Review: To Sketch a Killer

TO SKETCH A KILLER by Carly Janis

Fiction, Mystery, 267 pages

5*****

Blurb: Sarah Quinlee needed a change. She sublet a tiny Manhattan apartment, took a new job, and rekindled her passion for sketching. But after accidentally stumbling on a murder victim outside the church next to her workplace, change proved far riskier than she’d anticipated, even for the crime-ridden 1970s. Sarah is quickly pulled into a tangle of neighborhood secrets involving an enigmatic homeless woman, a menacing street punk, a quirky assortment of locals, and coworkers with a past. Her perceptive sketches of them raise some serious questions—and some serious danger. Unable to resist playing sleuth, despite the profound concern of a very attractive police detective, Sarah is soon up against a killer desperate to hide the crime at all costs.

Thoughts: There is a lot going on in this story – greed, murder, old truths hidden, old secrets coming out. After the death of her aunt at the home where she worked, Sarah needed a change. To get away from the memories. So she rents a small apartment in a seedy area of Manhattan and takes a job at a small insurance company. Her passion is drawing and she sketches people and places in the neighborhood. She also is drawn to an old, homeless woman who is fascinated by Sarah’s embroidered velvet scarf. When Sarah stumbles on a murder at a nearby church, her life changes in ways she couldn’t possibly imagine. Through the investigation, she uncovers secrets that some people believe should remain buried. Thanks to Sarah’s involvement, things change for many of the people on the street—some for the better, some for the worse.

The characters are believable and realistic, as are the events on the street. And there was one thread left kind of dangling that leads me to believe there might be other stories following this one. If there are, I will be looking for them.

Recommendation: Recommended

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”