In the Frame (A Rosedale Investigation)
by Lyn Farrell
About In The Frame
In the Frame (A Rosedale Investigation)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Camel Press (January 10, 2023)
Paperback : 218 pages
ISBN-10 : 168492037X
ISBN-13 : 978-1684920372
Digital ASIN : B0B8Q11WG2
Rosedale Investigations team has two cases this time: a missing woman and a client who wants a provenance created for an antique painting. The missing woman dies in an accident but the team doubts it was accidental. Researching the century-old painting reveals that it’s considered cursed and then it’s stolen.
AUTHOR GUEST POST
Writing “In the Frame” was both challenging and enjoyable. I have long wanted to write about art research, provenance construction and how stories come to be associated with paintings. A client comes to Rosedale Investigations to ask them to construct a provenance for a century-old painting she has recently inherited. Billy Jo, the IT person for the business, wants to take the case, but is opposed by the senior partners. They insist that doing historical art research is not in their wheelhouse. Billy Jo knows they are right, but finally inveigles a two-week time period to look into the matter. At one point the owner of the artwork asks Billy Jo to put the painting in the safe at work. She agrees, but the next morning when the partners arrive, Billy Jo is missing, as is the painting, and a blood trail leads to the street. Figuring out a story line to explain why she was attacked and the painting stolen was a fun challenge.
My review:
Lyn Farrell is a new author to me, and this was a fun introduction to her work!
Billy Jo is a young lady working for Rosedale Investigations, a firm headed by her grandfather, PD Pascoe. She wants to be more involved in investigations, but feels like the senior partners keep holding her back. When a woman comes to the firm requesting that they trace the provenance of a century-old painting, Billy Jo pushes to take the case. The senior partners are resistant, but Billy Jo finally persuades them to give her two weeks to try to track down the information. Little does Billy Jo realize she’ll be putting herself in danger.
The painting’s provenance and efforts to document it are a primary arc in the story, but there are other threads to chase as well. A woman is missing, and her grasping, greedy relatives want to know where she is (and whether they can get their mitts on her money if she’s dead). Wayne, one of the Rosedale investigators, is preparing for his upcoming wedding to Lucy, and he’s trying to find her younger sister in time for their big day. We see a relationship story line that I hope will develop in later books with PD’s discovery of unexpected family.
And it all adds up to a quick, enjoyable read for me. The characters are likable – I think Dory is a particular favorite. I also liked that Farrell gave her bad guys some understandable reasons for their actions, and not just malicious intent. I mean, good intentions don’t justify theft and mayhem and attempted (or actual) murder, but it gives the characters some unexpected depth.
If you enjoy a clean cozy mystery that will hold your attention, you’ll want to read In the Frame! I look forward to reading more of Farrell’s books.
About Lyn Farrell
Writing as both Lia Farrell and Lyn Farrell, I’ve been publishing books since 2013. I decided to become a writer in the seventh grade. My home life was chaotic and I found peace spending summers at my grandmother’s dairy farm. With little supervision, I wandered the hundred-and-twenty-acre farm and discovered the beauty and healing power of nature. Today, when I need inspiration for my stories, I take long walks. My memories of the time I spent at the farm resulted in a novel “The Cottonwoods” released on 8/21.
My first marriage ended in divorce, leaving me with two young children. Five years later, I fell in love with a divorced professor with six children. Raising that many kids required working full-time. When I retired from Michigan State University, I returned to my original dream of becoming a writer. My daughter, Lisa, and I wrote the “Mae December mysteries” using the penname of Lia Farrell. They are amusing, mental puzzles called cozies, with an element of romance. Cozies are the gentlest subset of the broad genre of crime writing. It’s a comfort read that leaves you satisfied and at one with the world.
Now writing solo as Lyn Farrell, I recently published “The Blind Switch” (January 2021). It’s the first in a series about a private detective agency, Rosedale Investigations. Two of my readers’ favorite characters from the Mae December mysteries, Dory and Wayne Nichols, have starring roles in these books. “The Blind Split” (released 1/11) is the second in the series. In The Frame is the third book in the series.
Author Links
Amazon Author Page:https://amzn.to/3qkiKxr
Author Web Page: https://www.lynfarrell.com/
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo –
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I liked the review, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by the blog, Rita!