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Chris Honeysett #6
Indelible
Chris Honeysett uncovers strange goings-on at the Bath Arts Academy in this intriguing new mystery
Against his better judgement, laidback painter and private investigator Chris Honeysett has accepted a role as tutor at the Bath Arts Academy and agreed to take part in an anniversary exhibition. But preparations are disrupted by a series of peculiar events: a naked, wild-haired figure is glimpsed running through the woods; strange symbols are carved onto trees and gateposts; a metal sculpture takes on a mysterious life of its own.
The incidents, which are initially assumed to be student pranks, escalate in menace and intensity, until one of Honeysett's fellow exhibitors lies dead - and Honeysett finds himself the prime suspect in the ensuing murder investigation. It's clear that someone is trying to frame him. But who? And why?
Against his better judgement, laidback painter and private investigator Chris Honeysett has accepted a role as tutor at the Bath Arts Academy and agreed to take part in an anniversary exhibition. But preparations are disrupted by a series of peculiar events: a naked, wild-haired figure is glimpsed running through the woods; strange symbols are carved onto trees and gateposts; a metal sculpture takes on a mysterious life of its own.
The incidents, which are initially assumed to be student pranks, escalate in menace and intensity, until one of Honeysett's fellow exhibitors lies dead - and Honeysett finds himself the prime suspect in the ensuing murder investigation. It's clear that someone is trying to frame him. But who? And why?
224 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2014
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50 people want to read
About the author
Peter Helton
15 books17 followersPETER HELTON was born in Germany but moved to London in 1982 where he worked as a translator for film and TV before discovering the attractions of the West Country.
He completed a Fine Arts Degree at UWE and has exhibited in London, Cornwall and Bath. At present he divides his time between his painting studio and writing in the study of a minute cottage near Bath in the company of his cat, Asbo.
Series:
* Chris Honeysett
* Inspector Liam McLusky
He completed a Fine Arts Degree at UWE and has exhibited in London, Cornwall and Bath. At present he divides his time between his painting studio and writing in the study of a minute cottage near Bath in the company of his cat, Asbo.
Series:
* Chris Honeysett
* Inspector Liam McLusky
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 16, 2014
Art for fun's sake...
When painter and PI Chris Honeysett is invited to take part in an exhibition at the Bath Arts Academy, where he was once briefly a tutor, it seems like it should be a fairly straightforward event. As soon as he gets there, though, Chris is persuaded against his better judgement to take on a teaching role on a temporary basis, and to help organise the exhibition. But it's not long before all kinds of strange things are happening – mysterious symbols appearing on walls and carved into trees, glimpses of a wild looking man running naked through the woods, someone sneaking in at night to add to the exhibitors' paintings and, worse, making them better! And it's not long until one of the exhibitors is found murdered in circumstances that leave Chris as a prime suspect. It's up to him to find the true culprit before any more murders are committed...
The story is told by Chris in the first person, past tense, and he's a great character, engaging and full of humour. He's not the most competent PI in the world, since it's something he does only to augment the little money he earns from his paintings, and to be honest there isn't a great deal of detection in the book. But he is observant – his painter's eye allows him to spot things that others might miss, and he's a pretty good judge of character. And there are some good characters for him to judge – the artists gathered together for the exhibition make a nicely eccentric bunch. There's the drunken one with the chip on his shoulder, the rather punky woman who has made a career out of painting clouds, the installation artist who (rather fortunately) doesn't need to make a living from her art since she has the luxury of having a rich husband, and the man that everyone hates because he suddenly became fashionable a few years back and is now as rich as he is pompous. Add on the various teachers at the academy, a range of students from the highly talented to the merest daubers, and the new owner, who hates all artists with a passion, and it's understandable that Chris has his work cut out for him.
The story also gives us a glimpse into Chris' personal life – feisty fellow artist Annis, his girlfriend and housemate, who also happens to be having a relationship with Tim, Chris' partner in the PI business. Confused? So's Chris, poor man! But the three of them work well together despite their mixed-up lives.
The tone of the book is fairly light but the storyline is meaty enough to prevent it from falling into 'cosy' territory. The setting in the Arts Academy gives it something of the feel of an old-fashioned country house mystery, with a limited number of suspects and possible victims. To be honest though, the murder plot is almost secondary to the enjoyment of Chris' observations on his life, his fellow artists and, indeed, on the process of producing art. I know nothing about the mechanics of painting, sculpture etc, but I felt strongly that Helton does and, through Chris, he imparts quite a lot of information, but weaving it smoothly into the story rather than dumping it randomly onto the reader. Helton's writing style is relaxed and easy – it gives that effortless feeling that probably suggests a lot of work went into it. An entertaining read - this is my first introduction to Peter Helton's books, but I look forward to getting to know both him and Chris Honeysett better. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Severn House.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When painter and PI Chris Honeysett is invited to take part in an exhibition at the Bath Arts Academy, where he was once briefly a tutor, it seems like it should be a fairly straightforward event. As soon as he gets there, though, Chris is persuaded against his better judgement to take on a teaching role on a temporary basis, and to help organise the exhibition. But it's not long before all kinds of strange things are happening – mysterious symbols appearing on walls and carved into trees, glimpses of a wild looking man running naked through the woods, someone sneaking in at night to add to the exhibitors' paintings and, worse, making them better! And it's not long until one of the exhibitors is found murdered in circumstances that leave Chris as a prime suspect. It's up to him to find the true culprit before any more murders are committed...
The story is told by Chris in the first person, past tense, and he's a great character, engaging and full of humour. He's not the most competent PI in the world, since it's something he does only to augment the little money he earns from his paintings, and to be honest there isn't a great deal of detection in the book. But he is observant – his painter's eye allows him to spot things that others might miss, and he's a pretty good judge of character. And there are some good characters for him to judge – the artists gathered together for the exhibition make a nicely eccentric bunch. There's the drunken one with the chip on his shoulder, the rather punky woman who has made a career out of painting clouds, the installation artist who (rather fortunately) doesn't need to make a living from her art since she has the luxury of having a rich husband, and the man that everyone hates because he suddenly became fashionable a few years back and is now as rich as he is pompous. Add on the various teachers at the academy, a range of students from the highly talented to the merest daubers, and the new owner, who hates all artists with a passion, and it's understandable that Chris has his work cut out for him.
The story also gives us a glimpse into Chris' personal life – feisty fellow artist Annis, his girlfriend and housemate, who also happens to be having a relationship with Tim, Chris' partner in the PI business. Confused? So's Chris, poor man! But the three of them work well together despite their mixed-up lives.
The tone of the book is fairly light but the storyline is meaty enough to prevent it from falling into 'cosy' territory. The setting in the Arts Academy gives it something of the feel of an old-fashioned country house mystery, with a limited number of suspects and possible victims. To be honest though, the murder plot is almost secondary to the enjoyment of Chris' observations on his life, his fellow artists and, indeed, on the process of producing art. I know nothing about the mechanics of painting, sculpture etc, but I felt strongly that Helton does and, through Chris, he imparts quite a lot of information, but weaving it smoothly into the story rather than dumping it randomly onto the reader. Helton's writing style is relaxed and easy – it gives that effortless feeling that probably suggests a lot of work went into it. An entertaining read - this is my first introduction to Peter Helton's books, but I look forward to getting to know both him and Chris Honeysett better. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Severn House.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
June 26, 2016
I thought this series was complete with the fifth book in the series...but lo and behold...I discover this sixth book! Was excited to read more about Chris Honeysett, painter and private sleuth. This time Honeysett finds murder and mayhem while teaching at a nearby art school. Where artistic quirky characters abound, where murder doesn't make sense...until of course Chris unravels it all. I really like Helton's writing style...and he makes me want to travel to Bath.
September 30, 2014
Chris Honeysett is first an artist then a private investigator so reading this novel was informative concerning art and painting and lists of supplies. It didn't exactly match some of my previous concepts of an artist at work on a piece to be presented at an exhibition, but I suppose you can't be expected to devote yourself completely to putting paint on canvas if there is a mystery or two going on around you. Honeysett has been asked to come back to the Bath Arts Academy to teach while he and other former tutors prepare for an exhibition celebrating the academies thirtieth year anniversary. The head of the academy died while on the way to ask Chris to come back and teach until a replacement for a recently departed teacher can be found. Naturally Chris wants to help out, but teach? Not really his kind of thing. So how does he end up doing just that after getting in touch with the other possible exhibitors?
I liked this story because the author really did a fine job of introducing so many possible guilty parties that I had no idea until the end who would turn out to be the one causing the mayhem. There is a light touch of humor that gives a nice sense of relief to the criminal tension and it also has the added bonus of turning the main character into a more natural personality. This was an enjoyable reading experience but not one that necessarily made me want to rush out and find all the previous novels in the series. For me there was just something about the main character that was fine for one book, but probably not for more than one.
I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
I liked this story because the author really did a fine job of introducing so many possible guilty parties that I had no idea until the end who would turn out to be the one causing the mayhem. There is a light touch of humor that gives a nice sense of relief to the criminal tension and it also has the added bonus of turning the main character into a more natural personality. This was an enjoyable reading experience but not one that necessarily made me want to rush out and find all the previous novels in the series. For me there was just something about the main character that was fine for one book, but probably not for more than one.
I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
May 29, 2015
Chris Honeysett agrees to do an exhibition at the prestigious Bath Arts Academy together with several other artists to celebrate the Academy’s thirtieth-year anniversary. Shortly after arriving at the Academy, and against his better judgement, he takes on a position as a tutor. Several peculiar incidents start to happen leading to the death of one of his fellows and Honeysett being framed for murder.
Indelible is a mystery novel by Peter Helton. It is the sixth book in the Chris Honeysett series. My local librarian recommended me this title after an afternoon chat about my love for Agatha Christie. The front cover of the book even describes the characters of this book as Agatha Christie-like. But were they really? I’m not so sure. They were extremely quirky and the general feeling of the book reminded me very much of Christie’s novels, but what I really liked about this book was the amount of humor it contained.
Chris Honeysett is a great character! He is both a painter and a private detective with a self-deprecating sense of humor. He is probably a better painter than a PI, but his dialogues are pretty funny. There is also a significant amount of information about art and painting. The author has a fine arts degree and he uses that knowledge very well in composing the story. The end did not disappoint, but I found the early chapters were a bit too slow for my taste, and it took me a while to get into this book.
Indelible is a mystery novel by Peter Helton. It is the sixth book in the Chris Honeysett series. My local librarian recommended me this title after an afternoon chat about my love for Agatha Christie. The front cover of the book even describes the characters of this book as Agatha Christie-like. But were they really? I’m not so sure. They were extremely quirky and the general feeling of the book reminded me very much of Christie’s novels, but what I really liked about this book was the amount of humor it contained.
Chris Honeysett is a great character! He is both a painter and a private detective with a self-deprecating sense of humor. He is probably a better painter than a PI, but his dialogues are pretty funny. There is also a significant amount of information about art and painting. The author has a fine arts degree and he uses that knowledge very well in composing the story. The end did not disappoint, but I found the early chapters were a bit too slow for my taste, and it took me a while to get into this book.
August 1, 2014
Chris Honeysett is an artist and a private detective but he is less than organised and lives in a very hand to mouth way with his girlfriend who is also involved with Tim his part time employee in the detective agency. When Chris is nearly killed by a runaway car driven by a man who was coming to visit him, he finds himself involved in a strange mystery which leads to him teaching at a private art school, at which he had taught briefly some years before.
I enjoyed the background to this mystery novel though at times I wanted to shake Chris and tell him to get organised! He is an endearing character who has no real illusions about his own abilities or about his somewhat unconventional private life. The book provides an interesting portrait of life in a rather ramshackle art school. It is well plotted with likeable and believable, if eccentric characters. There are some amusing scenes too - especially the one with the mechanical spider.
If you enjoy your mysteries cosy with likeable characters and English settings then you may enjoy this one. I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from NetGalley.
I enjoyed the background to this mystery novel though at times I wanted to shake Chris and tell him to get organised! He is an endearing character who has no real illusions about his own abilities or about his somewhat unconventional private life. The book provides an interesting portrait of life in a rather ramshackle art school. It is well plotted with likeable and believable, if eccentric characters. There are some amusing scenes too - especially the one with the mechanical spider.
If you enjoy your mysteries cosy with likeable characters and English settings then you may enjoy this one. I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from NetGalley.
January 31, 2015
Painter and part-time private investigator Chris Honeysett once taught briefly at the Bath Arts Academy and finds himself back there, doing a favor to an old friend, and organizing an exhibition of those who once served as tutors there. But strange things are going on in the rambling house, which end up with a dead artist and Chris framed for a murder. Fortunately, he's an old sparring partner of the detective in charge, who doesn't really believe that Chris is guilty. But if he's going to get out of the spot he's in, Chris had better figure out just what's going on at BAA.
January 14, 2019
OKread. Funny, like the characters and the interaction.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews