Well, it should really have been 2.5 stars for the rating. I am sucker for art-related mysteries so I was keen for a new series. However, there were a number of, shall we say, annoyances with this,book. It tried way to hard to be cute (Stephanie Plum style wise-assery); the female protagonist attracts so much trouble because she makes truly stupid decisions (ALL the time); she is wildly attracted to two polar opposites males (again with the S. Plum) who are always rescuing her from her own stupidity (I cannot tell you how much this offends me- rescue yourself; and the plot was WAY too complicated. Also, for a poor, desperate artist she is always ignoring jobs for her paying clients in order to swan about dark ateliers looking for trouble. ( )

Really enjoyed this, the plot was convoluted and confusing but the characters, especially Annie the mc were just terrific. Annie was funny, brave, quirky, talented and rash just what I like in a good heroine with a somewhat murky past. ( )

Okay plot with interesting information about art forgery and gallery world. ( )

cozy-mystery, theft, murder, museum, greed, art-fraud, art-theft, adventure, amateur-sleuth, verbal-humor, situational-humor, snarky *****

Cross Fox and O'Hare with the Goodnights and Dempseys and you have this marvelous adventure mystery full of humor! Great fun, fast paced, and filled with twists and red herrings! ( )

I'm a big fan of Juliet Blackwell (Witchcraft Mystery and Haunted Home Renovation Mystery series), so when I found out she was half of the Hailey Lind writing team, I had to read FEINT OF ART. Hailey Lind's other half is Juliet's sister Carolyn J. Lawes, a professor of history.

FEINT OF ART kicks off the Art Lover's Mystery series, and introduces readers to main character Annie Kincaid. Annie spent her teenage years forging artistic masterpieces with her grandfather in Europe. But after a run in with the law, Annie decided to give up that life. Now, she runs a struggling yet respectable faux finishing company in San Francisco. However, her extensive knowledge of the forgery business is about to get her in trouble again.

Annie gets wrapped up in a murder mystery when her ex-boyfriend, the curator at the Brock Museum, asks her to determine if the new Caravaggio painting is a fake. Yep, it is, and Annie knows who painted the forgery. That same night, a museum janitor is murdered and her ex disappears. In addition to that, an art dealer approaches Annie about tracking down some priceless Old Master drawings that were stolen and forged, leading to more murder and mayhem.

I had mixed feelings about this book. It was quite interesting, yet kind of confusing at the same time. There were a lot of players in this book and a lot going on. It was hard to keep everyone straight. The cast of characters was intriguing, but there were just too many involved in some way. I liked Annie's character pretty well, though she was a little flighty at times and made some silly moves.

On the other hand, I loved taking a look at the underworld of art forgery. Fascinating! It's clear the authors did their research. Some of the tidbits presented - well, I had no idea!

Though somewhat chaotic, FEINT OF ART was an entertaining cozy mystery, and I will continue with the next book. I'm pleased that my local library carries the series. I think the paperbacks are out-of-print at this point. ( )