Portrait of a Gossip

A Miss Henry Mystery, Book 1

By: Melanie Jackson

Narrated by: Anne Johnstonbrown

Juliet Henry, water-color artist and retired agent of the NSA, wouldn't stack up her knowledge of the human heart against the great romantic poets, but she knows a thing or two about human avarice and stupidity.

It comes as no great surprise when the small artists' colony of Bartholomew's Woods ends up with a dead resident. Harvey Allen was a professional gossip, hated the length and breadth of the state for his scandal-mongering in the press, and it seemed that one of Juliet's talented but idiosyncratic neighbors had finally had enough of his pernicious tale-bearing and decided to paint him out of the picture.

Juliet may sympathize, but she also knows that once a person resorts to murder to hide a secret, chances are good that they may choose to kill again. Can she find the murderer before the killer paints the town red?

Move over Miss Marple, there's a new slueth in town. If you are a fan of Ngaio Marsh or Agatha Christie you are going to love Juliet Henry and the residents of Bartholomew's Woods. This first book in Melanie Jackson's new Miss Henry Mystery Series is a 40k word novel.

If you're looking for mysteries in other series by the same author, simply search for "Chloe Boston", "Butterscotch Jones", or "Wendover House."

©2012 Melanie Jackson (P)2013 Melanie Jackson

Found a new favorite

Love a smart, articulate protagonist. Much charm in this book. I hope further books in the series become Audibles. The story is well read but the narrator's habit of crisply enunciating every letter t made me hope for sentences without them. This might not bother other listeners as much as it bothered me.

narrator did not match with

the voice of the narrator did not match the story well. The story itself was good but could have used a different voice