A Portrait to Die For
Radine Trees Nehring
Dark Oak Mysteries, January 2016
ISBN 978-1-61009-222-7
Trade Paperback
Carrie McCrite and her husband Henry King have had several adventures that have brought them both close to danger and now Henry has put his foot down.  He is insisting that Carrie stop getting the couple involved in criminal activities. Carrie has a habit of noticing things that others might overlook and so she has managed to get the couple in some tight spots.  Carrie has promised that she will abide by Henry’s wishes.
That promise lasted just about as long as it took Carrie to get to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art where she was volunteering. First she ran into a woman who was trying to get away from a man and she asked Carrie to say she had gone the other way.
As Carrie wandered around the museum viewing some of the new items she stopped to study “Twins With Daisies” by Marie Forneau. This was part of the items on loan from Port View Historical Society’s collection. Carrie immediately noticed what she took to be a discrepancy in the picture but decided to keep it to herself. Valerie Knight, the museum’s director of communications requested that Carrie speak with Maylynn Brewer, a reporter, who was interested in Carrie’s observations as a volunteer.
The two didn’t hit it off right away but that changed when Maylynn suddenly disappeared. It turned out that Carrie’s son Rob was an old friend of Maylynn’s. In addition, Catherine who is engaged to Rob was also acquainted with Maylynn.  Rob also informed Carrie and Henry that Maylynn had a twin brother who had some problems that arose from his duty in the service overseas. In spite of all the promises not to get involved, Carrie and Henry are trying to find out what has happened to Maylynn and how it might be connected to “Twins With Daisies” since Maylynn had also mentioned noticing a discrepancy in the picture. Rob and Catherine decide to join in the hunt for Maylynn and soon they are all four in more trouble than they ever thought of.
I enjoyed this book and looking forward to more from this author.
Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, September 2016.
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