The Art of Love and Murder

By: Brenda Whiteside

Narrated by: Holly Holt

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Lacy Dahl never questioned her past until the deaths of her adoptive parents and her husband. A husband who wasn't what he seemed. Her research uncovers secrets about the mother she never knew; secrets that dispute the identity of her father and threaten her life. Sheriff Chance Meadowlark is still haunted by the murder of his wife and the revenge he unleashed in the name of justice. When he meets Lacy he is determined not to become involved, but their pasts may make that impossible. As they move closer to the truth, saving Lacy may be his only salvation. Lacy begins to think the present is more important than her past...until Chance's connection to her mother and a murder spin her deeper into danger and further from love. Will the truth destroy Lacy and Chance or will it be the answer that frees them?

©2014 Brenda Whiteside (P)2018 Brenda Whiteside

Can’t wait for what’s next!

Great story! Can’t wait for what’s next in this series! Great mystery with a splash of love story thrown in. Love Lacey and the sheriff :)

I received a free copy and left my honest review

Strangers in the Night

When Lacy Dahl first encounters Chance Meadowlark on a dark night while visiting in Flagstaff, she thinks he belongs to the footsteps that had been following her down an alley. Little does she know he’s the Sheriff and trying to protect her. Lacy is shaken by the encounter, and not just from fear-induced adrenaline. He’s tall, dark, and sexy, stirring feelings she hasn’t had since her husband died.

Chance doesn’t need any complications in his life. He's settled into a nice pace and his daughter is in college. Eight years before, his wife was murdered in an art heist. Running into Lacy wasn’t going to upset his routine, which includes a friends-with-benefits relationship with a local woman appropriately named Kitty.

Lacy is on a mission to find her roots. Her mother and father died in a plane crash and she has returned to Flagstaff to connect her mother’s artwork to her past. Chance and Lacy soon work together on a personal and professional investigation braided together through their histories. Will Lacy’s past come crashing into his? Will the ever present Kitty release her claws from Chance? Will Lacy find her true heritage?

No spoilers from me. You need to listen to this fast paced, well written, well-acted audio book to find out! I give it 5 Southwestern Sunsets, 5 Sexy Sheriffs, and 5 Stars!

second chances

Twisted sick villain will go to any lengths to relive the past and obtain old art works . The constant break in in Lacey's room seemed to be ignored until it couldn't be. smh!!!! I liked that two people had a chance to get closure on their past and move forward after poor communication and some fears are resolved. Good story with lots if secondary character involvement. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job with female voices but not so much with male voices.

Awesome storyline

The Art of Love and Murder. I had to find out what happened next. I liked Lacy and chance, and the way the story unfolded. The mystery kept me guessing. Definitely worth listening to or reading. Some background noise but it was minimal and never took away from the story. The Narrator's voice was good. The only reason this book is not a 5 star for me is because I couldn't stand a couple side characters.

Enjoyable listen!

A woman sets out to research an artist and ends up unraveling her own history. Bumps into love and solves an eight year old mystery!

Narration was good, but needs some editing for background noise.

The h was a strong character, but made some choices that did not seem well thought out, but what can you do. 🙄

A good mystery

Both author Brenda Whiteside and narrator Holly Holt are new to me. This was a a book filled with danger, secrets, lies and surprises. The intrigue and suspense, not to mention the potential danger lurking kept me on the edge of my seat as I listened to this story.
Lacy Dahl is searching for answers whilst Sheriff Chance Meadowlark is still trying to recover from the murder of his wife years ago. When a chance meeting between them leads to attraction, Lacy and Chance begin the search for answers that will solve the questions of Lacey’s past and in doing so create a possible future together.
Will the danger and secrets tear Lacy and Chance apart? Will they be able to put the pieces of the puzzle together whilst flying under the radar or will danger loom and put their lives and those around them in jeopardy ? .
This was an enjoyable book, the narrator was okay but there were times that I felt that the characters voices all blended together which made it hard to recognize which character was actually speaking. Perhaps it was me, and it certainly won’t stop me from listening to another book by this author and narrator.
#AudiobookObsessionReviewer

Good intro to a series

Whiteside is new to me as an author but this won’t be my last listen/read of her work. This book already had a lot going for it ~ Romantic Suspense, mature characters, (Lacy & Chance are both in early 40s), and law enforcement.

Lacy is investigating the history of some family artwork/heirlooms and finds herself in the middle of a small town mystery. Chance is the local sheriff and find himself trying to keep Lacy safe while fighting his attraction to her.

I felt like I moved into this town. Whiteside did a good job of giving a lot of characters so that the various “whodunnits” weren’t too obvious without being completely overwhelming. It’s a delicate balance and she did it well.

I’m not a huge fan of insta-love ~ but Chance and Lacy did spend quite a bit of time getting to know each other over a book that basically spanned a week. The ending felt a little abrupt, but as an opener to a series I’m hoping I’ll get more updates on Chance & Lacy’s HEA.

I’m mixed on Holly Holt’s narration. She has a pleasant voice and gives the various characters for the most part a unique sound. However, she has this cadence that would get somewhat repetitive/cyclical at times and it could become distracting. There were also a few times where her inflection didn’t convey the “feeling” of the moment (anger, fear, confusion) and it kind of brought me out of the story. She wasn’t horrible and it wouldn’t keep me from listening to her again, but I think it could have been better.

I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Good story

Brenda’s story is very well written. The characters were well developed and the plot was constructed well.

The narration had some areas where she sounded like she was ‘reading it’....(monotone no engagement). At the time of this review, there was some background noise that distracted from the story. Which leads to the overall 4 star review.

Not a good audio book

I really wanted to like this book, But there were just to much working against that. The story had potential. I liked the “find out about your heritage” bit. Ad in a murder and art, it really did have good key elements to go somewhere good. But it just didn’t work. Too forced. Not good dialogue between characters and really odd behavior considering what was going on.
Narration.... really did nothing good for this book. Very monotone voice were every conversation floated into each other so it was hard to follow a conversation or figure out who said what. No pauses. It was a very read story not someone telling a story.

Fast paced and well written

This isn't my usually go to kinda book but I enjoyed every second of this! There is never a dull moment and you are continuing to guess the entire story!! Chance and Lacy don't hit it off at first, the attraction is there but she is a bit unnerved he appears in a dark walkway after she hears someone following her! This is my first book by Brenda Whiteside and I love her writing style. I'm already diving into book 2! this was read by Holly Holt and she did a beautiful job! There were no repetitive spots in the narration and she did a wonderful job with each voice. I highly recommend!