Picture Perfect Frame

Lynn Cahoon

Mar 2021 · A Tourist Trap Mystery Book 12 · Lyrical Press

About this ebook

In the newest cozy caper in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Tourist Trap series, a new art studio has opened in the coastal California town of South Cove—but it’s about to turn into a crime scene. . .

As the owner of Coffee, Books, and More, Jill Gardner likes to support other Main Street businesses, so she attends a paint-and-sip event where, sadly, her brushstrokes look more like blobs. It’s still a fun night of DIY crafts and full glasses of wine though—except for a disruption by a couple doing more sipping than painting. Jill’s police-detective boyfriend is on alert, but when a designated driver volunteers to take the drunken pair back to their bed and breakfast, everything seems resolved. Until the wife’s body turns up the next morning back in the studio.
 
The victim, Nan, is from out of town, so it’s hard to imagine who’d have a motive aside from her spouse. Now, in between puzzling over her fortuneteller neighbor’s strange behavior, preparing for her best friend’s wedding, and pouring cups of java at the bookstore, Jill must uncover the secrets of Nan’s life and find out who wanted her out of the picture . . .
 
Praise for Lynn Cahoon
 
“I love the author’s style, which was warm and friendly . . . [A] wonderfully appealing series.” —Dru’s Book Musings on the Tourist Trap Mysteries
                                                                                                         
“Well-crafted . . . Cat and crew prove to be engaging characters and Cahoon does a stellar job of keeping them—and the reader—guessing.” —Mystery Scene on A Story to Kill
 

Ratings and reviews

Murders and Weddings Don't Mix A strange murder in South Cove and more wedding drama than you can imagine. This book is the twelfth episode in the Tourist Trap series. It is full of romance, friendship, and weird happenings. While one does not need to read the entire series in order, you will enjoy it so much more if you do. The author does not spend too much time reliving the past, but just enough that a new reader won't be lost. The characters in the story are so real they could be relatives. The author is very good at painting the word picture of life on the coast of California. Beaches, surfers, picnics, and running with dogs; soon you can smell the salt air and taste the fish. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Picture Perfect Frame by Lynn Cahoon is the 12th A Tourist Trap Mystery. While Picture Perfect Frame can be read as a standalone, I do not recommend this as your first foray into A Tourist Trap Mysteries (Guidebook to Murder is a good place to start). It can be confusing in the beginning with the large cast of characters (trying to learn who each one is and their various relationships). Picture Perfect Frame contains Lynn Cahoon’s easy breezy writing style. Returning to South Cove, California is like visiting old friends. There is a diverse cast of characters from Jill to Esmerelda. The characters are developed and continue to evolve. There is a new business in South Cove run by Meredith Cole and her husband, Neal called Drunken Art Studio. They host paint-and-sip events. Jill, Greg, Amy, Justin, and others attend including Jill’s new barista, Evie Marshall. The evening is disturbed by an out-of-towner who enjoyed the sip part of the event a little too much. Early the next morning, the drunken painter is found dead inside the studio by Meredith. The victim’s husband is quick to point the finger at Esmerelda who has been acting odd recently. Jill and Greg know that Esmerelda is innocent, but it will be tricky to prove it. I thought the mystery was straightforward with a couple of suspects along with subtle clues. Jill did some sleuthing, but she did not do as much as in previous tales. I wish Jill had a more active role from beginning to end. She is busy at Coffee, Books, and More which is bustling with business plus helping Amy with her upcoming nuptials. Amy has turned into a bridezilla that does not have a stop button. Jill must calm Amy down and talk her off the ledge several times. Personally, I found the wedding planning overshadowing the mystery and the wedding details became tiresome after a while (Jill is a much more patient woman than I am). We also get to know the newest member of the Jill’s staff, Evie Marshall. She is new to town with her dog, Homer. Evie has ties to a former member of the staff. There is also the normal eating, drinking, chatting, and runs along the beach with Emma. The ending of Picture Perfect Frame leaves us with an unfortunate, but highly anticipated cliffhanger. While I found it sweet, I also found it frustrating. Picture Perfect Frame is a quick and easy book to read. I like how the series has progressed since the beginning. I look forward to the next A Tourist Trap Mystery. Picture Perfect Frame is a charming cozy mystery with wedding woes, a jammed-up medium, a freaked-out friend, a honeymoon hurdle, a drained detective, a blobby beach scene, a bonanza of books, and a cliffhanger at the conclusion.

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About the author

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho expat. She grew up living the small town life she now loves to write about. Currently, she’s living with her husband and two fur babies in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. Guidebook to Murder, Book 1 of the Tourist Trap series, won the 2015 Reader’s Crown award for Mystery Fiction. Visit her at www.lynncahoon.com