Photo Finished: A Snapshot of NYC Mystery
By Christin Brecher
Kensington
October 25, 2022

Review by Cynthia Chow

Thanks to an agreement with her grandparents, Liv Spyer has been able to move into a New York City studio apartment where lives alongside her own photography studio. It might be questionably legal due to zoning laws, but the aspiring professional photographer hopes to build up her portrait work business in exchange for occasionally helping out with her grandparents’ locksmith business. As a result of joining OneShot.com, Liv has been hired by Regina Montague to photograph the high society Holiday Debutante Ball at the Pierre hotel. Unfortunately, Liv’s hopes to launch her career are dashed when billionaire Charlie Archibald is murdered at the event, with a bloody Regina standing over his body. Loyalty to the first client willing to give her a chance has Liv vowing to prove Regina’s innocence, despite the investigating detective’s confidence that he has already closed the case.

With an eye for detail and an unwavering confidence in her client, Liv begins looking for evidence in the pictures she took and in a collection of society photos from previous events. Along the way she meets Harry Fellowes, an insurance agent who accidently got a hold of her expensive camera but was more than happy to return it despite a few communication snafus. Through Liv’s photography skills and some not-so-stealthy investigations into prospective clients’ lives, Liv is able to uncover the secrets of an elite event planner, the billionaire co-founder of an investment firm, and jealous exes. Back at home Liv is growing increasingly alarmed about her Poppy’s health, and soon she may have even more reasons for wanting Regina freed so that she can be an enthusiastic positive business reference.

This first in the series by the author of the cozy Nantucket Candle Mystery series makes the most of the New York City setting through descriptions of street food, over-the-top debutante parties, and eccentric NYC residents. The victim being responsible for a new investment fund that tanked means that there is a surplus of those wishing him dead, although it’s just as likely that the motives were far more personal. Light flirtations between Liv and Harry begin with his rather unplanned invitation to her family’s Thanksgiving Dinner, and it continues through the holiday season. Harry has his share of secrets though, and while he may have some of the answers Liv is looking for in her investigation, his background stirs up just as many questions. Liv’s eye for faces and details are just as important as her locksmith skills as she attempts to prove her client’s innocence, solve a billionaire’s murder, and keep her family together through the season. Liv is a determined young woman who quickly wins the affections of readers through her devotion to her challenging family and her ability to roll with the punches. This is the start of an entertaining new series that gives readers a fun glimpse into life in New York City.

Liv Spyers is a young NYC photographer trying to break into the business. She lives and works in a small studio underneath her grandparents locksmith shop in Greenwich Village. WheN gets hired at the last minute to help photograph a debutante ball (I didn’t realize those things were still “a thing”!), she thinks it’ll be her big break, but then she winds up finding a dead body! Her new employer is the first and only major suspect, so Liv gets involved to try to help clear her new boss’s name (and thereby save her own budding career).

I really enjoyed this glimpse into NYC high society as well as the whole idea of a photographer being super observant, which made a lot of sense to me. Liv is a great character and should appeal to people who like a cozy mystery but want to have a young main character. (I think Liv would be considered Gen Z, as she seems a bit too young to be classified as a Millennial.)

This should also appeal to people who want to read something seasonal - the action all takes place right before and after Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I’m looking forward to further adventures featuring Liv, her new love interest, Harry, and Liv’s friends and grandparents.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Cozies for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Photo Finished had a great premise, and I enjoyed Liv as a protagonist. Her sleuthing was entertaining, and her character kept the plot moving quickly. The ease of her jumping into strangers' lives was a bit unrealistic but I was willing to let it go. I give Photo Finished a solid 3/5 stars.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of Photo Finished by Christin Brecher. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

This was a great start to a new series. Liv is a photographer who lives in her grandparents brownstone in NYC. An opportunity to work with a prestigious photography studio turns into an adventure into the world of debutantes, high finance and murder. I loved this setting and the fantastic characters! The mystery was also well plotted out with great twists & plenty of suspects that kept me guessing.

4.5/5
I enjoyed so much this book, the twists and the main character are awesome! The love story was on point!

The only complaint I have is the Italian sentences thrown into the story without checking the grammar. I'm Italian so I know what I'm talking about. Here are my corrections for a future re-print:
Chapter 1. "Ma donna" it's not correct, it's "Madonna" all one word.
Chapter 5. "L'abito no fa il monaco" it's not correct, it's "L'abito NON fa il monaco."
Chapter 6. "Mia carina", in Italian we don't use this expression nowadays, it's very uncommon, the correct expression could be "Tesoro mio".
Chapter 6. "Ma che cosa fa?" in Italian the verb change depending on the person who makes the action, in this case, the correct form would be "Ma che cosa FAI?".
Chapter 21. "Carina, but the doctors are strongly recommending that Poppy goes to an assisted living facility." As I said above, we don't use "Carina" to call someone in a sweet way, we use "Tesoro".

Other mistakes I found were:
Chapter 9. "He's taking me to a party TOMORROW TONIGHT where there may be suspects" instead of "He's taking me to a party TOMORROW NIGHT where there may be suspects".
Chapter 9. "She he could have confronted her cousin at the bar..." instead of "She could have confronted her cousin at the bar...
Chapter 11. "Federal authorities along with the SEC now report THAT THAT the fund began to tank immediately after launch". There's an extra THAT.

4 stars - Great! Might re-read.

A fun, clever mystery with a great ending. Loved the main character and the hook of using event photos - and her photographer's eye for detail - to help with the case! Enjoyed the secondary characters, too. Would read more with these characters!

Thank you to @netgalley for Photo Finished, the first in Christin Brecher’s brand new "A Snapshot of NYC" cozy mystery series. Here we meet aspiring photographer Liv Spyer. Liv has a lot going on–she’s working part-time for her aging grandparents’ key shop and trying to get her photography business off the ground. She has an adorably small Manhattan apartment, connected to her shop and her grandparents’. Set around Thanksgiving, Liv is feeling stretched and so when famous photographer Regina Montague walks into the key shop, Liv seizes the chance and offers to work one of Regina’s events. This even takes Liv into the world of New York’s rich and elite and, like any good mystery, ends in murder. Liv and possible love interest Harry dive in to find the true killer.

This was fun. Great setting of New York around the holidays. I had a harder time in the middle, but not enough to make me put it down and it did pick back up. I like Liv a lot and the side-characters, especially Harry. And I do enjoy a look into the way the rich and famous live. I am looking forward to reading book 2.

I definitely enjoyed this one! The characters really come alive as the story progresses and the mystery is fun and actively being solved. Fun plot, clever plot twists, great side characters , and a zippy pace make this one fun read.

Photo Finished is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Christin Brecher. While I’ve read a great number of cozy mysteries over the years, this is the first time I can remember where the main character is a photographer. Not that there is anything wrong with the countless series staring chefs and bakers (because there are a ton of series featuring such characters that I love) but I always appreciate when an author throws in a unique wrinkle.

Liv Spyers, college drop out and former Starbucks barista, has taken a shot at her dream, opening her own photography studio. Sure it’s a barely bigger than a postage stamp, but you have to start somewhere. And now she thinks her big break is at hand as she’s going to help out at THE social event of the season. But when a billionaire turns up dead and the woman that hired her is the prime suspect Liv fears her career my be over before it truly begins…so of course she’s determined to help uncover the truth.

When it comes to cozy mysteries, for me, it’s all about the characters. Don’t get me wrong, the mystery is of course important as well, but if I don’t like the characters I won’t really care what happens. Well I’m happy to say Liv and the rest of the cast are a ton of fun, so for me this series is off to a ‘killer’ start (yes, pun intended, lol). I’d like to thank Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Photo Finished.

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Photo Finished by Christin Brecher is the debut of A Snapshot of NYC Mysteries. Liv Spyers has just opened a photography studio in New York City under her grandparents locksmithing store. Liv gets a big break when photographer Regina Montague comes needing a key. Liv overhears Regina complaining about a photographer who quit at the last minute. Liv gets hired to take photographs at the Holiday Debutante Ball. Unfortunately, the evening ends with billionaire Charles Archibald dead and Regina the prime suspect. Liv does not believe that Regina killed Charles despite how it looked at the time. Liv uses her keen eye for detail to help her focus in on the killer. Photo Finished is a cute story. Liv Spyers is an acquired taste (she grows on you). We get to learn more about Liv as the story progresses. Also, Liv’s personality comes alive as we delve deeper into the story. I like her lively and friendly Italian family. Her grandmother is a dear. The mystery was interesting. It was complex in some ways yet simple in another. There are a number of suspects who were present at the ball. Liv actively investigates the whodunit. She asked questions, looks over her photographs, and searched for clues. I enjoyed the tension filled reveal. I like how everything tied together (the clues are there throughout the book, but the trick is to spot them). Liv had help from her new friend, Harry. There is a smidgeon of romance in the story. I am glad that the author kept it to a minimum in this first installment. We get to meet some other interesting characters that include Bernie and Manjeet. There is mild foul language (it was kept to a minimum). The author did a good job at setting the stage in Photo Finished. It will be interesting to see what Liv stumbles into next time. Photo Finished is a snappy whodunit with a lost camera case, a big break, a clothing calamity, the body of a billionaire, a fixated detective, a helpful Harry, and a photo finish.

Setting the Scene: In this new series, Photographer Liv Speyers lives in the ground floor studio of her grandparents' 4 story brownstone in New York City, where they have a locksmith/key making business. She has only to step over the threshold of her small bedroom to enter her photography studio. She has hopes, dreams, and talent. Then she has one of those worst of times best of times days when she loses her camera bag to a complete stranger on the subway and then gets an opportunity to work for one of the most prestigious photography studio in the City, and so it begins - An adventure into the world of debutantes, high finance, and murder.

What I Thought: I will start with, "I loved it." This was a perfect first in series from the characters to the setting to the story. Both Liv's photography business and her grandparents' business are unique and play key roles in the story. Her family is inviting. The characters were well developed, and you just want to sit down to a meal at Granny's table or maybe don a beautiful dress and heels for a night at a gala or both. Though very much set in the current day, this book often has the feel of a golden era mystery. The mystery was well done, with enough twists, side discoveries, and suspects to keep the reader guessing, and Liv and Harry make a good team. I very much look forward to the next in this series.

Entertaining and engaging cozy mystery. A little romance too. Interesting characters. Great location. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Liv Spyers is trying to make it with her fledgling portrait photography business while working part-time at her grandparents' Greenwich Village key shop. Then famed events photographer Regina Montague drops off a key to be copied. She desperately needs another photographer & invites Liv to work with her at the Holiday Debutante Ball. Liv hopes this gig will launch her career but doesn't expect the night to end with the murder of billionaire Charlie Archibald and Regina becoming the prime suspect.

This is a promising debut cozy with a feisty heroine and her quirky family and friends. A potential love interest with a suave art insurance appraiser adds some spark and another reason for Liv to try and solve the murder.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Kensington Books. My opinions are my own.

I love a cozy mystery, and this was picture perfect (pun intended!) Photo Finished is funny, smart, and fast-paced. Luv Speyer is a young woman in NYC, cutting her teeth as a photographer living under her grandparents’ key shop. During a job taking photos at a debutante ball, she becomes embroiled in a murder of a prominent member of society, and all clues point to her new boss, the IT photographer in the city. Feeling like she’s to blame, she teams up with a handsome and charming stranger who may or may not have ulterior motive to help Liv in her quest for the truth. With little more than her keen eye for detail and parsing out facts that other miss, she’s racing against the clock to clear Regina’s name. But when everyone around you seems to have an ulterior motive to want the victim dead, and your “partner” isn’t exactly forthcoming with his reason in getting involved, who can you trust? And are you next, digging around and uncovering everyone’s secrets?

Easy, fast-paced and engaging plot, with a likeable (or like-to-dislike) cast of characters, with enough intrigue to go around, Photo Finished is a great cozy mystery for fans of Mia Manansala or Nita Prose.

Liv Spyers is trying to live her dream of become a professional photographer. To help makes ends meet she lives with, and works for, her grandparents and runs a small studio out of her apartment in their basement. After all, a girl has to hustle to make her dreams come true, and Liv is willing to work hard for it.

When asked by a famous photographer to help shoot photos of debutants at a coming out party, Liv feels like this may be her lucky break. But when one of the attendees is murdered and Regina is the main suspect, Liv has to step in to save Regina and her own dreams! Will Liv be able to figure out who killed Charlie Archibald, or will she best left exposed?

First in a new series, this one has promise. I really enjoy the characters and Liv is a hoot! She’s my kinda girl! If you’re from the Tri-State area, you too will fall in love with our very own homegirl!

A nice start to a new series. Liv is thrilled to get the chance to take photos at the debutante ball-it's a big break for her- but then Charlie, one of the guests, is murdered and Regina, the woman who asked her to help out, is accused. Liv's got lots of pics but she also looks at things a little differently thanks to the camera. She's also living in her grandparent's basement in the Village, helping out at their locksmith shop, and trying to keep her head above financial water. Luckily she's got good friends and her grandparents are ace. It's a tad implausible that she would be ahead of the NYPD but that's the cozy world for you. She's an interesting character with a lot of room to grow. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to the next one.

Liz Spyer lives in Manhattan as a struggling photographer. She's very good but trying to get started is next to impossible. Lucky for Liz her grandparents bought a brownstone back in the 1970's and the family business, a locksmith's store, is on the ground floor. Liz has an arrangement with them to live in the basement with just enough room to have a photo studio and a living area. Swinging a cat is not possible. She also helps out in the store and, on top of that, her grandmother is a great cook. Now if she could only get her foot firmly on the ladder and some photo gigs.
Her break comes when she snags a job helping to photograph a debutant ball. It's going well until it isn't. A body turns up and suspicion falls on the events planner who hired Liz. Time for Liz to use her powers of observation, honed through the camera lens, to prove Regina isn't the killer. Along the way some romance comes her way.
I had enjoyed the previous series by Christin Brecher, the Candle Maker mysteries and I knew I was in for a treat. I wasn't disappointed. Liz is a likable character with a wonderful family. She's smart and independent with a nice sense of humor. Add a nicely complex mystery with some twists to keep the reader guessing wrong, I am adding this series to my TBR stack.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Liv Spyers Photography specializing in portrait photography is located on the ground level of her grandparents’ brownstone in New York. It’s a definite step upward and onward for Liv after trying to get her career in gear while working at the local Starbucks in her hometown in a Jersey suburb. Liv receives a family discount on rent, works in her grandparents’ locksmith store as needed, and her grandmother delivers homemade baked goods to Liv’s door, and it is easy to go upstairs for dinner. Bliss! However, the excitement of a new gig comes to a screeching halt when the night ends in murder, and Regina Montague, the woman that gave Liv the fabulous opportunity, is in the frame to be arrested.

I loved the characters. Liv and her family are people you wish were friends you could visit in New York. Liv has her unique investigative technique of using her eyes as her secret weapon in studying faces and behavior. Liv’s friend, Maria Ricci, has just the right clothes to borrow that a girl needs for special events on very short notice. And then there’s Harry. Harry Fellowes. Oh, how wonderful the description of Harry in a tux, on the dance floor, waiting on the stoop, and more.

It’s a charming combination of cozy mystery and contemporary romance with witty dialogue. The New York setting is authentic in the description as only a born, bred, and resident New Yorker can provide, which makes the story even more endearing. I highly recommend this title as an addition to your tbr list.

I sincerely thank Christin Brecher and Kensington Cozies for my complimentary digital copy of this title, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

#PhotoFinished #NetGalley

“Photo Finished” is the first installment in the new “Snapshot of NYC” series by Christin Brecher. It features Liv Spyers, a photographer who has moved to New York City to build a career and gets involved in a murder while photographing the debutantes at a high society ball. When Regina, the woman who hired her for the gig, becomes the number one suspect, Liv investigates to help clear Regina’s name.

This is a very promising start to an intriguing mystery series. Liv has a lot of heart and is also a pretty good amateur detective. I love her musings about what she loves about photography - her thoughts are almost poetic and certainly skew towards the artistry of photography, making the subject far more interesting to the casual reader. Author Christin Brecher has surrounded Liv with a caring family including her grandparents, in whose locksmith shop she lives and has a small studio; her parents; and a much younger sister named Eliza. She also has a best friend, Maria, whom I hope to see more of in subsequent books.

The mystery has plenty of suspects and I thought Liv’s investigative tactics were good. The story also gives a lot on insight into high society and the world of debutantes. And the ending to the mystery? Let’s just say it resembles an action movie - with some fun comic relief.

I really enjoyed this book and am eagerly looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Charming and quirky debut featuring NYC photographer Liv Spyer. She lives in part of her grandparent's brownstone, which houses not only them but their key and lock shop and Liv's photography studio.

Liv is a confident and sassy character, strong and comfortable in her own skin. She is certain that her photographer's eye is partly due to her innate focus and the way she notices details. She lucks into a plum job for an evening taking pictures at a debutante's ball. She's hoping this turns out to be a successful audition to work more often with Regina, the legendary owner of the studio. But at the end of the evening, there's a dead body, and Regina is crouched over it with blood on her hands.

Partly out of loyalty to this woman who gave her a job, and partly out of insatiable nosiness and curiosity, Liv starts investigating. After all, she spent hours studying the party-goers and that is the suspect list. She observed a lot of interactions and tension.

Along the way, she meets Harry, an art insurance appraiser who also attends some of these swanky events. They share quite a spark until she discovers he hasn't been completely honest.

This was extremely readable and fun. The characterizations are wonderful and the plot usually hangs together. I will watch for future entries. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.