The Coloring Crook (Pen & Ink Mysteries #2) by Krista Davis @KristaDavis @KensingtonBooks #bookreview #mystery

Title: The Coloring Crook

Author: Krista Davis

Publisher: Kensington

Publication Date: November 27, 2018

Page Count: 304

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

Includes A Front and Back Cover for You to Color!
 
Life is looking rosy for Florrie Fox, manager of the Color Me Read bookstore in Georgetown, Washington D.C. She’s working on an adult coloring book of gardens, her romance with Sergeant Eric Jonquille has entered a new chapter, and the bookstore’s weekly coloring club is a source of friendship and entertainment. No member is more vibrant than Dolly Cavanaugh. Dolly likes to say she was blessed with beauty and cursed with lousy husbands, but at least she has a grown daughter and a stunning brownstone to show for it!

When Dolly’s love of garage sales results in her showing up at Color Me Read with a rare book in hand, Florrie is astounded. The Florist, the earliest known coloring book, was first published in 1760. An original copy would be worth a fortune—and someone else knows it. That same evening, Florrie finds Dolly dead on the floor of her apartment, a corner of a coloring book page clutched in her hand. As Florrie delves into Dolly’s past and her personal effects, she discovers a skeleton in the closet—literally—and a whole lot of shady suspects. One of them is an expert in the fine art of murder, but can Florrie draw the right conclusion?

The Coloring Crook by Krista Davis is the second book in the cozy Pen & Ink Mysteries series. This series has the unique set up of the protagonist being an artist who draws adult coloring books so to celebrate that the publisher has made the cover of hard copies a drawing to be colored in by the reader.

Each book in this series does have it’s own contained mystery to be solved so books may be read out of order if choosing. There of course is character building carried over story to story though so reading in order is always the best option. In the first book readers were introduced to Florrie Fox who by day manages the Color Me Read bookstore in Georgetown, Washington D.C. and in her off time draws for adult coloring books.

Florrie has settled into her new life and has even started a new romance. The bookstore has been booming and Florrie has made plenty of friends with the bookstore’s coloring club. One of the club’s members shows up with a rare find that would be worth a fortune but when she’s found dead the next day Florrie suspects foul play and will do anything to find out what happened to her friend.

The Pen & Ink Mysteries have returned readers to the unique and wonderful characters and setting from the first book of the series. As much as I loved the creativity of the cover of the books the stories inside have also been fun to read too. There’s again plenty of suspects to keep a reader guessing through the mystery to go along with the fun setting and characters so I’ll be sure to be back to this series in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon

About the author:

Krista Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the Domestic Diva Mysteries and the Paws & Claws Mysteries. Several of her books have been nominated for the Agatha Award. Krista lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with two cats and a brood of dogs. Her friends and family complain about being guinea pigs for her recipes, but she notices they keep coming back for more. Please visit her at http://www.kristadavis.com.