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Izzy McNeil Mystery #6
False Impressions
Chicago attorney Izzy McNeil is ready to take a break from private investigation and focus on her career in criminal law. But as a favor, she agrees to work with Madeline Saga, a beautiful art gallery owner who fears that artwork she has sold is fake. Who in Madeline's tight circle of artists and gallery owners is guilty of the forgeries?When Madeline's life is threatened, Izzy is suddenly asking a more troublesome Who wants the gallery owner dead?As the case spins out of control, there's only one person who makes Izzy feel safe-Detective Damon Vaughn. But getting close to her former nemesis is full of surprises. Astonishing truths about the glittering Chicago art scene will introduce Izzy to the deadliest art of deception.…
- GenresMysteryRomantic Suspense
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Laura Caldwell
32 books165 followersLaura Caldwell is a Chicago-based lawyer turned novelist. Her first book, Burning the Map, was selected by Barnes & Noble.com as one of The Best of 2002. Following that, A Clean Slate received a starred review from Booklist. The release of The Year of Living Famously and The Night I Got Lucky prompted Booklist to declare, “Caldwell is one of the most talented and inventive...writers around.”
Laura began publishing thrillers and suspense novels in 2005. Her debut mystery, Look Closely, received critical acclaim and The Chicago Sun-Times called The Rome Affair “Caldwell’s most exciting book yet…a summer must-read.” The Rome Affair, which centers around a Chicago society couple riding a roller coaster of infidelity, blackmail and murder, pulled Laura into a real-life, highly-profiled murder trial involving a 19-year old suspect forced into a confession and wrongfully jailed for a crime he did not commit. Laura became one of the attorneys who represented the suspect pro bono, resulting in a not-guilty verdict.
Laura's newest is an international thriller, The Good Liar. Bestselling author Ken Bruen calls it "a massive achievement." Publisher's Weekly lauds it as "a taut, enjoyable thriller." And New York Times bestselling author James Rollins said, "THE GOOD LIAR strikes like an assassin's bullet: sudden, swift, precise, deadly. Here is a taut international thriller certain to keep readers breathless and awake until the wee hours of the morning. Not to be missed." Her work has been translated into ten languages and published in over twenty countries.
Before beginning her writing career, Laura was a trial attorney, specializing in medical malpractice defense and entertainment law. She is published in the legal field and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at her alma mater, Loyola University Chicago, where she teaches Advanced Writing for Litigation. She recently received the St. Robert Bellarmine award for distinguished contributions to the profession and the Loyola School of Law. In the summer of 2008, she will be teaching International Criminal Law at Loyola's campus in Rome, Italy.
Laura is also a freelance magazine writer. Her work has been published in Chicago Magazine, Woman's Own, The Young Lawyer, Lake Magazine, Australia Woman's Weekly, Shore Magazine and others. Her work can also be seen in Everything I Needed to Know About Being A Girl I Learned From Judy Blume (Pocket Books, 2007), It's A Wonderful Lie: Truth About Life In Your Twenties (Warner, 2006), Girl's Night In II (Red Dress Ink, 2006) Flirting With Pride & Prejudice (BenBella Books, 2005) and Welcome to Wisteria Lane: On America's Favorite Desperate Housewives (BenBella Books, 2006).
Laura began publishing thrillers and suspense novels in 2005. Her debut mystery, Look Closely, received critical acclaim and The Chicago Sun-Times called The Rome Affair “Caldwell’s most exciting book yet…a summer must-read.” The Rome Affair, which centers around a Chicago society couple riding a roller coaster of infidelity, blackmail and murder, pulled Laura into a real-life, highly-profiled murder trial involving a 19-year old suspect forced into a confession and wrongfully jailed for a crime he did not commit. Laura became one of the attorneys who represented the suspect pro bono, resulting in a not-guilty verdict.
Laura's newest is an international thriller, The Good Liar. Bestselling author Ken Bruen calls it "a massive achievement." Publisher's Weekly lauds it as "a taut, enjoyable thriller." And New York Times bestselling author James Rollins said, "THE GOOD LIAR strikes like an assassin's bullet: sudden, swift, precise, deadly. Here is a taut international thriller certain to keep readers breathless and awake until the wee hours of the morning. Not to be missed." Her work has been translated into ten languages and published in over twenty countries.
Before beginning her writing career, Laura was a trial attorney, specializing in medical malpractice defense and entertainment law. She is published in the legal field and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at her alma mater, Loyola University Chicago, where she teaches Advanced Writing for Litigation. She recently received the St. Robert Bellarmine award for distinguished contributions to the profession and the Loyola School of Law. In the summer of 2008, she will be teaching International Criminal Law at Loyola's campus in Rome, Italy.
Laura is also a freelance magazine writer. Her work has been published in Chicago Magazine, Woman's Own, The Young Lawyer, Lake Magazine, Australia Woman's Weekly, Shore Magazine and others. Her work can also be seen in Everything I Needed to Know About Being A Girl I Learned From Judy Blume (Pocket Books, 2007), It's A Wonderful Lie: Truth About Life In Your Twenties (Warner, 2006), Girl's Night In II (Red Dress Ink, 2006) Flirting With Pride & Prejudice (BenBella Books, 2005) and Welcome to Wisteria Lane: On America's Favorite Desperate Housewives (BenBella Books, 2006).
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
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April 10, 2013I purchased this book in error. I was looking for a book of the same title and this appeared. Why do authors not check that the book title they propose already exists. Odd thing not to do.
August 23, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012Review: False Impression by laura Caldwell
< 4 STARS This is the second Izzy McNeil Mystery that I have read. Thier is a lot of swearing in it. The story is complex and riveting. I did guess who the guilty party was before the end. Had no idea about the early part. Izzy has a full life and background of supporting characters that I have seen. Izzy is a defense lawyer and she does some P.I. work too. Her boss & friend at the P.I. asked her to go work undercover at his old girlfriend Madeline Saga art gallery. Someone has forged some paintings that she has sold. They were not fakes when she bought them. Madeline does not want to go to the police with the thefts because her gallery would suffer. Izzy likes Madeline and Madeline likes teaching her about art and offering her art experiences. Izzy and Madeline go to a nightclub when Izzy can't find Madeline. She learned that Madeline had paid the tab. Izzy was walking back and forth on the sidewalk looking to make sure Madeline was not outside fallen down when A cop car pulls up and it is Police detective Vaughn. Vaughn talks to her and offers her a ride home. He lets her know the bar owner was a friend and said thier was call girl out front of his place. Izzy is clueless about that they meant her. Izzy does not let Vaughn know that she is a P.I. and working a case. Just says she was with a friend and the friend disappeared after paying the tab. Vaughn tells her to call if they cant find her tomorrow that she probably thought she had too much to drink and went home. They find out that someone is following Madeline all the time. They know what restraunts she goes to. What clubs, knows the places she has been. Thier is a piece of art that arrives with a threat to it. Also emails and on the quest book. Izzy is getting frustrated to find out the answers. I like Izzy and look forward to reading more about her world. I was given this ebook to read in exchange for honest review from Netgalley. 08/21/2012 PUB Harlequin Mira 400 pages
< 4 STARS This is the second Izzy McNeil Mystery that I have read. Thier is a lot of swearing in it. The story is complex and riveting. I did guess who the guilty party was before the end. Had no idea about the early part. Izzy has a full life and background of supporting characters that I have seen. Izzy is a defense lawyer and she does some P.I. work too. Her boss & friend at the P.I. asked her to go work undercover at his old girlfriend Madeline Saga art gallery. Someone has forged some paintings that she has sold. They were not fakes when she bought them. Madeline does not want to go to the police with the thefts because her gallery would suffer. Izzy likes Madeline and Madeline likes teaching her about art and offering her art experiences. Izzy and Madeline go to a nightclub when Izzy can't find Madeline. She learned that Madeline had paid the tab. Izzy was walking back and forth on the sidewalk looking to make sure Madeline was not outside fallen down when A cop car pulls up and it is Police detective Vaughn. Vaughn talks to her and offers her a ride home. He lets her know the bar owner was a friend and said thier was call girl out front of his place. Izzy is clueless about that they meant her. Izzy does not let Vaughn know that she is a P.I. and working a case. Just says she was with a friend and the friend disappeared after paying the tab. Vaughn tells her to call if they cant find her tomorrow that she probably thought she had too much to drink and went home. They find out that someone is following Madeline all the time. They know what restraunts she goes to. What clubs, knows the places she has been. Thier is a piece of art that arrives with a threat to it. Also emails and on the quest book. Izzy is getting frustrated to find out the answers. I like Izzy and look forward to reading more about her world. I was given this ebook to read in exchange for honest review from Netgalley. 08/21/2012 PUB Harlequin Mira 400 pages
March 30, 2020
The Izzy McNeil series has been a strong go-to of mine for vacations and fun reads. I was saving this one because I knew, sadly, it would be the last. I picked it up thinking this is just what I needed in these crazy times- fast paced, distracting, fun. Disappointingly, this was probably the Izzy book I enjoyed the least. The plot was far fetched, predictable, and really had nothing to do with the rest of the book. There was no wrap up, so it is open for more books- please? Book was OK, but it wasn't quite what I have come to rely on with Izzy McNeil.
October 6, 2025
Some editing mishaps, the whole Izzy-gets-into-art thing felt a little offsides, I wanted actual PI work, not her just doing art things and asking mental questions. There was no . . . no tension, no drama, no excitement, the conclusion of her case was rather blah. Even the blossoming romance with Vaughn was blah
November 7, 2017
I knew this Vaughn thing was coming! Curious to see where it goes. This one had an interesting and dreamy feel, probably because that’s how Madeline’s character was and she colored a lot of the book. There end was a little silly and didn’t quite make sense, but it worked okay.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2023
I think there are some interesting parts to this story. The twin aspect is the supposed twist but kind of nothing happens in the end.
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May 31, 2019
This book wasn’t that great really... thought it was going to be a juicy mystery, but it turned out to be more dull than anticipated.
June 28, 2019
Enjoyable and fast to read. This is another Izzy McNeil book. Izzy's always taking some interesting cases, so I like seeing what'll happen next.
April 25, 2020
I like this character, but this book was a little slow. The plot was very anticlimactic.
May 5, 2024
Ok. Very fast read.
August 19, 2012
I got my first taste of the Izzy McNeal series when I went to BEA and got autographed copies of the first two books in the series. After voraciously reading them in my hotel room, I was ready for the next one and ran to the bookstore to get it when it came out shortly after. False Impressions is book number six in this excellent murder mystery series.
Izzy is taking a break from detecting after she has lost one fiancé and a serious boyfriend through involvement in previous cases. She decides to concentrate on her legal career when n her old friend Mayburn asks her to take on another case as a favor. Izzy finds herself in the middle of the art world in Chicago trying to find out who has been targeting Madeline Saga and her art gallery. It's a heady world that Izzy finds herself in and she has to work to keep her wits about her. Madeline is focused on her art collections and mentors Izzy in the appreciation of it. Madeline vacillates from friendly and focused to aloof and disoriented. Izzy finds out that there are many possible suspects, old lovers, competitors and customers who unknowingly purchased fakes. There are plenty of red herrings in the book and a final twist that works perfectly.
During her investigation, Izzy finds herself attracted to a gallery customer involved in a messy divorce and also having run-ins with CPD's Damon Vaughn that seem to be leading down an interesting road. She also discovers an wild side of her that she has not let loose in a long time, and finds that she enjoys letting go sometimes. She also meets a quirky group of artists and art lovers that help her add to her new self-awareness.
One of the things I like about this series is that Izzy learns from her mistakes and listens when her experts give advice on her cases. She has learned the hard way what can happen when you rush in unprepared. She mostly follows the law and doesn't do anything egregiously wrong. She has a difficult relationship with her father and brother and it doesn’t get whitewashed or neatly resolved.
Even though this is the sixth book in the series, it can stand alone so new readers don't need to be afraid to jump in. I suspect that you will like it so much you will go back and read all of the prior books. Enjoy them!
Izzy is taking a break from detecting after she has lost one fiancé and a serious boyfriend through involvement in previous cases. She decides to concentrate on her legal career when n her old friend Mayburn asks her to take on another case as a favor. Izzy finds herself in the middle of the art world in Chicago trying to find out who has been targeting Madeline Saga and her art gallery. It's a heady world that Izzy finds herself in and she has to work to keep her wits about her. Madeline is focused on her art collections and mentors Izzy in the appreciation of it. Madeline vacillates from friendly and focused to aloof and disoriented. Izzy finds out that there are many possible suspects, old lovers, competitors and customers who unknowingly purchased fakes. There are plenty of red herrings in the book and a final twist that works perfectly.
During her investigation, Izzy finds herself attracted to a gallery customer involved in a messy divorce and also having run-ins with CPD's Damon Vaughn that seem to be leading down an interesting road. She also discovers an wild side of her that she has not let loose in a long time, and finds that she enjoys letting go sometimes. She also meets a quirky group of artists and art lovers that help her add to her new self-awareness.
One of the things I like about this series is that Izzy learns from her mistakes and listens when her experts give advice on her cases. She has learned the hard way what can happen when you rush in unprepared. She mostly follows the law and doesn't do anything egregiously wrong. She has a difficult relationship with her father and brother and it doesn’t get whitewashed or neatly resolved.
Even though this is the sixth book in the series, it can stand alone so new readers don't need to be afraid to jump in. I suspect that you will like it so much you will go back and read all of the prior books. Enjoy them!
March 8, 2014
A fun, quick, light read with enough suspense and interesting backdrop (contemporary art world - albeit limited and author shows not much knowledge of art - just broadly swept strokes here and there) to keep you reading... The writing style is what you'd expect from those bestseller type, mass market books. Something to read for long flights. The ending did not come together, some loose ends. Of course, you can put it all together yourself (plot is simple enough) but the ending seemed messy, quickly written, perhaps the author was past the deadline in submitting the manuscript. I would actually give it a 2.5.
January 2, 2015
What's not to like? The book cover say's "Action, Suspense, Sex" and it was about forgery in the art world. Didn't realize it was a copycat of the Stephanie Plum character and is in fact part of a series about a young woman who gets into the unlikeliest predicaments with criminals and her cop friend has to bail her out because she's an idiot.
March 5, 2015
I liked the story and liked the characters, but I was disappointed in the ending. I really dislike it when there is no way the reader can solve the mystery. There was not even a hint of the stalker's identity beyond Izzy meeting someone who acted a little distracted. I enjoyed the book despite the disappointing ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2013
I really enjoyed this one in the Izzy series and sad that it is the last one in this wonderful series. I was pleasantly and very surprised who she falls for as I thought she would fall for Mayburn and they would get together but it was great. All the characters were great in this one.
August 20, 2012
Laura Caldwell keeps this delightfully innovative series fresh with unique storylines, ever evolving characters and unpredictable twists and turns. To read this review in its entirety, please click HERE
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December 27, 2014Miniseries: An Izzy McNeil Novel
Category: Suspense
"Caldwell delivers another terrific story featuring her attorney/private detective Izzy McNeil. The characters are first-rate, and the reader will become emotionally involved with Izzy and the supporting cast." RT Book Review
Category: Suspense
"Caldwell delivers another terrific story featuring her attorney/private detective Izzy McNeil. The characters are first-rate, and the reader will become emotionally involved with Izzy and the supporting cast." RT Book Review
September 20, 2012
I didn't realize this is the newest in a series, and I typically don't read books out of order. However, after reading this I will definitely go back and read the first books on the series.
August 16, 2016
I don't know why I started this series with book # 6 but I did. Izzy goes undercover in an art gallery when weird, ie stalking type things start happening to the owner. Someone seems out to get her professionally
September 10, 2012
Another great book by Laura Caldwell. It was the perfect ending to the Izzy series!
December 3, 2012
I had enjoyed the previous books with this main character. This book falls short of the others. The plot was uninteresting and I solved the mystery early on. Overall, a disappointment.
February 2, 2016
My first book by Caldwell
January 22, 2013
I really like this series. However the answer to the mystery was laughable.
January 28, 2013
kept my interest
August 4, 2013
My least favorite of all the McNeil mysteries.
August 6, 2014
Harlequin romance. Last in a series, but again I couldn't tell that before I started reading. A lot of quirky things in this book. Ending was not believable.
March 13, 2014
Did not like the ending. The rest of the book was OK.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews