Murder in Pastel [Paperback]

Colin Dunne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

“The path that leads from the back of my cottage to Adam’s lies through a meadow thick with poppies and lupine. Beyond Adam’s cottage this same path disappears into the woods where Cosmo Bari, my father, disappeared one soft summer’s eve ten years ago...”

Ten years ago Cosmo Bari vanished, and with him, his legendary masterpiece, THE VIRGIN IN PASTEL. Since that day no one in the seaside art colony of Steeple Hill has heard from the eccentric painter.

Surrounded by an extended family of Cosmo’s colorful compatriots, mystery writer Kyle Bari believes he has come to terms with being abandoned by his famous father, until the day Adam MacKinnon arrives with his new lover, the beautiful but poisonous, Brett.

Brett has an unerring instinct for other people’s weak spots; soon the quiet colony is seething with hostility and suspicion as Brett hints he knows something about the missing artist.

Kyle doesn’t take Brett seriously until the long lost VIRGIN IN PASTEL is discovered hidden in an antique dresser. A few days later the painting has vanished again--and Brett is dead. Murdered...

Editorial Reviews

Review

A traditional mystery with an emphasis on mood and style...bright and breezy as a summer day. -- By The Book (Wicked Company Reviews) July 1, 2000

From the Publisher

Stylish and romantic; a classic mystery for the contemporary reader.

The secret behind a famous painter's disappearance threatens old friendships--and lives--in a California art colony in Colin Dunne's charming cozy MURDER IN PASTEL.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Writers Club Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595092810
• ISBN-13: 978-0595092819
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,065,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An elegant, highly recommended mystery., September 4, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in Pastel (Paperback)

Set in an isolated artist's colony on the California coast, Murder In Pastel is not one of those cookie-cutter books we see constantly nowadays. Dunne has gone ahead and written what he wanted to write, which always works better than novels cobbled to suit corporate demand.

The protagonist, mystery author Kyle Bari, remains under the powerful influence of his past. When he was a teen, sick with heart trouble, Kyle's father--the famous painter Cosmo--deserted him. He was left to the care of his father's friends. Kyle has never understood Cosmo's disappearance. He still lives in the house of his childhood and, in many ways, his life has not progressed at all. He is a gay man, with no love relationship, who uses his writing to separate himself from the intensity of others' demands.

When Adam, Kyle's long-time crush, returns to the cottage next door after a prolonged absence, Kyle's emotions are finally stirred. But the little matter of Adam's handsome live-in lover, Brett, intrudes. Brett is trouble. He stirs up dissonance within the little community and soon, someone tries to do away with him. Kyle wonders if the assaults can be traced to Brett's search for information about Cosmo and a missing, valuable paining--Virgin in Pastel.

Dunne peppers his leisurely, thoughtful prose with wry observations that charm. He writes with a sure, commanding hand and has connected with her main character's core. The narrative voice is a highly likable one. Readers should not avoid this book based on the sexual orientation of the cast as the novel does not, anywhere, offend. The puzzle compels as does the need to know more about the story's personalities. Colin Dunne is an author to be sought out by all who enjoy a bit of elegance in their mystery.

G. Miki Hayden, Reviewer

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes! Yes! Yes! A brilliant story, well plotted and written, October 18, 2001

By 

ch0pper "ch0pper" (SOUTHAMPTON, Hampshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in Pastel (Paperback)

I found this book to be immensely well-written, with plausible characters (if implausible names), a plausible story-line, and thoroughly enjoyable. I'm a great fan of murder mysteries and this book is as good as the best of its type. It isn't a 'police procedural' however, like so many recent muder novels. It's more a delving into the minds of a very closed community, an examination of motives, desires, and personas.

It is, in fact, very "Agatha Christie".

Well worth reading.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing story of love and murder, August 17, 2000

By 

Randall Ivey "Randall" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in Pastel (Paperback)

Too often novels - mystery or not - set among artists and artist colonies come off as unbearably pretentious, usually as a result of hokey dialogue and an unconvincing grasp of the true artist's life. Dunne avoids the trap here. This is a highly believable tale of repressed passion and unsuppressed murder in a small artists community in seaside California.

The book's pleasure comes from the mystery itself, of course, which is tightly woven and suspenseful right to the end, but also from Dunne's accurate, lyrical depictions of character and landscape. Once begun, it is hard to put this one down.