations, and all kinds of nutty fun happenings for a reader.

This book had a little less of the really clever and funny snappy repartee of the previous books, but there was some, and the slapstick nature of the ridiculous situations Annie continuously ends up in the middle of are just plain fun to read!

I really do love this series, and Annie's attempts to go straight while navigating between two very different potential love interests [both of whom are ALSO tons of fun!] is just plain ticklingly entertaining. I will definitely continue with this series! A great cozy series, highly recommended!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm an artist all my life so I read this book with great interest. This book was written by two sisters, one is an author, the other is an artist.

Intriguing story of a woman who is working to restore murals, an area near a funeral park. A mystery happens while the renovations take place. Interesting that artwork may have been stolen, what is missing?

Problem with the story is the way the chapters, the events, descriptions of scenes, action, dialogue, etc., are compressed, I felt I didn't have chances to digest the information given to me thru each chapter. Third of the way thru the book & I became exhausted of all the info, back stories of characters, etc., seemed as if the story was being over-told, I couldn't finish the book.

[Kathy Kennerley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! This author is excellent! It's so much fun traveling around the San Francisco area with Annie as she balances her work and being caught between friends and family on both sides of the art world. The scenes at the cemetery were gorgeous. I really enjoyed this mystery!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun art lovers mystery! I love this series. I found Annie a little less likable in this book than in previous, as she is kind of careless with her friends’ and flames’ feelings, but I thought the mystery was great and the climax thrilling.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!! Juliet Blackwell never disappoints. I listened to this on audiotape and enjoyed it so much. Great mystery, greater characters. Love the art history, and San Francisco setting. Pretty much a flawless story.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good humorous mystery set in the Art world in Oakland and SF. Annie Kinkaid has to locate a valuable painting near a cemetery and deal with various characters. There are others in the series. Took me longer than I thought to finish it.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is a favorite.

[Lisa Tollefson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series, and I like that there's a bit of overlap in characters from at least one of her others. As always, X E Sands does a fine job of reading.

[Carrie Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://mrslibrocubicularist.blogspot...

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually laughed more through this book than the others in this series. And of course I adore the Narrator. She makes these characters come alive!

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining plot with an art history storyline. This was fun.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The love triangle angle is killing me.

I enjoy the art element and wish that it was more prevalent.

[Blythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly but no harm done. A light read. Enjoyed the art angle.

[Francy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad that this just a four book series. So many chuckles.......

[Willow Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm on a cozy mystery binge, but I really enjoyed this read. Something about the art/painterly setting really "drew" me in! (Okay, yeah, that was cheesy!)

[Cindy]

Brush With Death

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

[Sarah Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series and this might be my favorite one

[Machell Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brush With Death

I sincerely hope there will be more of these books! I have enjoyed reading the first three in the series and I highly recommend them.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

#3 of a series - more of the same but I enjoy the locations in the San Francisco area and the book featured columbariums & graveyards!

[IslandRiverScribe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story begins about 6 months after the conclusion of “Shooting Gallery,” the second novel in the Art Lover’s Mystery series. Annie Kincaid is working to restore two murals at an area columbarium when she takes a midnight break, strolling through the attached cemetery. She finds a grad student at a grave, photographing the crypt for her thesis on public grieving. Finding out that Annie is an art restorer, the grad student tells her that the columbarium’s copy of a famous Raphael painting may not really be a copy but the original. Before Annie can get more information, a masked grave robber, hiding in the very crypt being photographed, attacks them.

Knowing that the original Raphael is supposed to be in an Italian museum, Annie inspects the columbarium’s gallery. She quickly determines that the painting in question is definitely not the original and is not even the certified centuries-old copy that it is supposed to be. It is, in fact, a recently digitized computer print. Annie then asks Frank DeBenton to use his art security company’s contacts to verify the originality of the Raphael in Italy.

Almost immediately, the grad student is murdered, Annie is assaulted, and a web of lies and extortion is perpetrated. Everyone is lying. Those associated with the grad student are lying. The employees and volunteers for the columbarium are lying. Michael Johnson is definitely lying (those spots are never going to change). Even Frank is lying, if only by omission. And Annie has been so indoctrinated since childhood to fear the police that she cannot bring herself to tell them the whole truth either. Soon the fallout from all the deception becomes life threatening.

But it is the request for Frank to contact the Italian museum that serves as the catalyst for not one, but two, extortions. One threatens Annie’s existence; the other threatens her grandfather’s. At this point, the stage is set, so to speak, and we expect the next 300 pages to take us tensely but naturally to an acceptable resolution, as occurred in the first two books. However, when Annie discovers who is complicit in the threat against her grandfather, we realize that the expected resolution is a myth and the author duo intends to wrench the story line in a 90-degree twist.

Hailey Lind incorporates art history with the history of San Francisco in a flowing manner. The author duo provides this background through Annie’s conversations and thoughts, laying out just enough information for the scenes and machinations to make sense.

Since we are viewing the world from Annie’s POV only, we are treated to both hilarious internal monologues and serious introspections into her motivations and actions. Therefore, this is not a spoof or a Stephanie Plum knock-off. Nor is it a warm and fuzzy cozy with an HEA guaranteed to please. This is a serious mystery with a serious protagonist who has serious problems in both her professional and personal realms. And she has no super abilities to rely on, either in intelligence or physical strength, only a determination to succeed and a lot of friends who care enough to help.

The backstories for the major characters are not summarized and the tale begins with the assumption that the reader is quite familiar with those characters. This entry also feels like a transition novel, basing itself on the events of the past, but using those events to propel both the protagonist and the reader in a new direction. There is one more book in the series, and we definitely leave this novel with a starting place for the next.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Art Lover's Mystery Series by Hailey Lind. This book opens with Annie Kincaid working on a restoration project at the Chapel of the Chimes Columbarium, which is adjacent to the Bayview Cemetery. She is working at night, as to not disturb the mourners who come during the day. On this particular night, she meets a young grad student by the name of Cindy Tanaka who is working on her dissertation of the phenomenon of public grieving. While they are talking at the crypt of a little boy who died in 1937, a masked man comes running out of the crypt. Cindy gives chase and manages to tackle the intruder, but he gets away leaving a small box that he had stolen from the crypt behind. Once Cindy finds out that Annie is an art restorer, she asks her a question about a copy of Raphael's La Fornarina that is hanging in the columbarium and if it might actually be genuine. Annie becomes intrigued and promises to take a look.

This small request leads Annie on quite the adventure. Annie once again finds a dead body, is attacked by 2 masked men, rescues Mary from kidnappers, tries to re-establish her friendship with Detective Annette Crawford, kisses Frank DeBenton, is rescued by Michael X. Johnson and generally leaves mayhem in here wake as she stumbles from one clue to another trying to make sense of what is going on.

I really like the amount of history and detail that is expressed to us about the San Francisco area and art in general. The twists and turns were very well thought out and kept me guessing almost to the very end. Each chapter of this book begins with a quote by a famous artist and an reply from Annie's infamous art forger grandfather, George LeFleur. They continue to subtly set the tone for each chapter and foreshadow what will be happening within it.

I really enjoyed this mystery and the tension between Annie, Frank and Michael keeps this potential love triangle exciting. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.