On the third Wednesday of each month, I’ll feature a cozy mystery I read long ago. Backlist titles make my heart sing, and hopefully you’ll find some new to you reads for your cozy TBR. This month we’re going back to the year 2017. 

The Art of Murder (Dead-End Job Mystery #15) by Elaine Viets
287 pages, First published May 3, 2016

Author Elaine Viets is originally from St. Louis so I always like to follow along with what she writes. The Dead-End Job mysteries feature Helen Hawthorne, on the run from her ex-husband, living and working in south Florida. 

This is a hilarious mystery series. Like her amateur detective, Helen Hawthorne, Elaine actually works those rotten jobs. Perhaps her early training has given her a lifelong fascination with jobs. She and Helen both know working for a living can be murder. To research her novels, Elaine has been everything from a salesclerk to a survey taker.

In Book 15, the final book of the series, Helen must pose as a painter at Fort Lauderdale’s famous Bonnet House Museum to catch an artful killer . . .

The art world is a happening place—but a brush with death shouldn’t be in the picture. Unfortunately that’s just what happens to Helen Hawthorne and her friend Margery. While touring gorgeous Bonnet House, a mansion-turned-museum, they observe a painting class and note an up-and-coming artist. When they later see her deadly end, Helen is hired to canvas the crime scene—undercover, of course.

Sketchy suspects lurk in the victim’s bohemian past. Was the promising painter killed by her jealous husband? Her best friend? A rival using her artful wiles? With her husband Phil busy setting a trap for a gold thief, it’s up to Helen to paint this killer into a corner . .

I’m also looking forward to reading the latest from Elaine: Sex and Death on the Beach. 

Beneath the sun and sea of South Florida, dark crimes and bone-chilling secrets are lurking. Introducing feisty, female sleuth Norah McCarthy, a cast of eccentric characters, and the dark underbelly beneath the palm trees and beaches of South Florida, this addictive new series is perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey.