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True Image
An insecure portrait artist forms an unlikely partnership with a mute autistic child to solve a murder.
In True Image , aspiring artist and amateur detective Maud Gibbons receives her first major portrait commission. She should be ecstatic. The fee secured by her new agent is extraordinary, but Maud soon realizes it’s no ordinary commission. Her client has enough status and wealth to get whatever she wants. And what the eccentric Mrs. Veronica Barrington wants is to have her portrait painted from life by a talented female artist willing to live and work at Altica, her summer estate. When death comes to Altica, it’s not money but the combined talents of an amateur detective and an autistic twelve-year-old girl with super powers, that uncovers the truth among the lies.
Susan Statham received the inaugural Medli Award for True Image – a story that brings together a portrait artist and autistic child to solve a murder. Seven judges within the literary professions and five avid readers chose True Image as the manuscript most likely to succeed in captivating a reader.
In True Image , aspiring artist and amateur detective Maud Gibbons receives her first major portrait commission. She should be ecstatic. The fee secured by her new agent is extraordinary, but Maud soon realizes it’s no ordinary commission. Her client has enough status and wealth to get whatever she wants. And what the eccentric Mrs. Veronica Barrington wants is to have her portrait painted from life by a talented female artist willing to live and work at Altica, her summer estate. When death comes to Altica, it’s not money but the combined talents of an amateur detective and an autistic twelve-year-old girl with super powers, that uncovers the truth among the lies.
Susan Statham received the inaugural Medli Award for True Image – a story that brings together a portrait artist and autistic child to solve a murder. Seven judges within the literary professions and five avid readers chose True Image as the manuscript most likely to succeed in captivating a reader.
232 pages, Paperback
Published September 15, 2024
1 person want to read
About the author
Susan Statham
8 books7 followersA writer and an artist, Susan Statham graduated from and studied at: Algonquin College; The University of Waterloo; OCAD; the National Portrait Academy and Fleming College. She has travelled to and attended workshops in New York,N.Y.; Florence, Italy and London, England.
The inspiration for The Painter’s Craft came from one sentence in one art class -
“Cobalt violet is the most poisonous oil paint.”
The Cover image for The Painter’s Craft is Ms. Statham’s oil painting, ‘Hope’. She has also painted the 6 other oils that provide her protagonist Maud Gibbons with clues to solving the mystery.
The inspiration for The Painter’s Craft came from one sentence in one art class -
“Cobalt violet is the most poisonous oil paint.”
The Cover image for The Painter’s Craft is Ms. Statham’s oil painting, ‘Hope’. She has also painted the 6 other oils that provide her protagonist Maud Gibbons with clues to solving the mystery.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 17, 2024
True Image is an absolute delight. The characters are wonderfully developed, interesting, and the sort of people you'll enjoy spending time with. It's a deeply immersive page-turner with each chapter ending on a cliffhanger, propelling the reader to enjoy just a few more pages before turning in for the night. The next thing you know, it's 1 am.
Susan Statham's protagonist, Maud, from her first book, The Painter's Craft, is back with her sense of humour, inquisitive mind, and vulnerable disposition, which makes her akin to any beloved literary character. Imagine Knives Out with a cozier cast.
True Image is a whodunnit that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Susan Statham's protagonist, Maud, from her first book, The Painter's Craft, is back with her sense of humour, inquisitive mind, and vulnerable disposition, which makes her akin to any beloved literary character. Imagine Knives Out with a cozier cast.
True Image is a whodunnit that will keep you guessing until the very end.
October 4, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed “True Image”. the second book in Susan Statham’s mystery series featuring the amateur sleuth, Maud Gibbons. Maud is smart, observant, possesses the skill to make people talk, and quietly persists until the crime is resolved while drawing occasionally on the insights of her uncle who runs a private investigation agency.
Susan Statham continues to offer what readers find most appealing about “cozy mysteries”: a dignified setting with interesting and varied characters, a crime committed without unnecessary or explicit details, the suspicion that many characters had the motive and the opportunity, the comfort of gentle romance, delicious meals served with elegance, warm encounters with beloved household pets, and the pursuit of a hobby pertinent to the plot. The hobby, in this case, is assembling jigsaw puzzles as an autistic teenager silently attempts to provide clues.
An additional treat: Susan provides us with insights into the intricate steps a skilled artist must take to paint a “true likeness” of a demanding patron.
The action is nimble and the writing engaging. I reached the last page to face a surprise. I was left with the message that all is well with a world in which we can live comfortably despite our human tendency to err.
While Maud Gibbons is an amateur detective, she, like the author, is a professional artist. For this commission, Maud has been invited to the Barringtons’ pleasant and well-appointed country home that includes extensive gardens and a swimming pool). Her task is to paint Veronica Barrington’s portrait as a surprise gift for her husband, Alton, a pharmaceutical magnate. From the moment of her arrival, Maud encounters curious characters. None are what they appear to be.
Veronica Barrington is domineering. She treats everyone, even her grown children, with condescension. Jamie Conlin is caregiver to Penelope, the Barrington’s youngest child, an autistic daughter. Sons Beau and Gabriel bring romance into the great house drawing Maud and Jamie into the action so neither remains as a mere bystander and the latter is suspect.
A local doctor with the subtly suggestive name, Galen Patmore, enjoys a curious relationship with Verinica Barrington. Caleb, the long-serving handyman, presents himself as single and solitary but turns out otherwise. Dinah, the cook who prepares delicious meals, is a master at gossip. Her tales both clarify and confound. She entertains uncommon feelings for Beau.
The characters are so different from one another yet so intimately related in complex ways that our suspicions are aroused from the outset: Who may do what to whom? Then, when the deed is done, we scratch our heads over the party most likely to be guilty.
The body – there is one -- turns out to be the provocatively beautiful Celia whom Beau has just introduced as his fiancé to his disapproving family. But Celia is neither what she appears to be nor is she Beau’s fiancée.
In forty-eight concise chapters most of which delighted me by ending in cliffhangers, Susan Statham held my unwavering attention till the very end.
Prediction? Maud Gibbons, artist and amateur sleuth, may be destined to become Canada’s “Miss Marples”!
Susan Statham continues to offer what readers find most appealing about “cozy mysteries”: a dignified setting with interesting and varied characters, a crime committed without unnecessary or explicit details, the suspicion that many characters had the motive and the opportunity, the comfort of gentle romance, delicious meals served with elegance, warm encounters with beloved household pets, and the pursuit of a hobby pertinent to the plot. The hobby, in this case, is assembling jigsaw puzzles as an autistic teenager silently attempts to provide clues.
An additional treat: Susan provides us with insights into the intricate steps a skilled artist must take to paint a “true likeness” of a demanding patron.
The action is nimble and the writing engaging. I reached the last page to face a surprise. I was left with the message that all is well with a world in which we can live comfortably despite our human tendency to err.
While Maud Gibbons is an amateur detective, she, like the author, is a professional artist. For this commission, Maud has been invited to the Barringtons’ pleasant and well-appointed country home that includes extensive gardens and a swimming pool). Her task is to paint Veronica Barrington’s portrait as a surprise gift for her husband, Alton, a pharmaceutical magnate. From the moment of her arrival, Maud encounters curious characters. None are what they appear to be.
Veronica Barrington is domineering. She treats everyone, even her grown children, with condescension. Jamie Conlin is caregiver to Penelope, the Barrington’s youngest child, an autistic daughter. Sons Beau and Gabriel bring romance into the great house drawing Maud and Jamie into the action so neither remains as a mere bystander and the latter is suspect.
A local doctor with the subtly suggestive name, Galen Patmore, enjoys a curious relationship with Verinica Barrington. Caleb, the long-serving handyman, presents himself as single and solitary but turns out otherwise. Dinah, the cook who prepares delicious meals, is a master at gossip. Her tales both clarify and confound. She entertains uncommon feelings for Beau.
The characters are so different from one another yet so intimately related in complex ways that our suspicions are aroused from the outset: Who may do what to whom? Then, when the deed is done, we scratch our heads over the party most likely to be guilty.
The body – there is one -- turns out to be the provocatively beautiful Celia whom Beau has just introduced as his fiancé to his disapproving family. But Celia is neither what she appears to be nor is she Beau’s fiancée.
In forty-eight concise chapters most of which delighted me by ending in cliffhangers, Susan Statham held my unwavering attention till the very end.
Prediction? Maud Gibbons, artist and amateur sleuth, may be destined to become Canada’s “Miss Marples”!
October 18, 2024
A portrait artist and amateur detective, a non-verbal autistic child and her harried caretaker, an eccentric and rich matron and her three entitled children and an introverted estate caretaker. This is the unusual cast of characters who populate this intriguing “whodunit”.
Portrait artist and amateur detective Maud Gibbons receives her first major commission. The catch: her wealthy “Queen B” subject insists that Maud come and stay at her country estate so the portrait can be done from live sittings. Maud agrees and quickly finds herself caught up in a murder mystery. The key to solving the mystery turns out to be the autistic child who has an obsession and gift for assembling picture puzzles.
“True Image” is a classic murder mystery novel with a twist. Solving the mystery necessitates understanding the work of classic, master painters of bygone eras. The narrative progresses through numerous twists and turns until the unlikely culprit is tricked into confessing thanks to Maud’s detective work and artistic knowledge.
Portrait artist and amateur detective Maud Gibbons receives her first major commission. The catch: her wealthy “Queen B” subject insists that Maud come and stay at her country estate so the portrait can be done from live sittings. Maud agrees and quickly finds herself caught up in a murder mystery. The key to solving the mystery turns out to be the autistic child who has an obsession and gift for assembling picture puzzles.
“True Image” is a classic murder mystery novel with a twist. Solving the mystery necessitates understanding the work of classic, master painters of bygone eras. The narrative progresses through numerous twists and turns until the unlikely culprit is tricked into confessing thanks to Maud’s detective work and artistic knowledge.
November 9, 2024
I bought this book because I had previously read “The Painter’s Craft” by this author and had enjoyed its mixture of mystery/local flavour (Toronto) and tips for budding artists, as well as its warmth and humour.
In Susan Statham’s second novel in this what I hope will become at least a trilogy, Maud the young artist is now ready for her first important commission. This job takes her to a secluded estate east of Toronto where she meets a well-to-do and eccentric family plus a cast of supporting characters. One of my favourite and best drawn characters is twelve year-old Penelope who is autistic but will play a crucial role in the mystery’s plot development.
I enjoyed the author’s command of her art subject and her ability to build suspense! All the while the novel has a light, quirky, cleverly funny touch and even though there is the question of who’s done it and the crime is a serious one, there are no gory details that would keep you up at night.. Nevertheless, I found it hard to put the book down as I neared the unexpected conclusion!
Finally I enjoyed looking up several of the art pieces and artists mentioned in the story and thus learned a little more or refreshed my knowledge of art history.
Bettina
In Susan Statham’s second novel in this what I hope will become at least a trilogy, Maud the young artist is now ready for her first important commission. This job takes her to a secluded estate east of Toronto where she meets a well-to-do and eccentric family plus a cast of supporting characters. One of my favourite and best drawn characters is twelve year-old Penelope who is autistic but will play a crucial role in the mystery’s plot development.
I enjoyed the author’s command of her art subject and her ability to build suspense! All the while the novel has a light, quirky, cleverly funny touch and even though there is the question of who’s done it and the crime is a serious one, there are no gory details that would keep you up at night.. Nevertheless, I found it hard to put the book down as I neared the unexpected conclusion!
Finally I enjoyed looking up several of the art pieces and artists mentioned in the story and thus learned a little more or refreshed my knowledge of art history.
Bettina
November 18, 2024
True Images is a very enjoyable, well-written mystery that is a perfect antidote for an overdose of Booker nominee reading. The characters are engaging and the prose straightforward. I recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews