Portrait of a Dead Guy is a really great, really fun read! Author Larissa Reinhart has written a first-rate debut mystery novel, filled with humorous, quirky, authentic and intriguing characters. Reinhart has created a believable setting in fictional Halo of Forks County. It's a place I'd like to visit (except for the murders, of course).

Halo is a small town, where everybody knows everything about everyone — and everyone's family. As far as the townsfolk of Halo are concerned, Cherry has to overcome not only her own teenage shenanigans, but also those of her older sister Casey and her younger brother Cody, plus the actions of their mother (who abandoned them when they were little). Cherry keeps getting pulled into situations by the killer, but the townsfolk think that she's just pulling the crazy stunts on her own, to get orders for her art business. This is why winning the commission for the coffin portrait of Dustin Branson is so important to her.


Here are some of my favorite quotes from Portrait of a Dead Guy:

Art
"You spent all that money on art school to paint pictures of dogs?'
"I spent all that money on art school to become a professional artist," I said. "It's early days yet. For now, I take what I can get."
"Including painting the departed?"
"You ever heard of a still life?"

After two minutes of carefully unwrapping Dustin's portrait, a stunned silence filled the room. Wanda clutched her sides with tears running rivulets down her face.
"It's amazing," she said. "It's like a work of art."

Ex-boyfriends
"How can you be mistaken about that?" asked Luke. I looked up from my bowl and caught Todd's wide-eyed open face greet Luke's shuttered countenance. They reminded me of Lassie meeting Cujo.

With a grunt, he kicked his heel against the archway. "I'm usually more in control. Do you think I like feeling this way? You're like malaria or something. I think I'm over you and suddenly you've worked your way into my system again."


I hope these quotes have made you want to read more about Cherry Tucker, in Portrait of a Dead Guy. I recommend it to all cozy mystery fans, and to mystery fans in general. This would be a great introduction to the cozy genre. I give Portrait of a Dead Guy my Five-Star seal of approval.

originally published at Jane Reads
( )

Portrait of a Dead Guy is a really great, really fun read! Author Larissa Reinhart has written a first-rate debut mystery novel, filled with humorous, quirky, authentic and intriguing characters. Reinhart has created a believable setting in fictional Halo of Forks County. It's a place I'd like to visit (except for the murders, of course).

Halo is a small town, where everybody knows everything about everyone — and everyone's family. As far as the townsfolk of Halo are concerned, Cherry has to overcome not only her own teenage shenanigans, but also those of her older sister Casey and her younger brother Cody, plus the actions of their mother (who abandoned them when they were little). Cherry keeps getting pulled into situations by the killer, but the townsfolk think that she's just pulling the crazy stunts on her own, to get orders for her art business. This is why winning the commission for the coffin portrait of Dustin Branson is so important to her.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Portrait of a Dead Guy:

Art
"You spent all that money on art school to paint pictures of dogs?'
"I spent all that money on art school to become a professional artist," I said. "It's early days yet. For now, I take what I can get."
"Including painting the departed?"
"You ever heard of a still life?"

After two minutes of carefully unwrapping Dustin's portrait, a stunned silence filled the room. Wanda clutched her sides with tears running rivulets down her face.
"It's amazing," she said. "It's like a work of art."

Ex-boyfriends
"How can you be mistaken about that?" asked Luke. I looked up from my bowl and caught Todd's wide-eyed open face greet Luke's shuttered countenance. They reminded me of Lassie meeting Cujo.

With a grunt, he kicked his heel against the archway. "I'm usually more in control. Do you think I like feeling this way? You're like malaria or something. I think I'm over you and suddenly you've worked your way into my system again."

I hope these quotes have made you want to read more about Cherry Tucker, in Portrait of a Dead Guy. I recommend it to all cozy mystery fans, and to mystery fans in general. This would be a great introduction to the cozy genre. I give Portrait of a Dead Guy my Five-Star seal of approval.

originally published at Jane Reads ( )

Our Review by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:

Portrait of a Dead Guy is a delightful, light-hearted Southern mystery with lovable characters, fantastic dialogue and a truly fun story!

Beyond the fun mystery, my favorite part of the book was the undeniably 'real' cast - A strong, independent and quirky leading lady who will make you shake your head at the binds she gets herself into without even trying, the two men after her heart - the heartthrob rocker who may or may not be adorably clueless, and the sexy rich boy who may or may not have a heart of gold underneath the spoiled brat facade, Cherry's loving yet dysfunctional family, and the delightful residents of the small town who round out the charming setting perfectly.

The story itself is fast-paced with plenty of twists and turns, and yet steady enough to to not cause confusion. I did ultimately figure out the 'who-dun-it' myself, but it was gradual, and completely enjoyable as each new secret was unveiled. It was also incredibly refreshing, unique and engaging from the very beginning.

While I generally don't like to do comparisons, especially if the book was beautiful in its own right (which this one was!), I think it might help readers... The book had a bit of a 'Stephanie Plum', or Lexi George (without the paranormal) feel.

Portrait of a Dead Guy really has everything a good book should have and I would definitely recommend it.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives book #1 of this exciting new series 4 Skulls. ( )

Portrait of a Dead Guy is funny, creepy, southern mystery. It was also enjoyable clean read that kept you guessing what would happen next.
Cherry Tucker is an artist in a small town having a hard time making a living. She is small. The center of a lot of gossip that she does not help at all with her actions. When she hears that the Branson's family wants a portrait of their son for the funeral service, She heads right over to get the job. They are planning to use a member of their own family do the art. Cherry convinces them to give her a chance. She is not to fond of the murdered guy.

That night she decides in the middle of the night to go to the funeral home and start the portrait. She is by herself having let herself in with a key. While she is getting ideas of how she wants to do the picture of Dustin. She is attacked and knocked on the head. The casket is off balance and her coke is spilled all over. Her paint supplies are ruined.

The Sheriff their family friend Uncle Will threatens to arrest her. More rumors spread around the town about her robbing the corpse. The funeral home is not pressing charges.

Dustin's stepbrother Luke just got out of the service and back home, but not to stay. He used to be her boyfriend and she is still mad at him and finds him still hot.

Cherry got married in Las Vegas to Todd who won the trip to play poker. He tells one version of what happened their and Cherry is not telling all the details about it. Everyone is talking about what they did do. Todd is also the drummer in a band and plays the dumb blond who is really good at poker.

Cherry wants to get the Portrait and have the family buy the painting. She is also trying to figure out who attacked her and is robbing everywhere Dustin might have hid something. Everyone tells her to stop asking questions about what Dustin was up too. Also to stop working on the portrait.

Their are some funny scenes especially the comedy of errors at the funeral. I like Cherry and her family. This is small southern town with lots of interesting characters. I would like to see what Cherry gets into next time.

I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it by Netgalley.

Publisher: Henery Press; First edition (August 23, 2012) 280 pages ASIN: B0091X7NGQ ( )

*I won this as a First Reads Giveaway.*

I really liked this book. It was so fun and enjoyable. I finished it in two settings but if I had the time I would've finished it in one. I didn't want to put it down. I was guessing until the end whodunit and that's so important for me. I hate when I can see who did it early on, especially with a bumbling stupid cast set around to make the story work. That's so not the case here. The miss steps and misleads are understandable and the reader makes them along with Cherry.

The characters all popped out and felt real. Cherry is are strong lead woman who has clear flaws but she's loveable and trying to do the right thing. Her family isn't perfect but they are family. They annoy each other but band together when there's trouble. There is the love triangle thing going on which has become a staple in these kind of books. It often becomes annoying with the indecisive back and forth. However, Cherry clearly has her mind about her and knows what she wants. She just had a bit of trouble getting her backbone to work with her. She's feminine but not the stereotypical princess. She's country but not the stereotypical redneck. She's southern but not the stereotypical Southern bell nor the Southern Cross flag loving moron. She's real and I love her for it. She's an artist and it colors how she views thing and the author loving helped paint it. Honestly, Cherry is one of my new favorite characters, for all of these reasons and more.

I like the setting. I know how things get twisted in small towns, how everyone knows everything about everyone while pretending not to and the futility of fighting against the flow. Now this small town setting is common but is often idealized. I love the realistic portrayal here. The town and it's people are still engaging, still lovable (or hateable) and really gives you a good idea how small towns really work. It's still understandable why people live there and love it, but there are no illusions used to get this across, it's reality is enough.

It was also a nice break to get a book with working poor people as the cast. I mean really, in a small town there's the one person who owns everything due to inheriting and the rest of us are struggling to get along usually. That was the case in my small town and that's the case here. It's nice to get an honest look and portrayal of people like this, like me. It's refreshing and I loved it. Even city slickers will love it, it's not too above their understanding. ;-) /joke

This book is really beautifully written. The author has a wonderful voice, that lends itself so well to her characters. This sentence "The object of my desire, Todd's functioning vehicle, jerked to a stop at the curb while the object of my ire bounded up the slope to my porch." is such a great example. I love it. There's other examples but you should experience it for yourself.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book. My only real hesitation I feel is due to being lead on and disappointed with the continuation of other series. *cough Stephanie Plum cough* However, this is a stunning debut. It will draw you in and you'll fall in love with this book. If you're feeling disappointed and disenchanted, Portrait of a Dead Guy will renew your love for this genre. ( )