PAINT IT RED

Author: Carla Cassidy ISBN: 0451221931 8/2007 SUSPENSE Publisher: NAL/Signet Eclipse

She tries to move on... Jim Abbott, an up-and-coming artist, drowned himself in the raging waters of the Missouri River . His body was never recovered. Two years later, his widow, Vanessa, has arranged for one last showing of his brilliant, disturbing artwork. The event is a success: Critics are raving, pieces are selling, and Vanessa even meets an interesting man. Christian Connor is gentle, honest, and incredibly sexy. Soon their innocent flirtation heats up.... But something won't let go. Then the gallery owner is found dead with a splash of red paint across his body, and his corpse is only the first to bear that mark. Vanessa recognizes the stroke: When Jim was unhappy with a painting, he'd slash it with furious crimson. And in her home, Jim's picture somehow finds its way onto the dresser, and his jacket appears on the back of the sofa. Is she going crazy? Or has her husband returned to claim her as his own?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

PAINT IT RED by Carla Cassidy, is an edge-of-your-seat gripping psychological thriller. It is non-stop suspense from beginning to end, and had me completely fooled right up until the very last pages.

Vanessa Abbott has her hands full. She's busy getting her life back on track after her husband Jim's suicide two years earlier. Now, Vanessa is working hard, selling real estate and trying to make a life for herself and her son, Johnny. It's all going well, until she finally agrees to an exhibition of some of Jim's last works. The night of the showing, the gallery owner is murdered and a chain of events that moves very quickly threatens to put Vanessa out of commission—for good.

This is a smart, complex tale of murder, revenge and the intricate emotions that lurk beneath the surface of some of the most innocent exteriors. I had pegged the murderer differently, and was pleasantly surprised to find I'd been outwitted by the author! I love it when that happens! The romantic aspects of this story are not lost in the suspense, which I think is one of its strongest points. Christian, the man Vanessa meets the night her husband's work is shown, is compassionate, handsome and intelligent, just the kind of guy Vanessa and Johnny deserve.

PAINT IT RED is the first book I've read by this author, but you can bet it won't be the last. Carla Cassidy's no-nonsense, straightforward approach to storytelling appeals to me, and I'll be on the lookout to read more from her.

Kay James