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Charmed #31
Picture Perfect
A face revealed, and rage unleashed -- old anger set upon the world. Three sisters must come together to fight or worse fates will surely be unfurled... The Bay Mirror is covering the grand reopening of Mural House, a San Francisco landmark built in the 1920s, and Phoebe invites her sisters to attend. Piper's got her hands full with P3, but Paige happily tags along to see the once-famous artists' colony that housed great art, passion, and scandal. Notable for all three is the story of the building's architect, William Lancaster, who, during the construction, fell in love with an artist -- a young divorcée named Isabella Marshall. Their relationship was tumultuous at best, eventually ending in tragedy...and in William's disappearance. The hoopla surrounding Mural House's reopening has made William and Isabella's love affair legendary. With the permission of Isabella's daughter, Lucile, Phoebe has been reprinting the couple's love letters in her column. She joins Lucile, now an elderly woman, at the gala's main event -- the unveiling of a long-painted-over mural. Lucile is visibly upset when the mural is revealed; in fact, she seems horrified. Before passing out from fear, she whispers, "The evil has been released..."
199 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
742 people want to read
About the author
Cameron Dokey
52 books944 followersCameron Dokey is an American author living in Seattle, Washington. She has a collection of over 50 old sci-fi and horror films. Cameron was born in the Central Valley of California. Cameron grew up reading classical literature and mythology, perhaps due to her father, Richard, being a teacher of Philosophy, Creative Writing, and Western Literature.
Cameron has one husband and three cats, and is the author of over a dozen young adult novels. Her favorite read is J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings." Her favorite TV show is "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
When she's not writing, Cameron likes to work in the garden and is learning to quilt.
Cameron has one husband and three cats, and is the author of over a dozen young adult novels. Her favorite read is J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings." Her favorite TV show is "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
When she's not writing, Cameron likes to work in the garden and is learning to quilt.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 8, 2024
3,5/5
J’ai bien aimé l’histoire, j’ai trouvé que c’était un peu un mélange entre l’épisode du château hantée et celui du démon qui rends la jeunesse éternelle.
Je me suis plutôt bien sentie transportée dans l’univers des Halliwell.
J’ai bien aimé l’histoire, j’ai trouvé que c’était un peu un mélange entre l’épisode du château hantée et celui du démon qui rends la jeunesse éternelle.
Je me suis plutôt bien sentie transportée dans l’univers des Halliwell.
January 2, 2023
Picture Perfect is exactly what it should be -- like a (slightly underdeveloped) episode of the original Charmed. As it is, it's a fun read for anyone who is a fan of the show. The Charmed Ones new "innocent" to protect is smart, feisty, and the kind of person you'd like to see on the show. The villain is predictable, but you can say that about a lot of Charmed episodes too. All in all, this was an entertaining book.
October 18, 2020
For the sake of reminiscing, I actually enjoyed this book. Piper still rains supreme .
August 15, 2025
The good thing about these Charmed tie-ins is that they can go to places a little bit darker than the show could on the WB.
This particular book was written by Cameron Dokey and has that flair for mixing both horror and elegance.
Season six setting because Wyatt of course.
A grand re-opening is being held for a San Francisco landmark. The Lancaster building was designed by architect William Lancaster in the 1920s but most people know it as Mural House because of all the paintings done by artist Isabella Marshall. Lancaster and Marshall had a romance that soon became bitter once William disappeared...
Getting permission from Isabella's daughter, Lucile, Phoebe and the Bay Mirror have been reprinting the couple's many letters to coincide with the reopening. Phoebe is using it as part of her Ask Phoebe column to give advice to women in tumultuous relationships.
Paige accompanies Phoebe to the gala while Piper has to look after Wyatt while Leo is away on an assignment with a new charge. Piper needs to also take care of P3 so she is having a baby-sitter to watch her son at the club. This is mostly because there is a murderer on the loose that has been keeping their friend Darryl Morris busy in solving the case which, so far, has no supernatural ties.
No just a normal human psychopath...charming.
There is rumor that a painted over mural by Isabella Marshall has been restored and will be unveiled that evening so Lucile will be there, now a woman in her early eighties. While being wealthy, Lucile has been a very reclusive person and has never married nor had children.
Corresponding with Phoebe over the phone, Lucile meets her face to face and Phoebe finds that the woman is not at all senile but with a quick wit and snarky attitude so they get along great and then throw Paige into the mix it's almost like having Piper around.
All of that vanishes the moment the portrait of a tall, dark and handsome man is revealed.
Before fainting out of horror, Lucile whispers:
"The evil has been released."
A concerned Phoebe visits Lucile in the hospital the next day and tries to get the older woman to open up about something for an obviously traumatic past that involved her mother and her romance with William Lancaster, who is the man in the mural. A face Lucile could never forget for all the pain he caused Isabella since she was actually a child from Marshall's first and only marriage.
Lucile tells Phoebe that there were others involved with the story, friends who took respective sides between William and Isabella. Devoted assistants bringing about great passion but also jealousy and envy which even lead to use of...The Dark Arts.
This is now Charmed One business because it seems that the recent murders are related to the scandalous tale of the past. If that's true than the sisters now have an innocent to protect before she is the next victim...Lucile Marshall.
I'm glad we get some Darryl thrown into the story to make up for Leo's absence. I also couldn't help but smile at how Lucile became so great of friends with the sisters and absolutely adored Wyatt to the point of spoiling him since she never had children or grandchildren of her own. It also shows that despite being such a plucky lady, Lucile has trauma from the past that she eventually is able to get rid of by the book's end.
Picture Perfect is vastly different from The Queen's Curse in mood and tone but the opposite works just as well to have me giving it an illustrious five star rating.
This particular book was written by Cameron Dokey and has that flair for mixing both horror and elegance.
Season six setting because Wyatt of course.
A grand re-opening is being held for a San Francisco landmark. The Lancaster building was designed by architect William Lancaster in the 1920s but most people know it as Mural House because of all the paintings done by artist Isabella Marshall. Lancaster and Marshall had a romance that soon became bitter once William disappeared...
Getting permission from Isabella's daughter, Lucile, Phoebe and the Bay Mirror have been reprinting the couple's many letters to coincide with the reopening. Phoebe is using it as part of her Ask Phoebe column to give advice to women in tumultuous relationships.
Paige accompanies Phoebe to the gala while Piper has to look after Wyatt while Leo is away on an assignment with a new charge. Piper needs to also take care of P3 so she is having a baby-sitter to watch her son at the club. This is mostly because there is a murderer on the loose that has been keeping their friend Darryl Morris busy in solving the case which, so far, has no supernatural ties.
No just a normal human psychopath...charming.
There is rumor that a painted over mural by Isabella Marshall has been restored and will be unveiled that evening so Lucile will be there, now a woman in her early eighties. While being wealthy, Lucile has been a very reclusive person and has never married nor had children.
Corresponding with Phoebe over the phone, Lucile meets her face to face and Phoebe finds that the woman is not at all senile but with a quick wit and snarky attitude so they get along great and then throw Paige into the mix it's almost like having Piper around.
All of that vanishes the moment the portrait of a tall, dark and handsome man is revealed.
Before fainting out of horror, Lucile whispers:
"The evil has been released."
A concerned Phoebe visits Lucile in the hospital the next day and tries to get the older woman to open up about something for an obviously traumatic past that involved her mother and her romance with William Lancaster, who is the man in the mural. A face Lucile could never forget for all the pain he caused Isabella since she was actually a child from Marshall's first and only marriage.
Lucile tells Phoebe that there were others involved with the story, friends who took respective sides between William and Isabella. Devoted assistants bringing about great passion but also jealousy and envy which even lead to use of...The Dark Arts.
This is now Charmed One business because it seems that the recent murders are related to the scandalous tale of the past. If that's true than the sisters now have an innocent to protect before she is the next victim...Lucile Marshall.
I'm glad we get some Darryl thrown into the story to make up for Leo's absence. I also couldn't help but smile at how Lucile became so great of friends with the sisters and absolutely adored Wyatt to the point of spoiling him since she never had children or grandchildren of her own. It also shows that despite being such a plucky lady, Lucile has trauma from the past that she eventually is able to get rid of by the book's end.
Picture Perfect is vastly different from The Queen's Curse in mood and tone but the opposite works just as well to have me giving it an illustrious five star rating.
August 30, 2023
Usually they say that a show or a movie isn’t as good as the book because the book gives more details. That is partially true with this book because it does give more details than the show, however the storyline does not stick with what was shown on the shows in a lot of this series of books. They are good books, but the shows were better in this case.
January 2, 2023
Another great story. Loved the character of Lucile, so likeable and fit in so well with the sisters. Interesting premise and storyline flowed well. Ending was a little abrupt but didn’t ruin anything.
May 21, 2019
Can't read the book?
May 11, 2022
Another fantastic entry from Cameron Dokey - the best writer of Charmed books imho.
October 26, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
June 13, 2025
Wasn’t there already a story just like this? Or is it just that predictable.
October 21, 2021
A caveat to start this review...let's be honest, nobody is going to read one of the Charmed books unless they were/are a fan of the original show. So no plot synopsis, you can get that from the description above, but I'll focus on hits or misses related to the Charmed Ones and their universe.
As Charmed novels go, this is pretty good. It's a story with an innocent focus, rather than being centered on one of the three sisters. The plot surrounds a spell and a portrait that was revealed at a gala Phoebe attends. There is evil that is at work there and a connection to a crime spree in San Francisco. The Charmed Ones are intent on figuring out how to stop this evil while protecting their innocent, Lucille Marshall.
I liked Lucille. She's funny, feisty, intelligent and young at heart. She may be elderly, but she's a far cry from being a clueless & helpless innocent that we often see in Charmed. The story could've easily been an entertaining episode. I found the interaction and dialogue between the sisters very well done and believable. The pow wow scene after Phoebe & Paige return from the gala particularly captures their witty banter and distinct personalities. when it comes to the crisis, there is the usual slow pace of putting the pieces all together as well as some wrong turns here and there.
My biggest complaint is there was very little magic. A few spells cast and a watered down "action" finish. That about sums it up. Aside from that, one of the better Charmed books as far as stories go. Also, for those that read these books, there aren't the number of glaring mistakes, such as wrong names, bad proof reading/editing, having powers that they never had in the show etc. There is one exception.....The author says Prue and Andy were engaged......they weren't, they only dated; but it doesn't detract from the story.
Overall, I recommend this one. As with all the Charmed books, it is pulp fiction that is an easy, quick read
As Charmed novels go, this is pretty good. It's a story with an innocent focus, rather than being centered on one of the three sisters. The plot surrounds a spell and a portrait that was revealed at a gala Phoebe attends. There is evil that is at work there and a connection to a crime spree in San Francisco. The Charmed Ones are intent on figuring out how to stop this evil while protecting their innocent, Lucille Marshall.
I liked Lucille. She's funny, feisty, intelligent and young at heart. She may be elderly, but she's a far cry from being a clueless & helpless innocent that we often see in Charmed. The story could've easily been an entertaining episode. I found the interaction and dialogue between the sisters very well done and believable. The pow wow scene after Phoebe & Paige return from the gala particularly captures their witty banter and distinct personalities. when it comes to the crisis, there is the usual slow pace of putting the pieces all together as well as some wrong turns here and there.
My biggest complaint is there was very little magic. A few spells cast and a watered down "action" finish. That about sums it up. Aside from that, one of the better Charmed books as far as stories go. Also, for those that read these books, there aren't the number of glaring mistakes, such as wrong names, bad proof reading/editing, having powers that they never had in the show etc. There is one exception.....The author says Prue and Andy were engaged......they weren't, they only dated; but it doesn't detract from the story.
Overall, I recommend this one. As with all the Charmed books, it is pulp fiction that is an easy, quick read
July 20, 2013
Charmed is one of the tv shows from my childhood that I still love today. I knew there was a bunch of books written afterwords, but I never really picked one up to read. I found this in a book shops near where I live, once I started reading I couldn't put it down. It was well worded and I could easily see each part playing out to a T. The only reason I'm not giving it five stars is because the inner story was ickier then I would have liked. But all and all, if your a charmed fan and want more it's a good read. I look forward to reading more of these + the comics.
August 6, 2016
I loved this book, the characters personalities and what they were saying, is exactly like the tv show (which I love). So of course I loved it.
I actually started this book a few days ago, and I only had 24 pages left, but I don't care, I'm still counting this is the first book I read in 2014.
Not sure if I'm going to review this, yet.
My book blog: nazishreads.net
My twitter account: @NazishTVDSwift
My Instagram accounts: @nazishreads, @nrcharmed01, and @nrtvshows
And I also have a facebook fan page for my blog.
I actually started this book a few days ago, and I only had 24 pages left, but I don't care, I'm still counting this is the first book I read in 2014.
Not sure if I'm going to review this, yet.
My book blog: nazishreads.net
My twitter account: @NazishTVDSwift
My Instagram accounts: @nazishreads, @nrcharmed01, and @nrtvshows
And I also have a facebook fan page for my blog.
May 9, 2016
One of my favorite Charmed books. The books offer a wider range of demons, which makes the plots extremely interesting. This book had some of my favorite elements in it, haunted houses, old family curses and valuable art. I also really enjoy the spells the writers create for each novel.
January 2, 2015
Like all the other Charmed novels, a great book, and just as good as the actual show.
June 16, 2009
this book was intense/educational
Read
March 22, 2010F CHA
Fantasy
Fantasy
July 24, 2011
A great Charmed book.
Read
July 27, 2011Great book very interesing story
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews