Customer Reviews

Paint It Red

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Vanessa Abbott is finally ready to start rebuilding her life. She has been working hard (as a realtor) to keep food on the table, and living like an island, after her husband's suicide (he jumped off a bridge into the Missouri river), two years earlier. But now after two years, Vanessa wants to love again; a special someone who would fill the void in her heart and soul. And be a good father to her ten year old son.

Johnny is such a cute and intelligent little kid, that the reader can't help loving him. Life hasn't been very easy for him, despite his loving mother, there was always a void in his life, because his father Jim, when alive was absent from his son's life. Johnny is also a very talented painter just like his father.

Vanessa meets Christian, first in the art Gallery where the last of Jim`s paintings are being shown. Christian is a contractor and he is looking for a house to buy. I liked how the relationship between them evolved, from business acquaintances to friendship/attraction to love. They were serious about each other from the start. While Jim had been moody, and brooding, so absorbed in his paintings. Christian is open and honest, and he puts a smile on her face.

But someone is watching from the shadows, someone who will make all of them pay. And when Jim's friends start dying one by one (with a red slash drawn across their chests, the same sign Jim used to draw across the paintings he disliked , and wanted to destroy) and Vanessa starts receiving some chilling phone calls, along with other creepy events, she realizes with dread that perhaps Jim is still alive. And considering how unstable he was the last few months before his suicide... But who is really tormenting her? Is it Jim, come back from the dead, or is it someone else? And in both cases, the question lingers, Why?

This was a very good suspense read. It also kept me guessing till the end. I loved Grandpa John, whom Vanessa remembers throughout. Grandpa John's wise sayings are beautiful and meaningful, adding a poignancy to the story. However, I thought that there should have been a bit more concentration on the romance.

In conclusion, I liked this book. It is a very good suspense story, a good love story, with a touch of poignancy all throughout.

Vanessa's life was forever altered the night her tortured artist husband, Jim Abbott took his own life, jumping off a bridge, his body never to be recovered from the murky depths of the Missouri River. Leaving no insurance behind and plenty of debts, Vanessa has struggled to build a home and a future for her and son Johnny. Two years later, she's a successful realtor, Johnny is a well adjusted artist in training, and she's ready to move on by selling the last of Jim's paintings. At the art show, she meets sexy contractor Christian. Just as her life is falling into place, people from her and Jim's past are being murdered, with a red slash painted across their bodies - similar to what Jim would do to an unwanted work of art. Then the chilling phone calls and misplaced items start appearing. Could Jim have survived his cascade off the bridge?

Cassidy's latest has her trademark strong female character who won't take the terror sitting down, as well as a charismatic hero figure (and nice for a change that he isn't a cop)! In Johnny, she has created a believable pre-teen struggling with his own feelings for his father who was long absent before dying. The novel could stand to be further developed (it is just over 300 pages), for instance instead of Vanessa reminiscing on events of the recent past, Cassidy could have allowed them to unfold to the reader. Secondary characters could have been more developed as well, particularly Jim's brothers and friend Scott. Overall, it's a good story and Cassidy deftly weaves the intricate plot and takes the reader on an interesting journey to find the culprit.

Carla Cassidy's books just keep getting better and better! I was hooked from page one and finished within a day! A great surprise ending. Bravo!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the main female and male characters and the son Johnny was adorable. The only reason I didn't give this book a 5 is because I thought the author should have developed some of the characters alittle better. Especially the brothers. When someone was talked about in this book, alot of the time I was thinking to myself "Who is that again" and would have to go back and try to figure out who the people were. Overall though I thought it was really good and will definately be reading more from this author.

This was my second Carla Cassidy novel and it was just as good as the first.

Lock your doors. Grab your chocolate. Make sure the phone is working. Set the security alarm.

Don't have one? Your dogs & cats are the original protectors.

Oh, ya might wanna grab the wine, cheese & even more chocolate.


For those who don't drink or like the taste of wine... milk, juice, water, soda...

Just grab your stash. Don't count on going to sleep once you pick this one up though.




Oh! Check the security setting again... Hey!!! Ya never know!!!

Let me begin... Labeled "romantic suspense", Paint It Red, has the suspense factor in spades.

***TiNgLeS*** Chills***Shivers***

There is a shrewdly woven romance but there is also the trite psycho villain out for revenge.

Carla Cassidy has a unique writing style. It is her inimitable voice that sets her apart from all the other wanna~be romantic suspense scribes when she drips morsels of suspense throughout the book.

What I really loved & appreciated about Paint It Red was the fact that you don't know who did what or why. Love that!!!


This is a crucial element in any suspense novel I read.

I love trying to guess whodunit, but I love not knowing even more!!!

This skillful thriller has a number of believable suspects & a hero that refreshingly is not one of them. *Sigh*

The police detective, Tyler King, was extremely well written.

I hope Carla Cassidy realizes the gem she created in Tyler King & pens a gripping suspense with him front & center.


Tyler was one of the best characters in the book. A stellar standout.




One thing, if Tyler does eventually get a story of his own... it'd be nice to bump into Vanessa & Christian again : }.

Paint It Red is overflowing w/ red herrings. Definitely not to be missed.

You'll find it a keeper.


I did enjoy the cover as well. There was just something about it.

It's been two years since Vanessa Abbott's husband, Jim, an up-and-coming artist, drowned himself in the Missouri River; his body was never found. Since then, Vanessa has found comfort and passion beyond anything she's ever known in the arms of Christian Connor, a handsome contractor. Nevertheless, to honor Jim's memory, she arranges one last viewing of his work. But shortly afterward when people start turning up dead, splashed with red paint-one of Jim's signatures-Vanessa thinks he must be alive. And unless she's going crazy, it looks like he's coming for her.

This is my first Carla Cassidy book but I did like it. It has the same elements as alot of other books out there, but I have to say this one was well done and I only figured out the killer when the author told us who he was. She leads you on very well and it was a good read.

Vanessa Abbott is a widow, her husband, Jim, was an artist who had mental problems that led to his suicide. She and her son have lived quietly for the last two years, she working at a realty office and spending time in the loving arms of Jim's family. Now she is ready to move on and has allowed a friend to give a showing of some of Jim's paintings.

Christian Conner is a friend of the owner of the gallery where the paintings are being shown. He is not into the artistic communtity and is pleased to find that Vanassa is not either. They meet at the showing and she finds this is a man she would like to know better. With the showing she is finally letting go of the marriage of eleven years to the artist.

But someone is not happy that she has decided to move on. The usual things start to happen. Unexplained roses, moved pictures, old clothing appears, and she begins to wonder if Jim is dead. His body was never found after he jumped off a bridge. As the murders start, no one is able to connect any of the pieces. The murders are all connected to the art community but no particuliar artist.

The police detective, Tyler King, was very well done and I would like to have a story about him. He was unusual in his caring and attitude toward the case. One of the best characters in the book really.


It held my attention, and I liked the romance. Some of it was predictable, but overall I enjoyed the read.

Vanessa Abbott believes her disturbed husband drowned himself until she's spooked by seemingly autonomous items as they are moved about their home. She falls for a new man, Christian Connor, and strange events escalate. Other than her late husband, she wonders who would send her these vengeful messages.

Young widow Vanessa Abbott struggles to support herself and her ten-year-old son as a realtor. Two years before, her husband, a talented but brooding artist, disappeared without a trace except for his car, parked on a bridge. Police are convinced that the artist accomplished suicide by jumping into the swift and murky Missouri River. Vermilion red was the late Jim Abbott's favorite color. In his finished works, he'd featured this color of excitement. He had a strange habit. When he was frustrated with a work in progress, he'd destroy it with a zigzag of red paint.

Vanessa's ten-year-old son, Johnny, shows artistic talent like his father, but she worries over the pressure his paternal grandparents place on him to become famous. Johnny does not display any of his father's dark mental attributes. Otherwise, Vanessa would never have consented to a black-tie gallery event to sell her late husband's remaining paintings. Andre, the owner of the Kansas City gallery, had discovered and encouraged Jim. After Andre's cut, Vanessa plans to place proceeds in Johnny's college fund.

At the time of the celebrated gallery showing, Vanessa is ready to release Jim and stop trying to make sense of his demons. She places Jim's portrait into her dresser drawer. Art critics and buyers describe his landscapes as genius, the way they leave the viewer thinking. Jim's artwork sells successfully. That evening Vanessa meets handsome and robust Christian Connor, Jim's exact opposite. Christian, the owner of a construction company, is in attendance only because of a bet made with his friend, Andre, the owner of the gallery. Normally, Christian would avoid the stuffy upper crust of society that reminds him of his parents. He finds Vanessa attractive but wonders if she is a snob. Nevertheless, he is in the market for a house and asks her to be his realtor. Later that night at home, Vanessa tucks her son into bed. When she sees Jim's portrait on her bedside table, she's spooked.

Jim is alive and watches as others cash in on his talent. He will make them pay but will spare the son who reminds him of himself. His wife is at the pinnacle of his hit list, but he will start at the bottom. Jim's art dealer, Andre, is found dead the next morning by a gallery assistant. His bashed forehead reveals to forensics that he was beaten long past his death. Broad strokes of red paint soak his shirt. Two other victims, Jim's art agent and artist friend, are found dead with the same ritual of paint. The police hold back this information. Vanessa begins to suffer crank phone calls when a muffled voice begs for help with churning water in the background. This echo of Jim's death leaves her horrified, but she suspects a jealous coworker and doesn't go to the police. After Vanessa and Christian begin seeing each other, he is attacked, but a security guard intervenes. This incident jolts Vanessa into realizing how much he means to her, and they begin a more serious relationship. Will Christian have what it takes to live up to her expectations as a stepparent? Will Vanessa go to the police when more eerie events stun her?

PAINT IT RED is a gripping love story and a psychological suspense. Author Carla Cassidy does an incredible job pacing the tantalizing romance between Vanessa and Christian in a story filled with moments of terror. I adored Christian's turning moment as he witnesses Vanessa's concern over her son. Christian is devastatingly likable as he eases into a natural friendship with Johnny. Cassidy portrays Jim Abbot as a complex and evil person with clarity. PAINT IT RED is a thriller that sucks the reader in until the last page.

I found this to be a really great book. You can't go wrong by buying this book it will have you hooked from the start.