Still Life With Devils

by Deborah Grabien

Leo Chant is an up and coming artist in the San Francisco arts scene; her brother is the Chief of Police. They're very different people, but family is what matters to them most. When a serial killer threatens the safety and peace of Leo's family and friends, she does what she needs to do to stop the murders and protect the people she loves. She walks into a painting of the last murder scene, determined to face down the killer.

Genres: Mystery

Paperback

First published November 6, 2007

About the author

Deborah Grabien is a world traveller, retired medieval historian, and lifelong rocker chick. Her short fiction, reviews, and essays can be seen in many diverse venues.

Reviews

[Keith Pyeatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good premise and nice writing. The storyline was imaginative and there was a great atmosphere or feel to the novel. For me, pace suffered when high tension scenes were skipped and then summarized. That was probably a style choice, but it made the story less immediate and drained tension. I was especially disappointed when the ending climax, which I'd been anticipating for some time, arrived, and the action was skipped and retold in summary.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

STILL LIFE WITH DEVILS (Psychic Myst/ Pol. Proc-Leo and Cassy Chant-San Francisco-Cont) – G+
Grabien, Deborah – Standalone
Drollweie Press, 2007, Trade Paperback – ISBN: 9780979808104

First Sentence: Theresa Gabriel, 8 months pregnant, was on her way home.

San Francisco has a serial killer targeting pregnant women and Lt. Cassy Chant, single father of a very unusual 14-year-old girl, is leading the investigation. A witness stops the killer, in the midst of the crime, and Cassy turns to his sister artist Leo, to fill for the police sketch artist.
Both Leo and Cassy sense the killer is familiar to them, but it is Leo’s unique ability for psychic traveling leads her to seek the killer on her own.

Grabien has given us a traditional mystery with a psychic twist. The target of the murders is difficult to read but there is no gore. It takes the classic elements of a serial killer police procedural but layers it will elements of psychic abilities, geomancy, and the strength of a family.

I liked all the characters; Leo’s talent, strength and self-assurance; Cassy’s determination and protectiveness; and his daughter Mara’s old-soul perceptiveness. There is a romance that works with, but doesn’t get in the way of, the story. Set in San Francisco, her sense of place is wonderfully done.

There were a few weaknesses; the dialogue was a bit patchy and the ending seemed rushed. Conversely, the twist was well done and the suspense definitely there. I always enjoy Grabien’s books and would recommend it to those who those enjoy a psychic theme, but not to those who are pregnant.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deborah Grabien's Still Life With Devils is an esoteric little novel, one part police procedural, one part paranormal mystery, and one part romance. Leontyne Chant is an artist with an unusual gift: the ability to walk into her paintings. But her brother Cassius, chief of Homicide in the San Francisco PD, must call upon her for help to solve a string of serial killings--and soon Leo discovers she not only has seen the killer before, but that she'll have to call upon her unique ability to help her brother bring the case to a close.

This book's sensibilities are elegant, and it's refreshing to read a murder mystery that doesn't lavish gory detail upon the killer's activities. Rather, Grabien brings a quiet, suspenseful sophistication to the table. Four stars.

[Merriwyllow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling and terrifying - in the good way.