To Sketch a Thief
A Portrait of Crime Mystery, No 2
Sharon Pape

Berkley
June 2011/ ISBN 978-0-425-24192-9
Mystery/Cozy
Amazon

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

To Sketch a Thief is book two in the Portrait of Crime Mystery series by Sharon Pape. Following in the footsteps of Sketch Me if You Can, readers are reacquainted with Rory McCain, a former police sketch artist, and her partner and housemate, Ezekiel Drummond. Zeke is the ghost of a murdered lawman from the late 1800’s. While the erstwhile Marshall knows he is dead, that isn’t about to stop him from taking part in helping Rory with her modern-day PI firms cases; or from insisting that she solve his murder.

A stray dog finds Rory working, pulling weeds in her garden in the evening’s growing darkness. Tender hearted Rory reads the dog’s tags and takes him home, only to find his owner quite dead and quite obviously murdered. After calling the police and promising to keep her nose out of the investigation, Rory is hired by a new client to investigate a dognapping spree that just happens to have tie-ins to the murder victim and her neighbors and friends. So really, how can she and Zeke steer clear of the police investigation?

This is an excellent sequel that moves this new series right along, both through character development and interaction with new people and the addition of Hobo, the “orphaned” dog (his owner was the murdered woman) as an additional sidekick for Rory. As Zeke works to improve his ghostly abilities so that he can actually leave the house, and Hobo struggles with his terror of the ethereal man of the house, Rory kicks her dognapping investigation into high gear and finds that she is grateful to have both of them. She also makes time to keep her word to Zeke and to find out who could have killed him back in 1878.

Just when I think that every kind of cozy mystery series that can be written, has been written, an author like Sharon Pape comes up with something original that sparkles and stands out from the crowd. She gives us interesting characters, thought-provoking mysteries, lovable animals, a wacky aunt, a ghost, some time-shifting chapters, witty dialogue, and leaves readers with a thirst for more. I hope Ms. Pape is a fast writer and that the next book is released sooner rather than later, as I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

I recommend this book to everyone who loves a mystery, animals, and ghost stories. You can’t go wrong with this one because there is simply nothing not to like! Enjoy!

To Sketch A Thief, No 3