This is a well-written cozy mystery, and it was fun to sleuth things out with the characters. As a booklover, I loved the bookstore addition. This appears to be part of a series, which I haven't read. This made sense as a standalone novel. While I read an electronic version of the story, I think a print copy, where you can color the cover, would be quite enjoyable.

A Colorful Scheme by Krista Davis is book #4 in the Pen and Ink series. This was a truly fascinating whodunit. Following the festivities surrounding the wedding of John Maxwell and Jacqueline Liebhaber the aspiring author Evan McDowell, who also is the assistant to author Arthur Bedlingham, was found dead in the swimming pool at the Maxwell estate. From the time of the discovery of the body I was hooked on finding out who the murderer was. It was fun following the logic of amateur sleuth Florrie Fox as she worked on solving the mystery. I look forward to the next book in the series.

It’s Wedding Time for Florrie's boss everything is beautiful and seems nothing could go wrong until a dead body is found the Sunday after the wedding. Florrie is an interesting, smart, and capable character. The mystery moves at a smooth pace, with plenty of well-placed red herrings to keep the reader glued to the page. The book is an adventure from page one until the exciting ending. I recommend this book to cozy mystery fans.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I have not been influenced by anyone.

I enjoy the characters and the setting. They all have a nice relationship The mystery kept me guessing, and I like how when you get the physical book, you'll be able to color the cover.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Florrie Fox is caught up in the nuptials of her boss/landlord to his first wife, a romance author. When one of the bride's literary guests assistant is found dead, what could be the motive? The writer has fallen on hard times and now without an assistant will the reviews of current works keep failing the reviewer's expectations or is there another root cause related to the murder?

Colorful characters and beautiful setttings!

A Colorful Scheme is a hit! Davis has a way of bringing her characters to life and using the setting as an integral part of the story. Florrie helps its the wedding of friends, at which a guest is murdered. A friend becomes the prime suspect so Florrie investigates. One of my favorite parts of any Davis book is the characters introduced along the way, and A Colorful Scheme did not disappoint.

I'd give 'A Colorful Scheme' 10 stars if I could. I so thoroughly enjoy Florrie Fox as the main character. She is a joy. The series is filled with wonderful characters and tantalizing mysteries that are sometimes resolved and sometimes ongoing. Such is the case with Krista Davis' latest offering. My only problem with the series is the wait in between. The next book cannot come soon enough for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A Colorful Scheme is the 4th book in the Pen & Ink Mystery series by Krista Davis and it is just as enjoyable as the other books! This cozy mystery series has everything I like including likable and interesting characters, family, friendship, romance (clean), and an intriguing cozy mystery. In this book, Florrie Fox and her sister Veronica are helping with her boss's wedding. Florrie manages Color Me Read Bookstore, creates adult coloring books,, and lives in the carriage house at her boss Professor Maxwell's mansion in Georgetown. Professor Maxwell is remarrying Jacquie. One of Jacquie's old boyfriends who is an author, Arthur Bedlington, shows up to the party along with his assistant Evan. There are several other authors at the party along with some relatives and neighbors. Arthur's assistant ends up dead at the end of the party. There are a lot of people mentioned but the suspect list isn't that many people luckily. Through Arthur, Florrie meets Jezebel and Gabriella, both wonderful characters. Florrie's boyfriend is Detective Eric Jonquil who is another good character as well as her sister Veronica and the butler, Mr. DuBois.. Florrie is a strong independent leading lady with common sense and of course an inquisitive nature.. Her sketches add to solving the mystery and gives it an unique perspective. The characters are really what makes this cozy mystery so enjoyable!
This is a series I always look forward to and they continue to be wonderful! #NetGalley #AColorfulScheme #KensingtonBooks

A Colorful Scheme by Krista Davis. I totally enjoyed this latest in the Color Me Read series. It is always fun to catch up with all of the usual characters and loved the addition of Jezebel to the bookstore staff. The story moved along at a quick pace and I didn’t figure out the murderer until it was presented. As it should be. Grab this for a fun summer read. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

This series follows Florrie Fox, a bookstore manager and coloring book artist. She runs the bookstore for her boss Maxwell who is marrying his ex-wife again in this book! There is a body found in the pool after the wedding and some mysterious happenings surrounding the new wife Jacquie and her old boyfriend. This mystery also dredges up old issues surrounding Jacquie and Maxwell's missing daughter.
Florrie gets wrapped up deeper in the mystery when she herself becomes a suspect in another attack. There are multiple mysteries and lots to be intrigued by in the story.

This was my first read in the Pen & Ink series, and it was all right for me. I found it frustrating that, almost halfway through the book, they're still not even sure if a murder has taken place or not. It's hard to get invested in a solution when it might've been an accident. There are also a lot of characters and backstory, and maybe if I'd read the series from book 1, it would've been more cohesive and engaging for me? I read to the end, and I did want to know who the killer was, so it was successful in that regard. But...overall, it just was okay for me.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Colorful Scheme by Krista Davis (Pen and Ink Mystery #4) 4 stars

Florrie Fox is busy managing the Color Me Read bookstore and helping her sister arrange her wealthy boss’s wedding to a well-known romance author. A pre-wedding party is festive, with guests of the bride and groom celebrating the re-marriage of the couple. Unfortunately, a party guest is found dead in the pool and the suspect list veers towards the bride’s guest list. As more dead bodies pile up, Florrie needs to find the real culprit or the bride might end up in jail before the honeymoon.

This was an engaging cozy mystery with plenty of suspects to go around. The red herrings were plentiful but the clues were there to be found. I enjoyed this very much and am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

A murder at a wedding? How can this happen and who did it? Florrie really gets involved and into some scary situations. The twists and turns in the story will keep you guessing. This was a very good read and Jezebel is a delightful character. Who is this Griffin Corbyn? There are so many questions and the plot only thickens. Once you get done reading the mystery then it is time to try the recipes.

The fourth in Krista Davis' Pen and Ink mystery series, A Colorful Scheme, is full of love, books, red herrings and murder.
Florrie Fox, manager of the Color Me Read bookstore, is happy to be attending the wedding of her boss, John Maxwell and his ex-wife Jacqueline Liebhaber. But when the bride disappears and then reappears before wedding and then Florrie finds a body floating in the pool the morning after the ceremony, the mystery ensues. A second murder, a stubborn police detective and more misdirection make this another winner for Davis. Give it five stars and a bonus for colorable covers!

I received a free eARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am not sure where my eyes were when I was requesting this book because it's the FOURTH installment in the series and I haven't read the previous three. I might have been too enchanted by the cover and the synopsis - a murder at the wedding and the investigation involving characters from the literary world.

The mystery was quite enjoyable and the investigation kept my interest throughout the story. Not having read the previous books, it was a bit hard to get the relations between the characters and their history at first, but it didn't play a large role in this particular case.

The writing was okay with some repetitive bits that I didn't care for, but overall the text id rather pleasant to consme.

In general, I spent a few nice evenings with this story but would definitely recommend starting your journey into this series with the first book and not the fourth!

Another winning book in this series.
Although this is not my favorite series from this author, it is still a solid cozy.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Florrie Fox, bookstore manager and coloring book artist, finds herself in the middle of two very different events - the lovely wedding of her boss and his ex-wife and an event that brings only sadness, the murder of a wedding guest. Before either one of the second time newlyweds are arrested, Florrie has to solve the mystery for a happy ending!

Florrie is one of my favorite main characters. She's not flashy & doesn't rush into danger when she is sleuthing, but uses her observation and artistic talents to solve mysteries. In a Krista Davis mystery, the development of the characters makes them seem to "jump off the page" and in this series, as well as her Domestic Diva series, the characters become "old friends". It's one of those mysteries, you can't put down!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A wedding camouflaged as a party, a lost and found bride, and, oh, yeah, murder. This is what faces coloring book artist and book shop manager Florrie Fox as the book opens. I was hooked from the beginning and found myself compelled to finish. I liked Florrie and the surrounding cast of characters. Each came off as a unique, well rounded personality with their own quirks, strengths and weaknesses and seemed like people I'd like to know. The plot was face paced and multi-layered. Heck, I lost track of how many mysteries were revealed and solved by the time to book ended. Loved it.

I won't detail the plot, a synopsis is easily found elsewhere, but will say that what starts as party crashers ends with a seemingly innocuous man dead in the pool. Florrie is stunned to find herself a suspect in not just this death but that of an admittedly annoying wannabe journalist who had been stalking her. While I could understand why Sgt. Bridges might focus on her as a suspect, the ol' wrong place, wrong time thing, that did seem a bit obsessive. Boyfriend and police officer Eric noted that it was Bridges first big case and he was frustrated, a thought that while it didn't make Florrie any happier, did calm her own nerves and frustration somewhat. A highlight of the book was the introduction of Jezebel Fish, grandmother of Eric's friend Fish Gordon. Jezebel is a force onto herself and I hope to see more of her in future books. Yes, I'm already looking forward to seeing what is next for Florrie and her friends, particularly those who write.

Top notch. Put it on your "Must Read" list. Thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for sending me the invite to the party/wedding and letting me hang out with Florrie, Jezebel, and the rest. Loved every minute of it. Now I'm off to find my crayons to color that lovely cover art.

I love this series as much as I love the author’s Domestic Diva series. Every time I read one of these books it makes me want to go buy coloring books.

Florries in the midst of it again! Multiple mysteries converge; a murdered aspiring author, a murdered aspiring journalist, a reclusive author, an accidental fall, and all involving Florrie! Can she find the killer before shes next?

I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next installment!