Dazzlepaint

by Erica Obey

Gavin Fellowes, a damaged WWI veteran turned cynical psychic investigator, arrives in Ker-Ys, a Utopian art colony in Woodstock, NY, to investigate a series of purported fairy kidnappings of Communist garment workers who have taken over the failed Overlook Mountain House above the village. He is rapidly confronted with the willful blind spots of the well-meaning artists and the burgeoning anti-Semitism of the Catskills. With the help of Kate Ames, an illustrator and dazzlepaint designer who once might have been kidnapped by the fairies herself, Gavin must dig beneath the myth and legend to uncover an all-too-real occult threat that looms over Europe in the aftermath of the Great War.

330 pages, Paperback

Published February 16, 2021

About the author

There are three places you can find Erica when she’s not writing: on a hiking trail, in her garden, or at the back of the pack in her local road race. Her favorite kind of vacation is backpacking across Dartmoor or among the hills of Wales in order to find new and exciting legends about Druids, fairy folk and unsolved mysteries to inspire her own writing. After she graduated from Yale University, this interest in folkore and legend led her to an M.A. in Creative Writing from City College of New York and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the City University of New York, where she published articles and a book about female folklorists of the nineteenth century before she decided she’d rather be writing the stories herself.

Along with their macaw Fasolt and a rotating assortment of cats, she and her husband divide their time between New York City and Woodstock, where they spend far too much time gardening – growing native woodland plants, roses, and old-fashioned cottage favorites, while fighting the chipmunks for the fruits of their kitchen garden – and losing. She is passionately committed to finding new and exciting recipes and eating with the seasons, although it’s abundantly clear that if she and her husband actually have to live off the land, they’d die. Check out some pictures on her website, beginning on St. David’s Day (Mar.1.)

As for her supremely untalented running, well, it gives her a chance to relax and think about her novels, even if, when she’s training for a marathon, it literally takes all day – as does walking the 2 miles back and forth from her apartment in Manhattan to Fordham University, where she teaches writing.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won Dazzlepaint on Goodreads and was surprised at how good it was. This is a mystery with the fae, the seelie and unseelie courts thrown in. At the start of the book, I didn't think I'd be able to finish as was kinda slow, but once past the first few chapters, it just kept getting better and better. Also with a surprise ending. I would recommend this book to any mystery and/or fantasy reader.

[Thom Mckinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed reading Dazzle Paint. To read a novel that so deftly blends the supernatural and folklore with mystery, political intrigue, corporate greed, social history, and romance, is pure pleasure. And written with such skill, eloquence, and artistry only enhances the reading experience!

[Kathleen Suess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Dazzlepaint, although outside my usual area of interest. It's well written and well researched, and I learned some interesting words and terms, which is always a plus for me when reading.