What meets the eye: a mystery

Book Cover
Average Rating
Series
Publisher
Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC
Publication Date
2022.
Language
English

Description

From debut author Alex Kenna comes a pulse-pounding tapestry of secrets, retribution, and greed for fans of Jeffrey Archer.Kate Myles was a promising Los Angeles police detective, until an accident and opioid addiction blew up her family and destroyed her career. Struggling to rebuild her life, Kate decides to try her hand at private detective work—but she gets much more than she bargained for when she takes on the case of a celebrated painter found dead in a downtown loft.When Margot Starling’s body was found, the cause of death was assumed to be suicide. Despite her beauty, talent, and fame, she struggled with a host of demons. But as Kate digs deeper, she learns that Margot had a growing list of powerful enemies—among them a shady art dealer who had been selling forged works by Margot. Kate soon uncovers a dirty trail that leads straight into the heart of the city's deadly underworld.Margot died for her art—and if Kate doesn't tread lightly, she could be the next to get brushed out.

More Details

ISBN
9781639101849

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Also in this Series

  • What meets the eye: a mystery (Kate Myles mysteries Volume 1) Cover
  • Burn this night: a novel (Kate Myles mysteries Volume 2) Cover

Author Notes

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Published Reviews

Publisher's Weekly Review

Private investigator Kate Myles, the protagonist of Kenna's impressive debut, is still dealing with the mental and physical consequences of an injury she suffered in the line of duty two years earlier when she was an LAPD police detective. Her car was part of a freeway barricade constructed to thwart a robber, whose own speeding vehicle drove Myles's into a wall. The collision damaged her back, and led to a painkiller addiction; her then five-year-old daughter, Amelia, nearly died after she passed out and crashed while she was driving while impaired by the medications. Myles's husband divorced her and gained custody of Amelia, and she now struggles to support herself as a PI. She lands an unexpectedly complex case when she's retained by Milt Starling, whose artist daughter Margot's death was deemed a suicide. Starling is adamant that foul play was involved, and Myles finds reasons to share his view after learning an unscrupulous art dealer sold some forgeries of Margot's paintings. Through judicious use of flashbacks, Kenna fleshes out the backstories of both Myles and Margot. The thoughtful plot resolves itself satisfactorily. Sara Paretsky fans will be pleased. (Dec.)

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Kirkus Book Review

An LA private eye hired to look more closely into an artist's suicide unearths a host of felons and felonies along the way. Milt Starling can't believe that anyone as successful as his daughter, star painter Margot Starling, would have hanged herself six months ago. Since the LAPD has all but closed the case, he's reduced to trawling for a shamus willing to reopen it. Kate Myles, the one who takes on the job, is in rough shape. Badly injured by a car driven by a criminal she was pursuing while she served on the force, she's become dependent on painkillers, losing her job, her marriage, and her 7-year-old daughter in the process--and although she's no longer hooked, she's still hurting. Despite the inconclusive forensic evidence about the manner of Margot's death, Kate's ex-partner, Det. Ron Bennett, and his colleagues are more interested in the possibility that the Starling canvases offered for sale by nothingburger gallery owner Aksel Berkland are forgeries. Setting aside the forgery angle to concentrate on Margot's death, Kate discovers that she collected lovers like pennies and blackmailed them on the way out the door. The recent demise of Jason Martinez, another artist whose work has popped up in Berkland's gallery, makes Kate wonder if the two deaths aren't connected to a more extensive forgery ring, a suspicion that leads her to a perilous fling with someone who may be connected to the Russian mob. First-timer Kenna supplies the backstories of the victim and her would-be avenger through a tangled web of flashbacks that are more distracting than enlightening, but the power of the story still shines through the haze. A righteous, painful debut. More, please, but lighter on the flashbacks. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Private investigator Kate Myles, the protagonist of Kenna's impressive debut, is still dealing with the mental and physical consequences of an injury she suffered in the line of duty two years earlier when she was an LAPD police detective. Her car was part of a freeway barricade constructed to thwart a robber, whose own speeding vehicle drove Myles's into a wall. The collision damaged her back, and led to a painkiller addiction; her then five-year-old daughter, Amelia, nearly died after she passed out and crashed while she was driving while impaired by the medications. Myles's husband divorced her and gained custody of Amelia, and she now struggles to support herself as a PI. She lands an unexpectedly complex case when she's retained by Milt Starling, whose artist daughter Margot's death was deemed a suicide. Starling is adamant that foul play was involved, and Myles finds reasons to share his view after learning an unscrupulous art dealer sold some forgeries of Margot's paintings. Through judicious use of flashbacks, Kenna fleshes out the backstories of both Myles and Margot. The thoughtful plot resolves itself satisfactorily. Sara Paretsky fans will be pleased. (Dec.)

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