What? I’m confused and upset. Not at fan. Couldn’t even finish. Hopefully I can come back to it but too slow for me

I read this one not realizing it was set in the same world as her Reese Bookclub pick, Still Lives. That said it totally worked as a standalone and was a great art world mystery/thriller. I loved how atmospheric the writing was and I thought Hillary Huber did a good job narrating. I look forward to getting a chance to read the earlier work soon. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance listening copy!

This thriller sounded so unique and interesting. It had such a great premise and so much potential but unfortunately it was missing something. I would’ve liked a bit more out of the story.

Maggie Richter is the copy editor/publicist for the Roque Museum in Los Angeles although her dream is to be a fulltime journalist. She has tons of contacts throughout the LA art world so she seems the perfect choice when her mentor, Janis Roque, has a problem that she needs solved but in a discreet fashion.
Brenae Brasil was an up and coming art student at LAAC, the Los Angeles Art College, which is tightly aligned with the Roque Museum. Brasil's art was cutting edge and tended to make people uncomfortable as she told the truth as she saw it. But her potential is cut off prematurely when she kills herself. Before she died, she created her most controversial art work. It is a video work that shows Brasil having sex with an unnamed man; a man she insists pressured her into the sex and who had the influence to end her budding career.

Janis wants to know if the allegations are true as the video was not discovered at the time of Brenae's death. Was someone on the museum staff guilty of this crime? Was Brenae's death really a suicide or was someone getting rid of a career-ending allegation? Janis wants Maggie to go undercover at the museum and LAAC, talk to the students who knew Brenae and determine which staff might have been involved. Maggie will have Ray, a detective she had been involved with in the past to help. Can Maggie and Ray find the answers and validate Brenae's work?

This is the second novel in the Maggie Richter series. Ray is a character from the first novel as well. This narrative is told from Maggie's viewpoint and is confused since she is slowly unraveling the secrets of the museum and college. She only has incomplete information and is filling in the pieces but readers used to third person narratives may find the story vague. There are also many characters, administrators, students and police personnel that are a bit difficult to keep straight. This book is recommended for mystery readers, especially those who read the first Maggie Richter novel.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* 3.5, would reread after reading the other related book but just didint like it as much as i thought i would

LESSON IN RED by Maria Hummel, narrated by Hillary Huber.

As I didn't read 'Still Lives', I felt like I was missing some of the connections between the many characters and storylines. I did find it interesting to learn about the Contemporary Art world of LA, but found the portrayals of rape, murder and suicide difficult. It was a gripping story that raises ethical questions of the morals of the Noir art society of LA.

The narration was excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for an audio ARC for my honest review.

#LessoninRed #NetGalley.

This book was a follow up to Still Lives although it can be read alone. Maggie works at an art gallery but actually wants to be a journalist. The death of an upcoming artist reunites her with a detective involved in a murder in Still Lives. Maggie gets involved in the investigation and had her chance to do what she yearns to do. There's a lot about art and how difficult it is for artists to develop their talent and the need for sponsors and a appreciation for their work.

This was the follow up to Maria Hummel’s Still Lives. I loved returning to the LA art scene, so full of lies, indulgence, and mystery. It was fantastic.

Powerful read from Maria Hummel. Lesson in Red explores the themes of power and gender.
Great read and highly recommended for all!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and HighBridge Audio in exchange for my honest review

Lesson in Red
Author: Maria Hummel
Publisher: Counterpoint Press, Pub date: June 1, 2021
Audio Publisher: Highbridge Audio
Narrator: Hillary Huber Length: 10 hours, 6 minutes

~ A companion to Still Lives- a Reese's book club, Hello Sunshine selection- this savvy thriller exposes dark questions about the art world and reveals the fatal mistakes that can befall those who threaten its status quo. ~

Brenae Brasil is an aspiring, young artist who attends the prestigious Los Angeles Art College, mentored and learning alongside some of the art world's finest. After completing a most provocative documentary about sexual coercion, manipulation, helplessness, and self- defense, she is shockingly found dead on campus.

Editor Maggie Richter, our main character in Still Lives, returns to LA hoping to restart her career and begin a new chapter in her life. However, she's asked by her boss from the Rocque Museum, Janis, to pair up with Ray, private detective, whom she met during the Still Lives Kim Lord's murder, to learn more about Brasil's death and to understand just what exactly is transpiring within this dark art world. Unwillingly at first, Maggie and Ray uncover several clues that ask, was Brasil's death a suicide? And if so, what may have led to this end? This covert investigation leads down a few dangerous paths with ties to several influential people within this twisted art world that may endanger Maggie and Ray if they go poking around where their attention is unwelcome. Together they attempt to unravel this mystery and hope that they can pave the way for Brasil's story to be told.

I do recommend reading Still Lives first as there were initially many references and relationships from the first book that will make more sense as you read Lesson in Red.

Hummel's thrilling mystery encompasses sexual politics that will leave you wondering which characters you can and cannot trust and it is also a suspenseful novel about the art world, culture, and the vulnerability of women, and how they are consequently treated and portrayed within this glamorous world.

I listened to Lesson in Red fabulously narrated by Hillary Huber and was amazed at how well she captured the characters and flawlessly red Hummel's satisfying mystery. I want to find out what else Huber narrates! A 5 star audio review!

Difficult content: rape, physical assault, suicide

Thank you Highbridge Audio, Maria Hummel, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to Lesson in Red read by Hillary Huber on audio, an e- ARC!

This was an unfortunate title for me. I’ve seen my feelings mirrored in a lot of other reviews because there were two huge drawbacks to this title that made me feel lost and uninspired.

1. I did not read Still Lives, and the book did a poor job of bringing new readers up to speed. I understand books like these are written for fans who want to explore the whole series, but sometimes authors can do enough to make titles stand alone within a series, this one did not.

2. The point of views are varied and rapidly changing. I couldn’t latch onto any character so I struggled to stay invested to the end.

The book is well written and as far as I can tell it’s an incise examination of the LA art scene (though I’m not familiar with that scene). Also the narrator (as I listened to the audiobook) was effective in her narration making the characters unique. There was a sizable cast so that’s always appreciated

Overall 2 stars and a title I only recommend for fans of Still Lives.

I did not finish this book because while the writing was lovely and I didn't dislike it, I genuinely had no idea what was going on. There were a lot of characters to keep straight and I could never quite get my head around who the protagonist was, even on the most fundamental level, like how old she was or who she was. There was a lot of dropped hints and I kept feeling like it was going to click and come together but in the end, after taking a few days off listening and picking it up again, I was doing so much work to figure out who everyone was that I abandoned it. One of the many hats I wear is that of a writing instructor and when a student turns in something that feels like this -- well written, but somehow missing the mark -- I ask them to go back to basics. Who is your character and what do they want? I couldn't answer that for this story. Maria Hummel is obviously a talented and capable writer, I just couldn't follow this one at all. Perhaps reading the previous book would have helped.

This book was really difficult to get into. Most of the time I could not keep up with what was going on with the characters or the storyline, perhaps it was me. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Lesson in Red is a slow burn mystery centering around the suicide of emerging artist Brenae Brasil. Maggie Richter is asked to use her connections with the art scene to look into the circumstances surrounding Brenae’s death.

This is marketed as a companion novel to Maria Hummel’s last novel starring Maggie Richter called Still Life. In many ways my listening experience and enjoyment suffered because I hadn’t read that book previously. There seemed to be a shorthand and relationships between characters that I was missing and therefore I couldn’t quite get what was going on. I also felt like the art scene was a too exclusive and specific for me to relate to or to feel immersed in the mystery. I did enjoy the descriptions of Los Angeles and the author’s writing style but I didn’t find it to be a gripping mystery especially once it came to a conclusion.

This is a well written (and well narrated audiobook) but I recommend reading Still Life first. I’m not sure if that would solve the dilemma of this being a mystery with not a lot of tension and excitement to it but would probably give the background on the characters needed.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Lesson in Red" is an intriguing murder mystery set in LA's art scene. Although the premise is interesting and the narration is very good, I had trouble becoming fully immersed in this book. In part because I didn't feel much connection to any of the characters, but mostly because there were so many characters in the end all my effort was going into figuring out who was who rather than who did what to whom.

I received an audioArc in exchange for an honest review.

I read still lives and thought it was fine. I liked reading about the art world. Learning a bit more about LAs art scene and the mystery aspect. This follow up was just so so for me. I thought the mystery/murder was just ok at the art was just a bit too modern for me. I didn’t love it.

I really thought I was going to like this one when I first started it because it seemed like it was going to be a fast-moving thriller. However, this didn't really play out as a thriller and was more of a slow-burn mystery but the mystery really didn't even feel like the focus of the book. It includes a lot of details about art that were interesting but should have added to the story, but it almost felt like the unnecessary level of detail distracted the reader from the actual plot. This was also hard to follow because there were SO many characters, many of whom it didn't seem like had an actual purpose for being included and didn't actually contribute to the plot or have any impact on the story. This just fell really flat for me unfortunately. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for a review. The book is now out and available for purchase.

A follow up to Still Lives, Lesson in Red by Maria Hummel, follows Maggie who is called in to help investigate the death of art student Brenae Brasil. If you are invested in the art world, then you may enjoy this book. I found there was way too much going on, which made it difficult to get through. In addition to the death of Brenae, there was also the death of investigator, Ray’s, brother. A bit all over the place! Maggie is not the most likable of characters. This made it hard to get invested in the story. I did enjoy many of the descriptions of life in LA, from the various neighborhoods, to the diverse people.

** thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

Rating: 2.5

I didn't read the Still Lives first and I think that was a mistake. I didn't really understand or care about the characters or the relationships between them. Maybe you can still enjoy it without reading the first book, but I don't recommend it. Especially if you're interested in reading the first one at all, because this will spoil it. The narrator of the audiobook wasn't terrible, but if bad southern accents bother you, I wouldn't recommend it.

I read Still Lives by Maria Hummel several years ago and quite enjoyed it. A murder mystery during the early 2000s and set in the LA art world made for a fascinating read. I was excited to learn that the story of the lead character, Maggie, was being continued in Lessons in Red. I immediately requested an ALC. Thank you Highbridge Audio and Counter Point Press.

There is a lot to unpack with this book. From the high press of the art world and school, to the abuse wealthy, powerful men inflict on women to get what they want, to the wealth gaps in our society- this book has it all. As it was set in 2003, the Me Too movement hadn’t occurred and yet I felt it’s origins in this story.

There were times that it felt a little convoluted and I questioned Maggie’s choices particularly as she know they weren’t good ones. And yet I couldn’t stop listening to this story and seeing how it all the pieces come together.

I found Lessons in Red to be a fascinating read and really appreciated how the Narrator brought the character and story to life. I’m certainly looking forward to future books by this author.