June 1, 2018
A children's book illustrator copes with disappointment by investigating a murder.Beverly Vernon is distressed by a call from her agent saying that her latest book, The Six Swans, is too grisly to sell. Bev's bought her new home in rural Florida with money her late husband left her, but she depends on royalties, along with her Social Security check, to pay for upkeep. To distract herself from her woes, she begins to paint the portrait of a fictional child, imagining her as the granddaughter she never had. Then she makes a discovery in her yard: a small skeleton that the police confirm belongs to a child. Bev begins to doubt her own senses when her painting begins to change on its own. The lavender dress is suddenly a flowered frock. The child's sweet smile is now a fierce scowl. Uncertain of the connection between the child on the canvas and the child in the garden, she talks to her two adult daughters, Maurie and Cassie, about her growing unease. The roof falls in when the police, instead of investigating the obvious crime, haul Bev in for an open-ended psychiatric evaluation based on a complaint from her nosy neighbor about Bev's increasing willingness to entertain supernatural explanations of what she sees with her own eyes. How can Bev find justice for the young victim if she's going to be locked in a psych ward until she renounces her quest?Without much puzzle and with a narrative that's a crazy quilt of first-person and third-person contributions from the heroine and both her daughters, Springer (The Oddling Prince, 2018, etc.) presents a crime novel more likely to tempt fantasy fans than mystery buffs.
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Starred review from June 11, 2018
At the start of this sprightly tale of longing and renewal from Edgar-winner Springer (Dark Lie), Beverly Vernon, a children’s books illustrator who has recently settled in a small Florida Panhandle town following her husband’s death, receives bad news from her literary agent in New York—her most recent book is unsalable. Depressed, she realizes that most of her contemporaries are filling their days by doting on grandchildren, something her two adult daughters are unlikely to provide. In this state of mind, she makes a start on a portrait of the ideal granddaughter: violet-eyed, golden-haired, and dressed for a party. That evening, while digging up some bricks in the backyard, she uncovers the skeleton of a small child. The following morning, Beverly notices that the portrait has been altered: the girl now has a grim expression. Is she going mad? So begins her quest to identify the buried child, whom the police believe to have been murdered. Beverly’s wit and humanity keep this highly readable novel grounded when it blossoms into fully fledged fantasy. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Agency.