Portrait of a Gossip (Miss Henry Cozy Mysteries Book 1)

Move over Miss Marple, there's a new sleuth in town.

For those whose lives have gotten complicated, running away and joining the circus may seem like a reasonable option. It certainly appealed to Miss Henry when she needed to shuffle off the NSA’s deadly coil. Joining an art colony is the closest things she could find to a circus.

"Melanie Jackson is a talent to watch."
--WritersWrite.com

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?

“Portrait of a Gossip” is the first book in the Miss Henry Mystery Series.

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.

Praise for the Author

"A wickedly sexy tale!"
--Christine Feehan, New York Times Bestselling Author (on The Selkie)

"... delivers sizzling romance and ghoulish thrills at a breathtaking clip."
--Publishers Weekly (on Traveler)

"Readers of Laurel K. Hamilton will enjoy this complex tale..."
--Booklist (on Still Life)

Three times nominated for RT's Reviewers' Choice Award.
Twice nominated for RT's Lifetime Achievement Award.

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