Amazon #1 International BestsellerIn 1990 a Boston museum was robbed of $500 million worth of artwork. To this day, the art remains at large … until now. Peeling back layers of lies could save a masterpiece or reveal a killer.After a long week lobbying on Capitol Hill, all Karina Cardinal wants to do is chill with Netflix and her boyfriend, Patrick Dunne. Instead, she’s slipping her aching feet … Instead, she’s slipping her aching feet into red stilettos for his parents’ annual holiday bash. When she accidentally interrupts Patrick’s father in his study, her embarrassment is tempered by suspicion that Martin Dunne and his dapper, secretive guest are hiding something. Maybe the painting she barely glimpses right before it disappears behind a secret panel.
˃˃˃ An internet search raises her curiosity to full-blown alarm.
If she’s right, Martin is in possession of a stolen masterpiece. Infamous because everyone close to it has turned up dead. As in Mafia-style-execution dead.
As she’s chewing over which instinct to follow; back off while she still can, or dig deeper for the truth; she crosses paths with FBI agent Mike Finnegan. An old friend and not-quite flame from her college days. When she looks into his warm, mocha eyes, she’s tempted to tell him everything.
˃˃˃ Trouble is, she’s already being watched.
And the next move she makes could destroy innocent lives including her own.
˃˃˃ Fans of Denise Grover Swank, Melinda Leigh, J.D. Robb will adore this gripping mystery thriller by Award-Winning Bestselling Author Ellen Butler.
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5 Stars
“On March 18, 1990, in the wee hours of the morning, two men dressed as police officers obtained entry into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Holding the guards at gunpoint, the thieves marched them to the basement and proceeded to blindfold and handcuff them. Then the pair returned to the upper floors and, for the next eighty-one minutes, stole eleven paintings/drawings and two artifacts valued at $500 million….. The Gardner Museum robbery is considered one of the highest valued thefts of private property in history. In the years following the heist, FBI, investigative reporters, professional art recovery specialists, and amateur detectives have spent hundreds of man hours trying to locate the paintings. As of this book’s publication, all the artworks remain at large. The Gardner Museum has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the recovery of the masterpieces.”
Isabella’s Painting is the first book in the Karina Cardinal Mystery series by Ellen Butler. This is an excellent mystery- with danger, intrigue, action, suspense, humour, drama, the mafia, FBI, and a priceless stolen painting. Even though the story itself is fiction, it is based on a real- life robbery that happened back in 1990- which baffled investigators, and still remains unsolved all these years later. The author has done an amazing job of tying her story together with the actual events, blending the two together quite brilliantly.
Karina Cardinal is a lawyer turned lobbyist in Washington D.C. She’s smart, independent and hard-working. She’s doing well, with a good career and a great boyfriend. Even though she and Patrick haven’t been together all that long, things are getting serious between them and everything seems to be pointing to them taking the next step. But, when the two attend a Christmas party at Patricks parents place, Karina inadvertently sees something she wasn’t meant to- a painting which was stolen nearly three decades earlier and was part of a much bigger heist. Karina can’t believe her eyes and proceeds to do some investigating. What she uncovers places her in quite a predicament- not only jeopardising her job, her relationship, and her morals- but also her life. When an old college friend, now FBI Agent, joins the mix, things get really interesting….
This is a fantastic story, that had me totally engrossed from beginning to end. It has a fast pace, a smooth flow and was really easy to read. The characters are really well crafted into fully realised individuals. There must have been an incredible amount of research that went into the planning of this book, because there are so many elements woven into this story, small inter-connected details which gives the whole thing authenticity- and making it entirely believability, and also quite memorable. This book has a complex, and multi-layered storyline which is brought to life by the vividly descriptive story-telling, and by Ms. Butler’s meticulous attention to detail/s. She has woven a very polished mystery , full of surprises which kept me guessing the whole way through.
I can’t wait to dive into “Fatal Legislation” (Book #2), due for release in December 2018.
Thank you, Ms. Butler!
Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler is a cozy mystery. The author does a wonderful job at submerging the reader into the life of main character Karina Cardinal. The pacing of the storyline is great and I love that it’s based on a true event. The blending of fact and fiction is amazing. I can’t wait to continue reading this series.
Karina Works in DC, and while she keeps busy with her job, she loves it. She loves her life and her boyfriend and one evening, his parents, who are well known in DC, throw their yearly party. She is eager to attend only to discover a painting that ends up being stolenin her boyfriends parenta house! Karina’s character like storyline are well developed a very enjoyable story of fantastic mystery for mystery lovers!!
Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) by Ellen Butler
5 of 5 Stars
I enjoyed this original story, the first in a new series by Ellen Butler, the story introduces us to our heroine Karina Cardinal and is a wonderfully written novel based on a true event and which had me hooked from page one. “In 1990 a Boston museum was robbed of $500 million worth of artwork”, in this novel the author comes up with a storyline based on what could have happened to this stolen artwork. This was an exciting cozy crime mystery novel with a strong female lead in amateur sleuth Karina Cardinal. The storyline was fast paced and had plenty of drama, suspense and twists and turns that kept me guessing and happily turning the pages.
When Karina Cardinal ends a long week lobbying on Capitol Hill, instead of chilling out in front of Netflix, her and her boyfriend, Patrick Dunne head off to his parents’ annual holiday bash. The evening becomes more interesting and more dangerous when Karina sees something she shouldn’t in Patrick’s father, Martin Dunne’s study. The painting she glimpsed before it disappeared behind a secret panel looked suspiciously like one that had been stolen and is infamous, as anyone close to the painting has been murdered, Mafia style. As Karina wonders what to do an old flame and FBI agent Mike Finnegan comes back into her life and she’s tempted to tell her old friend everything, especially as she still has feelings for him. However, Karina is being watched and both her life and others are at risk if she continues to look into the stolen painting.
I was fully immersed in this crime, mystery, thriller and literally could not put the book down. I loved the main character, Karina, as she is a likeable and realistically independently minded women and I look forward to future books with her as the lead. I liked the aspects of romance in the story with both boyfriend Patrick and old flame Mike and how Karina’s relationships changed and developed with each one. I found this to be an original storyline and was gripped until the last page. I found the authors ‘afterward’ section fascinating as Butler tells the reader about the real event that this novel is based on. A five star read and a book which I definitely recommend, I have now discovered a new author who’s books will become ‘must reads’!
This was an incredible read, an absolute page-turner, and thrilling the whole way through. I loved Karina’s background as a Washington DC lawyer turned policy wonk, as well as the way Karina tries to work out what’s happening even as she makes plenty of mistakes. The mystery of the plot kept me going the whole way through, even with the elements of romance and crime. I love art heist fiction generally, but this one really grabbed my attention. I’ll definitely be reading anything else by this author!
This is a great mix of romance and history and bought me into the book world of the art world and hesit. It reminds me of The Catch tv show.
The author has done am excellent job exacting this story and has brought it to life research done shows throughout. I cannot wait to the second book in the series.
This story follows Karina, who works in D.C. and how she stumbles upon some very expensive missing artwork. The artwork from the museum was stolen back in the 90’s and the one piece she happens to spot, is in her boyfriend’s father’s study. As she does some research and finds that people connected to this end up dead, she must mull over what to do. She ends up connecting with Mike, her old FBI friend. If she continues to investigate, will she end up a statistic? Part of what made this story great is the fact it’s based on true events.
5/5 Stars
Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist (Karina Cardinal Mysteries #1) by Ellen Butler
This was the first book I’ve read by Butler, but it is not going to be my last. This book had me sitting on the edge of my seat wanting more. I couldn’t put the book down until I was done. I still want more.
Karina is a lawyer and self made mystery solver. She is dating someone who has family money. What happens when she finds something she wasn’t supposed to see? Will her and the boyfriend survive? The quote I choose for Karina is: “No. I’m sure it wasn’t like that. As a matter of fact, I’m positive you put it on to make sure I wasn’t cheating on you. Like your past girlfriends. Is that what it was like?”
Patrick is a boy from money. He doesn’t follow in daddy’s footsteps, but past relationships mess with him. He wants to believe that Karina isn’t cheating, but does the unthinkable. The quote I choose for Patrick is: “I know. Our plans changed, but now that we’re here amidst your family, I simply can’t wait any longer. Karina, my love, will you marry me?”
I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good crime, mystery, and romance all rolled together. Butler had really brought these characters to life and I can’t wait for more.
A really good story about a fascinating real life burglary. It was very enjoyable with plot twists that kept the action moving. Well written, which is not always the case in much newly published fiction! (Sometimes I wonder where the editors went to school! Or if they even majored in English!!)
I really liked this author’s writing…
Love love love this book! Karina is so down to earth. Has a little humor as well as suspense.
Easy read
I like the central character, who will be recurring.
Maybe a little predictable but I wanted to see it play out.
Isabella’s Painting was a great 5 star read and the first book in the Karina Cardinal Mystery series.
Karina is a lawyer who discovers something mysterious when she is attending a party with her boyfriend at his parents home. Of course her curiosity peaks and she does some investigating, could she have seen a piece of artwork that was part of a historical unsolved robbery?
I’d gotten it into my head that I would crack a case that neither the FBI, nor highly skilled art detectives, nor investigative reporters had done in the past twenty-eight years. How silly of me
Will Karina’s curiosity bring danger to her doorstep? Will she be able to solve the mystery?
We meet several great secondary characters that added a great element to the story, my favorite was Molly. I really liked Karina, she had me LOL so many times, she was very smart and independent. I really like a book that has me guessing throughout the story, I was thrown off when it twisted in a completely different direction on me. This is my first read from Ellen and I was pulled right in by her writing. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
5 star!!!!!
I must admit I like a good mystery book once in a while. This was a great find as this is my first book by this author. The book has just the right amount of drama and really grabs the reader from page one. I was at the edge of my seat awaiting to find out what would happen next.
I found that Karina’s character was very realistic. I found myself being transported into the book as she delves into the museum heist mystery. The drama between her and Patrick just adds to the drama in the book. The whole way that things unfold along with the darknet auction to the mob connections I just couldn’t put this book down. I found my adrenaline running as I am sure Karina’s would be as she followed each lead to the heist. I look forward to reading more not only from this series but also this author.
Isabella’s Painting is the opening act of Ellen Butler’s Karina Cardinal Mystery series. It is my first encounter with the writer and I am sure it will not be last. She will be one of the writers I will go back to when I need my next fix of straight up mystery.
Isabella’s Painting is the story of Karina Cardinal, lawyer turned lobbyist who happens to stumble upon a mystery and being the person she is, she cannot let it go and start investigating putting her own life and also of the other’s in danger. Luckily for her, she has an FBI connection so off she goes into danger, intrigue, action, drama, mafia, humour and some romance sprinkled in! The story is fast paced and as you get pulled in from page one, at times it feels like it goes too fast (but that is only because I would have loved to linger more) but that is ok as there will be another mystery so we will get more of the gorgeousness of Karina and co! And for you, the detailed orientated mystery buffs? Isabella’s Painting should be just down your alley!
Isabella’s Painting was a fun mystery story. Karina gets caught up in an old Painting Heist mystery when she stumbles upon a stolen piece at Christmas. It’s in her boyfriend’s parents’ house, so that adds a whole other element. Then she runs into an old friend and things just kind of get crazier from there. One thing I appreciate in this story is Karina’s strong personality. She’s solid, independent, has a good head on her shoulders. I found the characters interesting and the story entertaining.
Isabella’s Painting is the first novel in the Karina Cardinal mystery series by Ellen Butler. This is my first novel by this author.
Instead of relaxing at home watching Netflix, Karina Cardinal is getting dressed to attend her boyfriend Patrick Dunne parent’s holiday party.
While there, she notices Patrick’s dad may be up to something that includes the stolen artwork that was taken from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum years before.
The FBI was unable to solve and locate the paintings but with Karina’s new information it’s possible they may have been found.
I have not read a cozy mystery in over a year and have been wanting to. Reading this novel made me remember how much fun and entertaining they are.
While Karina is not a detective, she is really smart and is able to put clues together. And while working with a friend that is an FBI agent, sparks may fly.
The author did a great job combining an actual event within the story of this novel. I even did some research while reading and discovered more information about the heist which made it all the more to read.
I look forward to the next book in the series as well as the cover. The cover caught my eye before I read the summary.
Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery by Ellen Butler
Five Stars
Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery by Ellen Butler is the first book in the Karina Cardinal Mystery Series by Ellen Butler. This is the first book I have read by Ms. Butler, but definitely won’t be the last. I was hooked from the very first page. This is mystery, suspense and romance rolled into one. It also has an unusual aspect, that the story is based on a real life theft. I couldn’t put it down down till I finished because I just had to know what would happen next. The twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat throughout. I really loved Karina’s character and look forward to reading more about her in future books in this series.
Ellen Butler was a new author to me when I picked up Isabellas Painting. It was a late night impulse snag and I am so glad that I grabbed it! I am hooked! This was such a fun read. I got zero sleep but it was so worth it.
So there is a lot going on in this novel but I am going to try to just tease you a tad with some details… the good stuff you have to read for yourself. Trust me it will be so well worth your time. I have to say this is one of those books I will want to add to my re-read pile!
Karina Cardinal seemingly has it all and has it all together. She is a wonderful lawyer. She has the perfect relationship with a handsome man named Patrick. So perfect that things may just be ready to progress to bigger steps. Basically everything is going peachy king. Until…
Sore feet at the family Christmas party forces Karina to take a rest in a room with beautiful art, art that stands out. Art that she wasn’t supposed to see. This makes her start asking questions and things get really interesting to say the least. I loved this one and I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series!
Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery by Ellen Butler is the first book in the Karina Cardinal Mystery series. Steeped in history of an actual painting that was stolen this book will take you on an exciting journey.
This is the first book I have read by this author and the first time I had heaerd of the Boston Garden Museum robbery and I was surprised by how much the author piqued my interest. I loved the idea of the book being based on a real life mystery. Karina as a character was the perfect person to fall into this book with. Her character helped to build up the mystery and suspense while also providing a bit of light hearted comic relief.
The author did really well at balancing the two while also creating a fully believable, and fully enjoyable, story. Her writing style had a great ebb and flow to it also. She knew exactly when to build the story and get you as the author involved and when to ease off a little so that it wa never too much.
Overall I found this to be an interesting read that was well developed creatively with strong characters to back up the story. I can’t wait to see what else is to come from this series and I will certainly be looking into more of the authors work.