Shooting Gallery: An Art Lover's Mystery

This may even be better than Feint of Art, the first in this series. The lead character, Annie Kincaid, is smart, funny, irreverent, balanced, and believable. These authors do a great job creating three dimensional characters and then putting them in implausible situations, justified by Annie's past (and her grandfather's present) in the underworld of masterpiece-level art. It's a blast to read, with just enough real art knowledge so that you're learning between the laughs, which are plentiful.

The second book in the series is just as refreshing as the first, I've been an avid reader of the Stephanie Plum series for a while and while waiting for the next book to be released decided to give this series a try and am glad I did. This book in my opinion is even better than the first, Annie is still having trouble deciding who to choose in her strange love triangle with Michael the sexy art thief who has many different aliases (While Annie frequently is trying to get his real name out of him) and the well-dressed and handsome owner of an art security company, Frank...who also happens to be her landlord. It seems to me that this book seems to be more fast paced than the first, and in my opinion the mystery is more interesting and the laughs come more often as Annie finds herself in many mishaps just as Stephanie Plum. I can't wait to see what the author has planned next for this series and an counting down to the release date!

If you haven't met Annie Kincaid, owner of a faux-finishing business, and heroine of Feint of Art and Shooting Gallery, you're in for a treat. She and her friends are just as zany as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, but Annie's smarter, with just as many sexy male friends, and no cars blowing up. Shooting Gallery is a fun caper novel in which Annie desperately tries to run a normal business, but continues to have problems with her friends and family. Why is Annie the one person at a gallery opening that spots the body hanging from a tree? Why is Annie's friend on a tour of a museum when a painting is stolen? Why does her mother suddenly show up after a sculptor is murdered? Why can't Annie decide between the handsome art thief and the gorgeous, trustworthy landlord? Think the fun and sexual tension of Foul Play or Moonlighting. Think Janet Evanovich without the exploding cars. Think wild car chases and dirty dealings in the art world, and you have Shooting Gallery.

I worked my way through the first book, Feint of Art, so quickly, I couldn't wait for book two. And it was well worth the wait. It was great to get reacquainted with a bunch of colorful characters. Annie and her friends have a funny way of finding trouble and then finding their way out. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the twists and turns, and meeting Annie's mom! Shooting Gallery is as much of a page turner as Feint of Art. I couldn't put it down trying to see where it would all end up. I can't wait for BOOK THREE!

Lind's second in the Art Lover's Mystery Series, Shooting Gallery, is a welcome follow-up to Feint of Art. Funny, quirky, loaded with information about the art world (according to the author, it's all true) and with fascinating, engaging characters. My only complaint is that there are enough books yet in what promises to be a great series. Great, smart, fun!