Paint It Red by Carla Cassidy

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Two years ago artist Jim Abbot committed suicide leaving his wife, Vanessa, to raise their young son, Johnny, alone. Vanessa allows a local art gallery to show Jim’s remaining artwork. The showing is a huge success and the paintings bring in much money for the gallery and Vanessa. The evening is a personal success for Vanessa as she meets the handsome and sexy Christian Connor. After two years of mourning, Vanessa is finally ready to give herself to another man.

Then the gallery owner is found dead, covered with a splash of red paint, Vanessa becomes suspicious. The red mark was used by Jim when he was unhappy with one of his paintings. Suddenly, other dead bodies pop up with the same mark. Vanessa gets threatening crank phone calls. Red peace roses that Jim used to send are delivered to her house. Jim’s picture and his jacket are mysteriously being moved around the house. As strange as it may seem, she’s certain her dead husband is very much alive and out for revenge, but nobody buys into Vanessa’s theory. Vanessa fears for her life, as well as for her son’s life. Can she make them understand before someone else is killed?

I wasn’t surprised by the ending at all and found it to be a bit predictable, but I found this to be a great psychological thriller anyway – thanks to a very interesting plot. The story moved quickly and I found the main characters to be quite likeable. It kept me riveted and totally engrossed from the first page to the last. I have other romantic suspense books by Ms. Cassidy in my TBR and I will be pushing them higher in the pile.

For Reading Challenges:

Romance Reading Challenge
On the Porch Swing Challenge
Romance Club Reading Challenge