Chloe and Izzie didn’t mention me in their first venture into murder and mystery that even became the topic of a book, aka A Brush with Murder, even though I am their aunt and very close family member. However, this time around I’m in the thick of all the mayhem going on in Whisper Cove and getting the sort of attention nobody wants. You see, I’ve found myself in the uncomfortable position of being a suspect of murder! Yes. I, Constance Abbington, president of the local chapter of the Chautauqua Sisterhood, an upstanding citizen and person of true moral character has been accused of murder.

The incident that led to all this trouble was hearing the tragic news that our precious sisterhood chapter was being dissolved, and I would no longer have the role as president, one that I’ve held a very long time. What was I supposed to do now? A widow with nothing to fill her days is not healthy. I could end up like one of those elderly recluses with twenty cats living in my house! What a horrible thought. Of course, when Viola Finnwinkle, the director of the Sisterhood’s northern district, delivered the news at a paint party event hosted by my dear nieces—they own the cute party business, Paint with a View, you see—I exploded with a fury of anger that even surprised me. Up until that moment, I never lost control of my emotions in public.

When I received a visit from Detective Barrett—he’s a dear friend of Chloe’s, even though he did suspect her of murder last year—the day after the party event, and was told that Viola had been murdered, no one was shocked more than I. So what if Viola and I had argued the evening before? It didn’t mean I intended to kill her over the matter! That was the most ridiculous suggestion I’d ever heard. Supposedly, the detective and his men found a knit hat near the crime scene, purple in color and designed similar to one I owned. Lots of women buy hats that look the same, don’t they? Hardly enough evidence to point the finger at me. The trouble was I couldn’t find my hat the morning after the event. And I couldn’t account for almost an hour after I’d left the paint party before I returned home. That argument with Viola had put me out of sorts. I couldn’t think straight. I probably left the event without it. I drove around to sort out my thoughts. I admit, I wasn’t totally forthcoming about where I drove, which looked very suspicious.

In any case, I was worried about my predicament and begged my nieces to do their own investigating to hopefully find Viola’s killer. After all, they’d done a good job on solving the case this past summer and catch the one who murdered that poor reporter. Just because she was despised for her column where she tended to trash every business owner in town, she didn’t deserve to die. Admittedly, I couldn’t count on Detective Barrett to keep an open mind. If I had any chance of clearing my name, Chloe and Izzie would be the ones to help. There must’ve been plenty of others who wanted to stop Viola from carrying out her plan to break up our happy little chapter, like the other sister members, for instance. Why not question them? Or how about that man who runs Whisper Cove’s ferry? He tends to tip the bottle a bit too often. Maybe he had something to do with Viola ending up floating facedown in the lake. And don’t get me started on all those superstitious locals who think the Ghost of Chautauqua Lake, Abigail Bellows, is the culprit. Just because it’s nearing Hallows Eve when her spirit is supposed to haunt the lake community doesn’t mean anyone should believe such nonsense is real. Oh! That reminds me. I still have lots to do in preparing for the Hallows Eve celebration. As long as I’m still the president, I have an obligation to fulfill. And a murder investigation with me stuck in the middle isn’t about to stop me. Wish me luck!

Kill Them with Canvas, A Paint by Murder Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy
Release: October 2022
Purchase Link

In Bailee Abbott’s second book in the Paint by Murder mysteries, Chloe and Izzie are taking their paint party business on the road—with murder as the first stop!

Chloe Abbington and her sister, Izzie, are enjoying huge success running Paint with a View, their paint party business in the tranquil western New York lakeside town of Whisper Cove. Now, their aunt Constance—president of the local chapter of the Chautauqua Sisterhood—has hooked them up with a gig hosting a Halloween painting party. The guests will be painting a local ghost legend, the Lady of Chautauqua Lake, who died a hundred years earlier and rises from the lake every October to haunt anyone who dares venture out on All Hallows’ Eve.

The event seems to be going off without a hitch, until Chloe overhears an argument between Constance and Viola Finnwinkle, the Sisterhood director, about the fate of the local chapter. Both women leave and the sisters finish their painting. But the next morning, Viola’s body is discovered floating face down near the town ferryboat dock, her long red hair spread around her. Eerily, the image is an exact replica of a painting Chloe and Izzie had discovered at the event the night before.

What’s more, the police find Constance’s purple knit hat lying on the ground near the crime scene. Constance pleads innocence, saying the hat mysteriously went missing during the event. Frantic that she might be charged with murder, she begs Chloe and Izzie to help her. The sisters believe their aunt is innocent, but if so, who’s the real killer—and when will the next victim turn up?

About the author
Bailee Abbott is a native Ohioan who spends her days plotting murder and writing mysteries. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime as well as of International Thriller Writers. Bailee lives with her husband and furry friend Max in the quiet suburbs of Green, Ohio. Visits to Bemus Point, a town along Chautauqua Lake in southwest New York inspired the setting for the “Paint By Murder” mystery series. She also writes the “Sierra Pines B&B” mystery series under the name Kathryn Long.

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