🍷🍷🍷.5 #Review of A Trace of Deceit by Karen Odden

Title:  A Trace of Deceit
Series:  Victorian Mystery #2
Author: Karen Odden
Format: Paperback/eBook, 416 pages
Publication: Dec. 17, 2019 by William Morrow
ASIN:    B07PW6VSYT 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source: LibraryThing
Reviewer: Kimberly
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

From the author of A Dangerous Duet comes the next book in her Victorian mystery series, this time following a daring female painter and the Scotland Yard detective who is investigating her brother’s suspicious death.

A young painter digs beneath the veneer of Victorian London’s art world to learn the truth behind her brother’s murder...

Edwin is dead. That’s what Inspector Matthew Hallam of Scotland Yard tells Annabel Rowe when she discovers him searching her brother’s flat for clues. While the news is shocking, Annabel can’t say it’s wholly unexpected, given Edwin’s past as a dissolute risk-taker and art forger, although he swore he’d reformed. After years spent blaming his reckless behavior for their parents’ deaths, Annabel is now faced with the question of who murdered him—because Edwin’s death was both violent and deliberate. A valuable French painting he’d been restoring for an auction house is missing from his studio: find the painting, find the murderer. But the owner of the artwork claims it was destroyed in a warehouse fire years ago.

As a painter at the prestigious Slade School of Art and as Edwin’s closest relative, Annabel makes the case that she is crucial to Matthew’s investigation. But in their search for the painting, Matthew and Annabel trace a path of deceit and viciousness that reaches far beyond the elegant rooms of the auction house, into an underworld of politics, corruption, and secrets someone will kill to keep. 

Kimberly's Thoughts:
Annabel has been working to trust her brother again after he is released from jail for counterfeiting paintings but when she arrives at his flat to find two plainclothes detectives, she knows something is direly wrong.
With her art world knowledge, Annabel could be a tremendous help to Inspector Matthew as he searches for an art thief and murderer but it's getting increasingly hard for him to put her in danger.
Suspects are lining up, plots are thickening, and buried secrets are getting revealed in this Victorian murder mystery.

“I think all our memories have a trace of deceit in them,” Matthew said, his expression regretful.

A Dangerous Duet, first in the Victorian Mystery series, introduced readers to the heroine's brother Matthew. A broody, overworked Inspector who took time and care with his thoughts and actions. I enjoyed watching him think and deduct in this continuation of the series. However, this is very much Annabel's story. Reader's come up on her as she has a sinking feeling about her brother Edwin, but as he has disappointed her in the past about turning his life around, she arrives at his flat annoyed that she is worried about him. This makes the impact of learning he was murdered hit her harder as guilt takes over. As this story is told from Annabel's point of view, readers really get into her head and I found her to be a calm, thoughtful, and intelligent heroine.

The murder mystery plot has Matthew trying to solve who and why murdered Edwin and possibly stole a painting he was cleaning. Was the murder random, was the painting the crux of the murder, or was Edwin targeted because of instances in his past? The author did a good job providing us with red-herrings: Felix is a friend of Annabel and Edwin and he gave the painting to Edwin to clean for his auction house. When it comes out that the painting could be a forgery, his reputation and livelihood are on the line. The seller of the painting, a widow, claims the painting was supposed to be a gift for her anniversary from her late husband but she is also in need of money. The step-son of the man who supposedly sold it to the widow's husband, claims it was burned in a fire and the painting has to be a forgery but if not, he wants it back; his relationship was very contentious with his step-father. Then lastly, possible enemies from Edwin's childhood school days.

I thought the author's strong suit was in providing these possible suspects and developing their reasons, slowly revealing them to the reader. This kept me guessing, involved, and locked into the mystery. Tying in and keeping Annabel involved with the investigation, through her art world knowledge, got a bit too in depth for me at times. I'm not a particular art connoisseur but others that are would maybe enjoy the name dropping and dive into paintings and painters that were popular or emerging during this time period. The author also includes some political background and tied in some real events, the Pantechnicon burning down, that helped set the period feel and gave the story more authenticity for me.

The focus of the story is very much on the art world and wadding through facts, backstories, characters, and revealed secrets to find out who and why Edwin was murdered, the romance between Annabel and Matthew is probably only around 3% of this stories focus. I was surprised, though, that the last 10% was so emotional for me, be prepared to have some of the slow, steady reveals from the murder mystery to hit you hard at the end. With the way the author hit me with this emotional writing, I was a little disappointed I didn't feel it throughout the story; the art world talk eclipsed it. Regardless, if looking for a Victorian murder mystery immersed in the art world, A Trace of Deceit delivers with meaningful red-herrings and an affecting end.

Suggested Reading Order:

Book #1 A Dangerous Duet

Book #2 A Trace of Deceit