Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece is the debut of the A Haunted Craft Fair Mystery series featuring artist Celeste Cabot and set in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Even though the Summer Arts & Crafts Fair is just around the corner from her family home, Celeste decides to tow her delightful pink Shasta trailer to the fairgrounds and showcase her paintings.

Celeste is greeted warmly by fellow vendors and sales are brisk, that is until a woman returns one of her paintings claiming that the piece is haunted. Not quite sure what to make of the woman's accusation, Celeste is shocked when another vendor points out that there are hidden, haunted images in all of Celeste's art pieces. Why is she painting these images without even realizing that she's doing it?

Things quickly go from bad to worse when she is startled awake in the middle of the night by the ghost in one of her paintings. Eager to get away from the ghost and her trailer, Celeste takes a walk through the festival grounds with her chihuahua, Van Gogh only to stumble upon the dead body of grumpy festival manager, Evan.

With fingers pointing her way as the killer, Celeste soon finds herself in the midst of something dangerous. Not only is there a killer on the loose, but someone is stealing money from the vendors and now the once friendly group of artisans are no longer speaking to her. Determined to clear her name, Celeste teams up with the friendly ghost, Elizabeth, who it turns out is actually a relative, and the hunky woodworker, Caleb and his delightful German Shepherd to solve the mystery.

A fun read but the reader is left with more questions than answers - and the dreaded love triangle seems to be on the horizon. Celeste seems to have a quirky family whose antics will have you chuckling aloud, I hope we get to know them better in future installments.

I received an advanced copy of Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

I literally just finished this book. It's the first in the Haunted Craft Fair mysteries. The heroine was very likable as was her precious Van. It's unique to have someone paint spirits. I look forward to the next one in this series.

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece is a charming new cozy mystery with intriguing paranormal elements. The story contains Rose Pressey’s conversational writing style which makes the story easy to read. There is humor sprinkled throughout that will have you giggling. Celeste Cabot loves the color as we can tell from her adorable trailer. She wants to succeed as an artist and Celeste’s bumbling family has helped her get ready. Celeste has a patient mother, a father who means well (creates more chaos than a two year old) and two blundering big brothers. Thank goodness she has her best friend, Sammie Sutton. After a customer returns a painting claiming the piece is haunted. Celeste figures the client was a loony until a nearby vendor wearing glasses notices images hidden within all of her creations. Then she begins hearing a woman’s voice and that night the ghost appears from the painting in Celeste’s trailer. Celeste wonders if those rumors about her grandmother are true. The mystery was straightforward with a limited suspect list. Celeste begins nosing around the craft fair digging up information on her fellow vendors. She gets help from her friendly spirit. The secondary mystery revolves around the ghost who appeared from the painting. There are travel trailer tips at the beginning of each chapter that are amusing. There are two lines that I enjoyed from Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece. The first is you are “as useful as a pogo stick in quicksand”. The second line I liked was “Chihuahuas might be small, but they always want to protect the people they love”. I thought that was sweet. There are two romantic interests for Celeste. At the end of the book, I had a couple of unanswered questions especially regarding Celeste’s newfound abilities and her ghostly friend. Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece is a witty cozy mystery with peculiar paintings, an animated apparition, a caring Chihuahua, a dead dictator, and an active artist.

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece
(Haunted Craft Fair Mysteries #1)
by Rose Pressey 

Paperback, 288 pages
Published October 29th 2019 by Kensington Publishing Corporation



Goodreads synopsis:
Haunted art is in the eye of the beholder . . .

Artist Celeste Cabot welcomes the chance to show her paintings at a craft fair in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where she and her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, can park her vintage Shasta trailer and sell her creations, too.

Unfortunately, her sales take a hit when a customer returns a painting, claiming it's haunted. When a fellow vendor discovers images hidden in Celeste's artwork--and a ghost pays her a late-night visit--she's shocked to realize she has psychic abilities. After the grumpy manager of the craft fair is found with a knife in his neck, Celeste's brushes with the paranormal may help fill in the picture--and make sure the wrong person doesn't get framed . . 

***

4.5 Stars

This is the first book in the Haunted Craft Fair mysteries by Rose Pressey.

This new series by Rose Pressey is right up her alley. It has the spookiness of her Haunted Tour Guide mysteries and the class of her Haunted Vintage mystery series. No one does spooky and paranormal like Pressey!

What a stunner of a new series! I am already hooked.

Celeste Cabot is a painter. But this painter has a super power. She can paint things into her works that you can’t see with the naked eye. When a customer returns a painting saying it is haunted, Celeste soon discovers her new and unusual talent of painting the unseen into each picture she creates. With regards to the haunted painting, Celeste has brought a spirit back to life. And that spirit is as real as it gets.

She is trying to sell her wares at a Craft Fair owned by an unscrupulous man who needless to say ends up dead and Celeste finds his body. She also meets a fellow vendor, Caleb at the scene whom she can’t decide is guilty or just a man she wants to spend more time with. She is baffled. Then enter detective Pierce and Celeste has more possible love interests than she knows what to do with. I am curious to see how these relationships will play out in future books.

This series has me salivating for more. I can’t wait for book two. The writing just flows and the mystery dynamics are on par with other series that have stood the test of time.

If you love cozy mysteries with a doze of the paranormal, this is your book series and your author!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Paranormal cozies are not my most favorite (pardon the poor English), but I liked this one. It wasn't too paranormal where I was turned off by it, but I found myself really liking the character of Elizabeth (SPOILER - the ghost) and I enjoyed the mystery within the mystery (why is she around, who is she, where did she come from, etc...). Not all of these questions are answered in full detail, but they were answered enough in this first installment. I imagine we will learn even more about Elizabeth as the series goes on.

There was an immediate love triangle between Celeste (protagonist) and two men involved in the craft fair. I always enjoy a good love triangle and usually find myself rooting for one over the other; however, in this case, it is still too fresh for me to pick a side (I imagine it will become easier as the series continues).

All in all, I enjoyed this book and plan to continue reading the series. There are lots of other characters, like Celeste's entire family, that promise to take this series even further and since Celeste is traveling the country doing craft fairs, there are no shortages to the mysteries that can come about.

I voluntarily reviewed this ARC on Netgalley.

I loved this fun beginning to a new series by Rose Pressey. Celeste is a great sleuth with a crazy family and a very cute dog. The mystery had so many elements and twists that I was surprised who the killer was. I liked the haunted painting storyline and I look forward to future books. The only thing I didn't care for was the love triangle. I really don't care for them. If your looking for a fun and lighthearted mystery this is the one for you.

Celeste Cabot is eager to hit the craft fair circuit with her Chihuahua Van Gogh. Her first craft fair doesn’t turn out quite as she expected, however. Not only is one of her paintings returned by a customer who claims it is haunted, but suddenly she is being visited by a ghost—only Celeste doesn’t believe in ghosts. At least she didn’t . . . until now. Add to that someone stealing from the fair’s vendors; and then Celeste stumbles upon dead body. Celeste sees possible suspects all around her. She’s determined to find out who is behind the murder and thefts, and if, in fact, there is a connection between the missing money and the murder.

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece was an entertaining cozy mystery—charming and funny. Celeste is an easy to like character, and I especially liked her ghost companion. Oh, and her family! I adore her family. She has one of those close-knit and probably-overly-involved families that is perfect for a cozy. I just love her grandmother and hope there is more of her in future books in the series.

In this first book of the series, you will find a hint of romance mixed in with the mystery. Celeste does not want to believe the good looking wood sculptor could be involved in the theft or murder, but she cannot completely rule him out. And it’s clear that cute detective makes her pulse race a little faster. Unfortunately, I was not completely sold on Celeste’s need to be involved in the murder investigation, no matter her good intentions. The detective on the case was a lot more patient and accommodating to her than I think your average law enforcement officer would be. Still, I enjoyed Rose Pressey’s novel, and will look for the next book in the series.

Synopsis:

Haunted art is in the eye of the beholder . . .

Artist Celeste Cabot welcomes the chance to show her paintings at a craft fair in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where she and her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, can park her vintage Shasta trailer and sell her creations, too.

Unfortunately, her sales take a hit when a customer returns a painting, claiming it's haunted. When a fellow vendor discovers images hidden in Celeste's artwork--and a ghost pays her a late-night visit--she's shocked to realize she has psychic abilities. After the grumpy manager of the craft fair is found with a knife in his neck, Celeste's brushes with the paranormal may help fill in the picture--and make sure the wrong person doesn't get framed . . .

Praise for Rose Pressey and the Haunted Vintage Mysteries

"Rose Pressey's books are fun!" --Janet Evanovich

"Chock full of ghosts, cats possessed by spirits, a handsome police officer boyfriend, and tips on the afterlife and vintage shopping." -- Kirkus Reviews

"An appealing protagonist who is as sweet as a Southern accent." -- Library Journal

"A sheer delight."
--Kate Carlisle (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well developed and well rounded. I enjoyed getting to know Celeste and her family, friends and her friendly ghost, Elizabeth. Her family seems like crazy group of people, which brought humor to the book. And her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, is just adorable and I would like to have him as my sleuthing partner. And it seems as if Celeste has two possible male suitors, we will see how that turns out.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and the book is a quick easy read. I enjoyed the setting of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, since I have visited there. As a crafter, I really liked the craft fair atmosphere. There were tips for traveling, which were interesting and if I was a traveler, would have been helpful.

The mystery was well plotted and moved along at a steady pace. There were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider. I had a few suspects in mind but did not know who it was until the reveal at the end.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. And if you like paranormal, like I do, you will want to read this book.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

"Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece" by Rose Pressey the first in her new "Haunted Craft Fair Mystery" series. It has been awhile since I read a book by Rose Pressey and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed them. This will be another must read series for me as it includes some of my favourite things crafts, ghosts, murder and quirky characters!

Haunted art is in the eye of the beholder . . .

Artist Celeste Cabot welcomes the chance to show her paintings at a craft fair in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where she and her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, can park her vintage Shasta trailer and sell her creations, too.

Unfortunately, her sales take a hit when a customer returns a painting, claiming it’s haunted. When a fellow vendor discovers images hidden in Celeste’s artwork—and a ghost pays her a late-night visit—she’s shocked to realize she has psychic abilities. After the grumpy manager of the craft fair is found with a knife in his neck, Celeste’s brushes with the paranormal may help fill in the picture—and make sure the wrong person doesn’t get framed . . .

The protagonist Celeste is a likable, fun main character, with quirky supporting characters her family, her BFF Saddie and her faithful companion Van the Chihuahua. I enjoyed this first installment and was drawn in from the get go.

The mystery was well written with plenty of twists and turns and had a steady pace. I suspected but didn’t fully figure out whodunit until it was revealed at the end. Also by the end you could sense a few of the characters have a crush on Celeste...

I enjoyed this book and recommend to my friends and any fan of Rose Pressey.

I requested and received an Advanced Reader Copy from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Celeste Cabot is happily living the dream, selling her artwork out of a trailer at a local crafts fair. Most of her customers seem thrilled with their purchases so far, though Celeste can’t help but be unsettled when a woman returns a painting she claims is haunted. Though she doesn’t believe her at first, she certainly does after the ghost of a woman pops out of the painting for a visit. But after the manager of the craft fair turns up dead, Celeste might be able to use her newfound psychic abilities to crack the case.

There’s something freeing about throwing caution to the wind, tossing away a rigid career, and morphing a love of art into a comfortable way of life. It’s exactly what Celeste does, and this risk makes for a punchy opening as she sets off to grab the world she really wants. It’s almost remarkable that she commits to something so uncertain—she’s the cool and collected one in her family. But this infuses her with such genuine earnestness that it’s almost impossible not to want her to succeed.

It’s just a shame that everything goes almost immediately wrong. She sells a painting only to have it returned because it’s haunted. Someone is stealing money from the other sellers. Most of the vendors seem like a bunch of sour, shady grouches. And then the manager of the whole affair is found stabbed to death. So, overall, it’s a rough start to Celeste’s new career.

Yet author Rose Pressey pulls through most of these setbacks with a clipped pace. Soon Celeste is embroiled in a murder investigation that, though it takes up the bulk of the plot, doesn’t rely on a legitimate puzzle. Celeste moves from suspect to suspect without clear focus. The ending makes sense, but there aren’t necessarily a host of clues that lead the way—though there are plenty of red herrings! Pressey relies on a host of quirky characters to propel the action forward, and the entertainment factor is effectively amped-up instead of the armchair-sleuthing.

Cute and crafty, Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece is ultimately a satisfying cozy with a bit of a paranormal twist.

It was a fun read and a good start for a new paranormal series.
I loved the well plotted mystery, the likeable setting and found it engrossing.
I look forward to reading the next instalment in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is the first in a brand new haunted craft mystery series. Celeste Cabot is trying to strike out on her own with selling her paintings at craft fairs. She has a quirky family and has a pink truck and trailer in which she is staying at the fairgrounds in her hometown of Gatlinburg Tennessee. The first of the day of the fair she sells a painting of a beautiful Victorian woman and later that day it is returned with the person saying the picture is haunted. Celeste just returns her money and puts the picture back up for sale but is beginning to feel a little odd as if the painting is watching her. Also another crafts person asks if she intended to put those other pictures in her pictures. She then realizes that if you look at her pictures thru glass you can see hidden images in her art. This was never intended and freaks her out a little. As she is walking around to see the other crafters she is constantly hearing complaints and threats against Evan the event organizer. That night someone’s money is stolen and as Celeste is about to go to bed she decides to go Evan’s trailer and suggest he get some extra security for the craft fair. When she arrives Evan is dead beside his trailer with a knife in his neck. Another crafter Caleb is right on the scene. She is questioned and then goes back to her trailer to meet the ghost in her painting. Evan of course had many enemies and many strange things are happening at the fairgrounds. This was an engaging and interesting cozy that had paranormal elements so I really enjoyed this. I look forward to Celeste’s next craft fair and if her quirky family and friends and ghost are in the next one. Highly Recommend.

Exciting New First-in-Series Cozy
This is a fast-moving cozy mystery. It is the first in a new series that should be great based on this episode. The baseline involves craft fairs with a paranormal tilt. I can't wait for the next episode. The author also includes a few tasting looking recipes. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

In Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece, Celeste Cabot, with her Chihuahua Van Gogh, is embarking on a new life as a freelance artist. Living in her tiny bright pink trailer, Celeste has good sales at her first craft fair until she finds the organizer murdered and she is the number one suspect.

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece but so can her first sales return. The customer says the painting is haunted. Celeste thinks that’s absurd until she sees the ghostly Victorian women from the painting appear that night in her trailer. It couldn’t be her imagination if Van Gogh also saw it too, right?

Celeste has the perfect amount of chutzpah without stupidly stumbling into dumb situations. Handsome potential love interest Caleb is a good match for her—provided he is not the killer. They both are dog people and artists after all. I also enjoyed the ghostly elements. It was fun to have two mysteries to solve. However, I was disappointed that the three female suspects within the fair—Ruth, Shar, and Carly—were not fully fleshed out so I didn’t really care if one of them was the murderer. In addition, the travel trailer tips beginning each chapter were kind of corny. I also felt the mystery was too easy to solve. 3 stars.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the premise of a craft fair sleuth, but the execution was convoluted. Celeste is a nice enough main character, but the crazy family part confused things and didn’t add to the story. The mom, grandmother and aunt Patsy would have been sufficient without having dad and brothers be a bit wild and accident prone.
The ghost was a fun touch but added confusion to the story of solving a murder mystery because adding the ghost also added a psychic.
I’m not sure whether the love triangle between Caleb, Pierce and Celeste is going to work when she doesn’t have a clue.
Overall, I like the story but must admit I skimmed parts because they didn’t seem relevant.
I may give the next book a try to see if the author can bring the puzzle pieces she has created together.

This is the first book in the new "Haunted Craft Fair" Mystery Series by author Rose Pressley . I enjoyed this new debut series and hope the series will continue. It was engaging and fun to read. The charcters are very fun, the protagonist very unique and the mystery was well crafted to the plot Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher for the opportunity. My review is cross posted across review platforms. My review opinion is my own.

Our protagonist is Celeste Cabot. She is a artist going to a local craft fair to sell her paintings.. She finds strange things are happening when first a customer returns a painting saying it is haunted ! Then someone is stealing from the sellers at the fair . Then she finds she is seeing ghosts and now has a new friend who is a ghost named Elizabeth. She has no idea why she is seeing ghosts or why this ghost is attached to her. When a murder occurs Celeste and Elizabeth team up to find out what happened. Soon they find they are a great team and clues abound as well as suspects as they work together to solve the murder.
I liked the paranormal edge to this cozy series The ghost is well written to the story and humorous. .I love the unique setting and the likable cast of characters throughout the story. The writing was well crafted and enjoyable to the end. I look forward to the next in series..

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rose Pressey is the first book of the new cozy Haunted Craft Fair Mysteries series. As with most cozy mysteries this first book of the series has it’s own mystery within so no need to worry about cliffhangers. This new cozy series also has a touch of paranormal in it as the main character can summon ghosts.

Celeste Cabot is an artist who has bought herself a small travel trailer in which she and her dog spend most of their time traveling from craft fair to craft fair. This allows Celeste the ability to spend her days painting as she sits in her booth outside the trailer at the fair’s actually trying to sell her work to customers.

One day at a fair however Celeste has a customer return one of her paintings claiming it is haunted and makes mysterious things happen. Celeste figures this is only an excuse but refunds the purchase only to end up with a new roommate, the ghost of the lady in the painting. Little did Celeste know having a ghost around comes in handy when the owner of the craft fair is murdered and Celeste needs to find the killer.

Being one that loves a quirky cozy Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rose Pressey got off to a great start that fit that description. I will say though that I wasn’t a fan of the possible love triangle in the making but so far that was my only complaint so I’ll definitely be looking forward to book two.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rose Pressey is the 1st book in the Haunted Craft Fair Mysteries, and a great start. Celeste Cabot is an artist in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Celeste recently remodeled a Shasta Trailer for her and her Chihuahua, Van Gogh, can travel to craft fairs and sell her paintings. After arriving at the first craft fair, Celeste soon learns that she has psychic abilities in her paintings. I just loved this book, and can't wait for the next book in the series. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. If you love cozy mysteries with a little paranormal, I strongly recommend this book.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

I'm a long time fan of Rose Pressey and was eager to see what she was planning for a new series. Paranormal? Check. Humorous? Check. Good mystery? Check. Off to a great start? Double check! The new series centers around craft fairs with Celeste Cabot hitting the road to sell her oil paintings at various craft fairs around the country. Well, that is her plan. she wants more in life than waitressing at her aunt's diner. She wants to see if she can make real money with her creations. starting locally in Gatlinburg, TN. She has her pink trailer, her painting supplies and her chihuahua, Van Gogh due to his ear flopping down aka Van as her companion and guardian.
From day one at the craft fair things seem a bit off. The creep who is in charge of the fair is a real sleaze and it's pretty clear that there are many crafters who have crossed paths with him and wish they hadn't. Count Celeste as one on the list. Then one of her paintings sells only to be returned with the buyer claiming that the painting is haunted. Sure, lady, whatever you say, here's your $100 back. Celeste thinks she's a bit crazy but chalks it up to the cost of selling her wares. That is, until one of the other crafters asks her about the skull she put in one of her paintings. say what? Celeste can't see the skull.....until she looks at it through a piece of glass and wow! there IS a skull and in another there is a skeleton! With no memory of ever painting those, she comes to realize that her very vivid dreams play a major part in what she paints and yes, the customer was right, the painting is haunted.
Celeste is trying to wrap her mind around this twist in her reality when the creepy guy running the fair is done in with a knife to his neck and Celeste is the one to stumble across the body. Now she has to deal with hauntings, homicide and theft plus a couple of very interesting men who show some interest in getting to know her. This new chapter of her life sure is off to a roaring start.
This was not a deep heavy read and that's the kind of paranormal mystery I enjoy. The mystery was enough to keep my attention from start to finish, the list of suspects was long enough to keep me guessing and the core characters were a fun bunch to hang out with. I'll be putting this on my list of to be read series, looking forward to seeing how it develops.

This story combines a craft fair with theft, murder and haunted paintings to bring you a new series with protagonist Celeste Cabot and her chihuahua Van Gogh. It has unique twists and turns and it seems like everyone at the fair is involved in something suspicious.

A fun, fast, easy read full of mystery with a dose of romance. Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.