Customer Reviews

Arsenic and Old Paint: The Art Lover's Mystery Series (Art Lover's Mysteries)

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Arsenic and Old Paint: The Art Lover's Mystery Series (Art Lover's Mysteries)

Last seen in 2007's Brush with Death, Annie runs the home decorating business she calls True/Faux Studios, as well as an art investigation business partnered with ex?-art-thief Michael X. Johnson.

When she stumbles across a dead body while doing a renovation in the Fleming Mansion, home of an exclusive men's club in San Francisco's Nob Hill, just before her Uncle Anton is hospitalized for arsenic poisoning, she thinks the two events might be related.

At the same time, a man claiming to be an insurance investigator asks her to find a bronze statue that's been stolen from another exclusive San Francisco men's club. Unfortunately, Michael has been incommunicado for days, and she has no choice but to accept the case in his absence.

All the old gang is back: jewelry-maker Samantha Jagger, stained-glass artist Pete Ibrahimbegovics, landlord Frank DeBenton, SFPD detective Annette Crawford, and the aforementioned Michael X. Johnson.

In the course of her investigations into the Fleming Union murder(for despite being warned off by the the FU management and the police, Annie is determined to find out who poisoned Anton), she visits several other old Nob Hill mansions, including an S&M club. She discovers that in the early 20th Century there were tunnels under the houses on the Hill, that had been used for various purposes including hiding runaway prostitutes.

She also chooses between the two incredibly magnetic men in her life: Frank and Michael, or does she? Complicating the issue are secrets that she learns about both of them.

Absorbing, fun and full of information about art and history, Arsenic and Old Paint was worth the wait!

I was delighted with the new Hailey Lind novel, Arsenic and Old Paint. It's been too long since the last adventure of Annie Kincaid, faux painter, former art forger, occasional crime solver. Annie's hired to paint a room in San Francisco's exclusive men's club the Fleming Union. She's peeling off the wall paper that's she's to recreate in paint, hears a scream, and finds a body in a bathtub posed like David's Death of Marat. When her "uncle" Anton is hospitalized with arsenic poisoning, Annie tries to get the police to focus on the possibility that the poison came from the green pigment in the old wallpaper, and might be the cause of death in the posed corpse as well.

Her investigations take her and her pals to sex clubs and into tunnels under the city. "It's complicated" doesn't even begin to explain the situation with her business partner the allegedly reformed art thief Michael, and her landlord the security expetrt Frank. It's a great read.

If you like art history, San Francisco, and a mystery with diverse characters, humor and a little sexual tension, you can't go wrong with Hailey Lind's books. It's been three years since the last book in the Art Lover's mystery series, but Lind is at the top of her game with Arsenic and Old Paint.


Even when artist and faux finisher Annie Kincaid thinks she's taken a routine job, things can go bad quickly. Hired to use paint to recreate the appearance of a Victorian wallpaper that had been ruined, Annie and her team hear a woman's scream, and find an unusual murder scene. There's a man in a bathtub, with a sword in his body, and a woman in a French maid's outfit standing over him. The murder scene reminded Annie of David's painting, Death of Marat. But, that murder is just one of the curious activities at the exclusive Fleming-Union men's club on Nob Hill. Once she's kicked out of the club, and told her services are no longer needed, Annie will do anything to get back in and investigate, even crawl through tunnels.


How does Annie Kincaid get into these messes? Before she knows it, her straight-arrow landlord, Frank DeBenton, asks her to look for a bronze sculpture that disappeared. Her business partner, "reformed" art thief, Michael X. Johnson, gone for a few weeks, appears and disappears at the most inopportune moments. And, in a family of forgers, it appears that her beloved "Uncle" Anton might have been involved in the forgery of a Gauguin that has disappeared. Forgeries, stolen art work, and the reappearance of thieves and forgers in her life. As Annie says, "When there are a lot of coincidences in my life things tend to go bad, fast."


Even Annie's love life is a mess. She's attracted to both bad boy Michael and straight-laced Frank, who might have a mysterious past himself. The only solution is to turn to chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate. And, a complicated investigation doesn't hurt. Although Annie continuously tells Michael they're not investigators, she continues to delve into the disappearance of art work, and the story of tunnels under Chinatown and Nob Hill.


Hailey Lind successfully intertwines the mystery and history with Annie's amusing life. Annie's friends are a remarkable, unusual group of people, and some of the pleasure in reading these books is meeting up with Annie, her family and friends again. Arsenic and Old Paint is the best book of the series, so far, but, if you haven't read any of them, I recommend you go back and start from the beginning. It's worth reading about Annie and her unusual group of acquaintances. Nothing is any better than a good mystery with a strong group of characters. Arsenic and Old Paint, and Hailey Lind's other mysteries, offer a wealth of unusual characters, along with a fascinating look into mysteries in the art world.

I can't compete with the other reviews of this mystery.
All I would like to add is that Annie Kincaid draws me into her world
of art,forgery and murder.
I really enjoyed the way Ms.Lind adds depth to her characters
and the cat and mouse games she plays with the men in her life.
Good boy vs the bad boy.I was very interested in the little
tips about how paintings are made and the devices the art world
uses to know a real piece of art,from a well made forgery.

I have not read the first few books in this series, but found this to be an entertaining read for fans of cozy mysteries with some light social commentary. It is wonderful to have the juxtaposition of the old San Francisco guard with the current social and economic realities of today. The authors' provide a good mystery with some humor and touches of social responsibility--nicely done.

I love this series, and was not disappointed in the most recent adventures of Annie Kincaid and her family of friends. Most of the book is Annie solving several interwoven mysteries with help from her friends; but some of it concerns her attraction to two opposite, but equally appealing men. On the one hand, you have her partner the very charismatic and charming Michael, who is very good at abandoning Annie (at least once in every book) which is both humorous and annoying. On the other, you have Frank - her FBI connected landlord, good looking, (maybe over protective) always willing to rescue her no matter what mess she gets herself into; but possessing "history" which is more than Annie wants to deal with.....

I loved the entire book, and felt it was just the right blend of humor and intrigue. But I have to admit the ending left me wanting more resolution. I can see how it serves as an excellent lead in to the next book, but I am also reminded of the fact that it took two years for this book to come out, and I don't like waiting that long for the next installment. So let's hope the next book will not be as long of a wait. If you haven't read the other books in this series yet, then you have much to look forward too.

The world of high art is a world of theft and deceit. "Arsenic and Old Paint" tells the story of Art forget turned legit Annie Kincaid as she's dragged back into her darker career, this time on the other side of the coin. When violence enters the picture, she finds that a copy of a fine work of art isn't worth blood. "Arsenic and Old Paint" is a fine read that shouldn't be missed by those who like a good thriller.

I just finished the book and I am sitting here hoping the authors write the next installment very soon. I read over 30 cozy mystery series and I am always surprised by how the authors of this series impress me with each installment. The characters Annie, Michael and Frank are well-developed and the plot is gripping. I mostly care about the quality of characters when I choose a series to follow, and these characters are consistently enduring, but full of surprises.

Two stolen Gauguin paintings are the center of this mystery - one is the original and the other a forgery. Annie Kincaid is still torn emotionally between Michael X. Johnson (her art thief partner) and Frank DeBenton (her landlord). The story begins with Annie refinishing some attic rooms at an exclusive male club's mansion - they discover a dead body posed in a bathtub posed at the famous David painting - The Death of Marat. During the story Annie and her entourage tour many places in San Francisco CA - very interesting historical facts.

Fast-passed and basically enjoyable mystery. First time reading author(s). However, two rather glaring errors appeared early in the book relating to the "investigations" undertaken by cast of non-detectives: Pronunciation of the artist David and the god Hermes. In the first case, a character mistakes reference, referring to the sculpture of DAVID [da'vid] and in the second to the designer HERMES [er-mez']. Odd, silly, and unnecessary.