Haunted art is in the eye of the beholder . . . Artist Celeste Cabot welcomes the chance to show her paintings at a craft fair in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where she and her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, can park her vintage Shasta trailer and sell her creations, too. Unfortunately, her sales take a hit when a customer returns a painting, claiming it’s haunted. When a fellow vendor discovers … haunted. When a fellow vendor discovers images hidden in Celeste’s artwork—and a ghost pays her a late-night visit—she’s shocked to realize she has psychic abilities. After the grumpy manager of the craft fair is found with a knife in his neck, Celeste’s brushes with the paranormal may help fill in the picture—and make sure the wrong person doesn’t get framed . . .
Praise for Rose Pressey and the Haunted Vintage Mysteries
“Rose Pressey’s books are fun!”—Janet Evanovich
“Chock full of ghosts, cats possessed by spirits, a handsome police officer boyfriend, and tips on the afterlife and vintage shopping.” —Kirkus Reviews
“An appealing protagonist who is as sweet as a Southern accent.” —Library Journal
“A sheer delight.”
—Kate Carlisle
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I think this debut para-cozy is a fantastic story! Author Rose Pressey shines in her creative expression with this engaging plot. I adore the eye-catching cover with the cute chihuahua, Van Gogh, who is artist Celeste Cabot’s companion and protector. I always enjoy festival settings and this Summer Arts & Crafts Fair in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is also the perfect set-up for a crime scene.
When one of Celeste’s paintings brings a ghost to life, creepy things begin to happen, including the slaying of the unlikeable festival manager. Unfortunately, Celeste has doubts about the innocence of many of her fellow vendors. She meets two men during the investigation who show interest in getting to know her on a personal level, and I wondered which one Celeste would choose.
MURDER CAN MESS WITH YOUR MASTERPIECE charmed me from the beginning with its delightful setting, wonderful characters, adorable pets, and an overall alluring mystery! 5 Stars! As an extra treat, the author includes delicious recipes for recipes for readers to try.
I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an honest, unbiased review. Thank you.
Artist Celeste Cabot welcomes the chance to show her paintings at a craft fair in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. She and her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, parks her vintage camper trailer and stays on site. Things take a strange turn when a customer returns a painting claiming it’s haunted. Celeste is then visited by a ghost in the middle of the night. Soon the manager of the craft fair is found dead. Can the ghost help Celeste solve this murder?
This is a fun new series. The characters are entertaining, likable, and quirky. Living in a nearby state and having been to Gatlinburg before, I enjoyed reading a book that takes place there. The mystery is well-developed with several twists and turns along the way. I look forward to the next in the series.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way, I have been influenced by anyone.
This was a fast, fun read that left me with a smile on my face. Murder, mystery, ghosts, adorable pups and even a little romance, this book has a little something for everyone. This is the first book in a series I can see myself becoming very quickly addicted to.
I’ve been a Rose Pressey fan for a long time, but this book is by far one of my favorites! I live in an RV full time and I can’t quit laughing at somme of the “tips” that begin each of the chapters in the book. The book itself is laugh out loud funny and the mystery is filled with lots of possible suspects, the ending is a surprise that you don’t quite see coming! If you add only one new series to your list this year, this should be the one!
I give it no stars. Very poorly written. I wonder why it was published. I do NOT recommend this author.
Painter, Celeste Cabot, has renovated a vintage Shast trailer with plans to go to various craft fairs in the region. She starts with a fair in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. She’s showcasing her paintings and doing well until someone returns a painting claiming it’s haunted. When fellow artists at the fair have their money stolen, Celeste goes to the trailer of the event manager only to discover his body.
Can Celeste and her chihuahua, Van Gogh, find the murderer before it’s too late.
I really enjoy Rose Pressey’s books and this one was a great start of a new series. I was pulled into the story almost immediately and kept hooked until the end. However, there were a few errors which takes away from the story for me. One error was where the name of a character doing something changed from one name to another. I do recommend the book though and am looking forward to the next one.
Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece is a charming new cozy mystery with intriguing paranormal elements. The story contains Rose Pressey’s conversational writing style which makes the story easy to read. There is humor sprinkled throughout that will have you giggling. Celeste Cabot loves the color as we can tell from her adorable trailer. She wants to succeed as an artist and Celeste’s bumbling family has helped her get ready. Celeste has a patient mother, a father who means well (creates more chaos than a two year old) and two blundering big brothers. Thank goodness she has her best friend, Sammie Sutton. After a customer returns a painting claiming the piece is haunted. Celeste figures the client was a loony until a nearby vendor wearing glasses notices images hidden within all of her creations. Then she begins hearing a woman’s voice and that night the ghost appears from the painting in Celeste’s trailer. Celeste wonders if those rumors about her grandmother are true. The mystery was straightforward with a limited suspect list. Celeste begins nosing around the craft fair digging up information on her fellow vendors. She gets help from her friendly spirit. The secondary mystery revolves around the ghost who appeared from the painting. There are travel trailer tips at the beginning of each chapter that are amusing. There are two lines that I enjoyed from Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece. The first is you are “as useful as a pogo stick in quicksand”. The second line I liked was “Chihuahuas might be small, but they always want to protect the people they love”. I thought that was sweet. There are two romantic interests for Celeste. At the end of the book, I had a couple of unanswered questions especially regarding Celeste’s newfound abilities and her ghostly friend. Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece is a witty cozy mystery with peculiar paintings, an animated apparition, a caring Chihuahua, a dead dictator, and an active artist.
“Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece” by Rose Pressey the first in her new “Haunted Craft Fair Mystery” series. It has been awhile since I read a book by Rose Pressey and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed them. This will be another must read series for me as it includes some of my favourite things crafts, ghosts, murder and quirky characters!
Haunted art is in the eye of the beholder . . .
Artist Celeste Cabot welcomes the chance to show her paintings at a craft fair in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where she and her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, can park her vintage Shasta trailer and sell her creations, too.
Unfortunately, her sales take a hit when a customer returns a painting, claiming it’s haunted. When a fellow vendor discovers images hidden in Celeste’s artwork—and a ghost pays her a late-night visit—she’s shocked to realize she has psychic abilities. After the grumpy manager of the craft fair is found with a knife in his neck, Celeste’s brushes with the paranormal may help fill in the picture—and make sure the wrong person doesn’t get framed . . .
The protagonist Celeste is a likable, fun main character, with quirky supporting characters her family, her BFF Saddie and her faithful companion Van the Chihuahua. I enjoyed this first installment and was drawn in from the get go.
The mystery was well written with plenty of twists and turns and had a steady pace. I suspected but didn’t fully figure out whodunit until it was revealed at the end. Also by the end you could sense a few of the characters have a crush on Celeste…
I enjoyed this book and recommend to my friends and any fan of Rose Pressey.
I requested and received an Advanced Reader Copy from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Exciting New First-in-Series Cozy
This is a fast-moving cozy mystery. It is the first in a new series that should be great based on this episode. The baseline involves craft fairs with a paranormal tilt. I can’t wait for the next episode. The author also includes a few tasting looking recipes. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
This story combines a craft fair with theft, murder and haunted paintings to bring you a new series with protagonist Celeste Cabot and her chihuahua Van Gogh. It has unique twists and turns and it seems like everyone at the fair is involved in something suspicious.
A fun, fast, easy read full of mystery with a dose of romance. Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.
MURDER CAN MESS UP YOUR MASTERPIECE by Rose Pressey
The First Haunted Craft Fair Mystery
Celeste Cabot has decided to take a chance. Her family has helped her fix up a trailer and she’s traveling to craft shows to sell her paintings. Although determined to be positive, things get dicey when Celeste meets Evan, the rude man in charge of the Summer Arts and Craft Fair in Gatlinburg. Then an angry woman brings back the painting she bought claiming it’s haunted! What could be worse? Someone stealing the vendors money, the murder of Evan, and the appearance of the ghostly Elizabeth!
MURDER CAN MESS UP YOUR MASTERPIECE is a cute start to a new series. We have a charming young protagonist who’s taking a chance on art, her wonderfully wacky family, two possible romantic interests, a little dog, and a ghost!
My favorite aspect of this first Haunted Craft Fair Mystery is Celeste’s gift. Not only is she a talented painter, but Spirit communicates through her and adds special details to her paintings. In addition, she can paint the portrait of a spirit who wishes to communicate with the living! And Celeste was heretofore completely unaware of this ability. I look forward to seeing her psychic development as well as discovering who the blonde spirit will be. In the meantime, Elizabeth is a delightful spirit and I enjoy seeing her interact with everyone, especially Van.
I really enjoyed my first trip to a craft fair in Tennessee. Likable characters, as well as some nasty ones, and a unique paranormal spin make MURDER CAN MESS UP YOUR MASTERPIECE a delightful mystery. In addition, travel trailer tips and recipes are also included in this charming new series.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rose Pressey is the first book in the Haunted Craft Fair Mysteries series.
This is a great foundation for future installments. The characters were like able and also quirky, which added an interesting layer to the read.
I liked the female protagonist, Celeste Cabot, and I liked the cast of backup characters as well. She was relatable and I enjoyed following along with her in RV. As a fellow RV traveler, I liked her from the beginning just due to that fact alone. The author then continued drawing me in with her fun and witty personality thereafter.
I enjoyed the premise, the murder/mystery component, and the paranormal component added with Celeste’s newfound friend from another realm, Elizabeth. I enjoyed their chemistry and I think they will work well together for future books.
A great start.
4/5 stars
I’m a long time fan of Rose Pressey and was eager to see what she was planning for a new series. Paranormal? Check. Humorous? Check. Good mystery? Check. Off to a great start? Double check! The new series centers around craft fairs with Celeste Cabot hitting the road to sell her oil paintings at various craft fairs around the country. Well, that is her plan. she wants more in life than waitressing at her aunt’s diner. She wants to see if she can make real money with her creations. starting locally in Gatlinburg, TN. She has her pink trailer, her painting supplies and her chihuahua, Van Gogh due to his ear flopping down aka Van as her companion and guardian.
From day one at the craft fair things seem a bit off. The creep who is in charge of the fair is a real sleaze and it’s pretty clear that there are many crafters who have crossed paths with him and wish they hadn’t. Count Celeste as one on the list. Then one of her paintings sells only to be returned with the buyer claiming that the painting is haunted. Sure, lady, whatever you say, here’s your $100 back. Celeste thinks she’s a bit crazy but chalks it up to the cost of selling her wares. That is, until one of the other crafters asks her about the skull she put in one of her paintings. say what? Celeste can’t see the skull…..until she looks at it through a piece of glass and wow! there IS a skull and in another there is a skeleton! With no memory of ever painting those, she comes to realize that her very vivid dreams play a major part in what she paints and yes, the customer was right, the painting is haunted.
Celeste is trying to wrap her mind around this twist in her reality when the creepy guy running the fair is done in with a knife to his neck and Celeste is the one to stumble across the body. Now she has to deal with hauntings, homicide and theft plus a couple of very interesting men who show some interest in getting to know her. This new chapter of her life sure is off to a roaring start.
This was not a deep heavy read and that’s the kind of paranormal mystery I enjoy. The mystery was enough to keep my attention from start to finish, the list of suspects was long enough to keep me guessing and the core characters were a fun bunch to hang out with. I’ll be putting this on my list of to be read series, looking forward to seeing how it develops.
Series: A Haunted Craft Fair Mystery – Book 1 Mystery
Author: Rose Pressey
Genre: Cozy Mystery/ Paranormal
Publisher: Kensington
Page Count – 304
Publishing Date: October 29, 2019
A new paranormal cozy series from author Rose Pressey, published by Kensington Books comes Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece. This book is a marvelous creation of ghostly mystery.
Celeste is a fabulous character. Readers will like her from the beginning. Her family can be a bit much, but whose family isn’t? Everyone has those relatives that exude clumsiness but radiate love and good intentions. And this paranormal cozy has them in spades. The one thing all of Celeste’s family members have in common is their desire to help and protect her, even though she’s capable of doing both for herself. That’s what families are for, and she loves them and all of their quirks.
In this story, a man that no one likes is killed shortly after Celeste sets up her little pink trailer. She is also informed that without knowing it, Celeste has painted hidden figures in all of the paintings she is selling at the craft fair. The hidden figures take on an aspect of their own in the form of a ghost who steps out of one painting and hangs around. It seems like even the dead want to protect Celeste from harm. The ghost turns out to be a long-ago relative and has no idea why she is there except to help Celeste. Other characters, such as the two men that seem to be vying for Celeste’s attention, and the other vendors all have independent personalities that have room for growth if they continue in the series. As in most paranormal cozy books, the ghost will be a favorite character who hopefully will continue to make an appearance.
By the end of Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece, the killer is unveiled, and the dead rest. The identity of the killer may not come as a surprise to readers, and there questions that are not answered. For instance, why did a couple of the vendors take a dislike to Celeste after treating her nicely at the beginning? Also, I am not a fan of love triangles in paranormal cozies, and unfortunately, this book leaves readers in the middle of one that is not resolved. I am sure it will be in future books, but for now, the outcome leaves readers hanging. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I look forward to seeing where the series goes from here.
Celeste Cabot is excited to have the opportunity to sell her paintings at the local craft fair. Unfortunately, her happiness is short-lived when she starts noticing strange things occurring at the fair. First, a customer returns a painting, claiming it’s haunted, there’s also someone stealing money from the other sellers, and then, the man in charge of the craft fair is murdered. With the help of her new ghost friend, Elizabeth, Celeste is determined to catch the killer, and, also find out why she has started seeing ghosts. I enjoyed every minute of this fun paranormal cozy mystery. The writing is solid and the plot moves at a good pace. I liked the unique setting and the eccentric cast of characters. The ghost, Elizabeth was my favorite character and I hope to learn more about her in the upcoming books. The mystery kept me in suspense, and I liked how the paranormal played a role in catching the killer. This book has wonderful potential and I look forward to seeing what the author has in store for these characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.