*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity.*

In A CRUEL LIGHT, Annora Garde has been commissioned by an old college friend to restore an art piece-- not an unusual request considering her impressive resume as a conservator that's taken her around the world many times over. However, once she arrives to the sleepy town of Bliss River, Annora quickly discovers that the piece she's to restore is not only believed to be the lynch pin to solving a fifty-year old murder, but the lengths someone will go to stop those secrets from being revealed.

A thrilling Gothic horror story with romance elements, IN CRUEL LIGHT was a true pleasure to listen to. The character development, pacing, and the plot line all kept me enraptured and it was a delight to follow each twist and turn. Additionally, MacMillan did a wonderful job of building up Bliss River, a small town in Northern Ontario, and including details of Annora's job in the story. I am absolutely delighted to know a sequel is already in the works, and can't wait to return to Annora's story.

This book has such a cool premise. An art conservator is called to small town Canada by a college friend to restore a painting of an 8 year old named Rosemary. Rosemary was murdered, and the killer painted himself in this painting.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who don't want Annora there. The building which houses the painting is being renovated, and every day she works on it, is another day the contractors are going without pay.

Using a painting to uncover a murder is fantastic! I loved reading and learning about her profession. There was a random romance that felt almost forced. I think the plot was cool enough without the romance.

The only issue I had was the paranormal element, but that's a me thing. Not a book thing.

Overall, this was a fun mystery, and I didn't guess the killer. I heard this is part of a series. If so, I'd consider continuing.

3.5⭐ Rounded down.
This has a very cool plot, a gorgeous cover and a fantastic title.
The story itself is a bit bogged down. The author tried to incorporate too many ideas and it pulled from the actual story.
An art restoration revealing clues in a murder? This is already quite fascinating.
All the "extra" side plots were not necessary. Most prominently unnecessary (actually super distracting and kind of annoying) was the love story woven into this detective procedural.
It did not enrich the story, instead it pulled me out of the plot and losing track of the important details trying to figure out why this love match was included. It did not fit and made for some weird scenes. The two MCs should have been colleagues who maybe enjoy a drink or meal together while discussing the case. The whole dating thing felt forced.
Thank you NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for my DRC.

An entertaining and engaging romantic mystery. A recommended purchase in all formats for collections where crime fic is popular.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC copy of this book!

Annora Garde is a conservator – an artwork restorer – who gets a call from a friend who says she could use her expertise at a renovation of a parsonage. When she pulls up to what looks like a crime scene, she is taken aback – this is not what she expected. It seems that her friend left out the most important part of this job, that restoring this painting is crucial to solving a murder that has haunted the town for decades.

I found that this book did a fantastic job of blending elements of different genres into this one story. MacMillan made me feel as if I was there with the characters attempting to solve this mystery. This book is a page turner for sure, I never found there to be a lack of action! I couldn’t put this down until I knew what happened. I did end up guessing who was involved, but I still felt the author did very well with the reveal of that.

Annora and Mac are characters that you truly come to care about, you want them to succeed, you get invested in them! MacMillan did such an amazing job of character building throughout this book. I would not mind catching up with Annora and Mac in another book!

The audio was fun, it kept me entertained, and I truly enjoyed the narrator. I am rating 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4, because I did guess who was involved relatively early on; but the twists and turns kept coming. So, I was still invested in the story. I had fun with this one! If the plot sounds at all interesting to you, pick it up!

Conservator Annora Garde has been tasked with not only restoring a painting, but helping to solve a murder. Police chief Mac believes the identity of the person who killed a much loved young woman who was murdered years before. MacMillan takes on a very popular genre and gives it a new twist, both her main characters are splendidly flawed and impossible to resist

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
What an awesome mystery audiobook. I love the slightly historical aspect of it with recovering the painting and restoring it to help solve a horrible murder of a young girl. Narrator did a great job and had great tone throughout the book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Cyndi MacMillan and Dreamscape Media for an audio arc of A Cruel Light in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own and may not be reproduced.

This was a quick paced and intriguing story. The story revolves around Annora who conserves and restores artwork. Annora is called in to remove mold & restore a mural that could be the key to unlocking a decades old cold case of a young child who was brutally murdered. A string of murders and criminal events start taking place putting Annora in danger as she and Mac (the officer) get closer to figuring out who the killer of little Rosemary is.

I will say that I really enjoyed this book, HOWEVER, I knew who the killer was from pretty much the start. Like, I knew it with every fiber of my being and thought it was so obvious and didn't know why the MCs never considered this person. Even with knowing who it was, it was still a great atmospheric story that will keep you enthralled. I also loved Annora and Mac's relationship.

Definitely give this one a go. I give it a solid 4/5 Stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the free audio book in exchange for an honest review. I thought that the narration by Nan McNamara was exceptional! She captivated me by doing such a good job with the characters so that I could visualize the story. Kudos!!

I devoured this! Such a unique and interesting murder mystery! If you love Simone St James or other authors that add a bit of paranormal to their suspenseful and mysterious tales, then this one's for you!

Rosemary's murder has remained unsolved for many decades. While restoring a property, a mural is found and thoughts are that if the mural can be restored, the killer will be revealed. So, Annora, an art restoration expert, is engaged to help the police find the killer.

I think that the reason this book was so captivating is that the author combined elements of art, mystery, suspense and paranormal to create one very intriguing story. I did not know much about the process of art restoration. I thought this part of the story was very well researched and interesting. As the mural is cleaned and slowly the mold, dirt and soot is removed, the mystery begins to take shape. I also really enjoyed the relationship of Mac and Annora as it developed from attraction, mutual goals and their shared struggle with past trauma as they work together to find the killer. There are several potential killers and a few red herrings thrown in which added to the intrigue.

The ending was fabulous with a sensational reveal of the killer and its secrets. I did not guess the killer and was actually surprised!

Really loved this! Highly recommend!!!

Thank you, Dreamscape, and Netgalley for selecting me for the audio ARC A Cruel Light.

I would not consider this book as a thriller. Suspenseful? That’s reaching. The book has a great story to it, just not in the correct genre. The narrator of the book has a great tone and keeps you engaged in the story.

Shoot I really enjoyed this mystery book!

The cover of this book is so beautiful and everything inside it was pretty perfectly done too. A murder mystery where the case is being solved by the local inspector and the art conservator?! Heck yes.

Annora gets a call from her college friend/roommate asking for her help restoring a recently found piece of local art. Annora gets far more than she bargained for when she shows up and finds out that they suspect said piece of art could solve a very long cold case, the death of a young girl. They believe that the murderer is still living in the town even all these years later. As the painting is revealed they find that this case is bigger than they imagined, involves more people than just the murderer and will shock the entire town. That's all provided they can crack the case before the murderer gets to them too. With a dash of romance and a sprinkle of paranormal I couldn't have asked for more of this book.

Riveting, fast-paced, and dark! Loved the elements of paranormal with a dash of romance. Fun audiobook!

😍 How gorgeous is this cover?!

Yesterday I finished listening to A Cruel Light by Cyndi MacMillan. It’s a slow burn murder mystery that includes paranormal elements, a cold case investigation, and details about art restoration. The main character Annora is brought in to assist the town detective in solving a cold case. The detective believes that there are clues to a 60-year old murder in a damaged mural. Can Annora uncover those clues through the restoration of the mural?

This book will be for readers who enjoy a slow-paced murder mystery and learning more about the art world. It is a unique concept in crime fiction!

Thank you @dreamscape_media and @netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 This took place in a small town in Canada. Before, a girl was kidnapped and brutally murdered and the case goes cold, until some renovations were done and what they discover leads the Conservator Annora Garde to investigate.
There is a mysterious painting that needs cleaning and whats discovered is a cryptic message that could lead investigators to solving the murder of the young girl .
This gothic murder mystery was fun and engaging. I have never listen to this authors work before and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was short but sweet and the ending made everything come together.

3.5 stars - Overall I enjoyed this book, even though it is not my typical style.

I really enjoyed the premise of the book; a girl commissioned to restore and old piece of art and then get wrapped up in solving a decade old cold case. The paranormal elements to this book had me feeling pretty “ehhh” about it honestly - definitely not my style.
And I wish there was a bit more character building.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Annora Garde, art conservator and restoration expert, is brought to Bliss River to restore a paining.
Said painting is of Rosemary, who was murdered just after her eight birthday. She is told the killer painted himself in the painting and she is asked to restore the painting to help find the murderer.

Annora stays at the parsonage while restoring this painting. She begins to feel ill and falls asleep.
While asleep, she dreams of Rosemary who tells her to wake. She ends up at the hospital, and afterward police inspector, Mac, doesn't feel it is safe for her to stay at the parsonage. She ends up staying with Mac and his daughter.

Annora continues working on the painting, clues are uncovered, and more things happen along the way. Obvioiusly someone does not want her to uncover the truth.

To say I was shocked at who the killer was is an understatement.

I enjoyed this book. It was well written and I liked the elements of mystery, paranormal, and romance. The narration was great too!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This was soooo good!

As most readers know, a good “whodunnit” is ONLY good when you can’t predict the killer right away. This book had me guessing the whole time!

Unlike any mystery book I’ve ever read, the confession to this crime is hidden in a painting. I think it was fascinating to see the dynamic between law enforcement and the woman restoring the art because they both wanted answers but couldn’t be more different. There was danger, romance, and history to be learned throughout and it was impossible to stop once I started reading.

I was able to get this ARC audiobook from NetGalley and Dreamscape Audio in return for my honest review. Thank you!

6/10

*Audiobook format ARC provided by publisher*

The premise of A Cruel Light was a unique and promising one. The idea of an art piece being restored slowly unravelling the mystery of a cold case murder sounded new and fantastic. While this held true in some ways I do not think that it fully delivered on all of the promise it had.

The pacing of the story just seemed off. It seemed that everything was either moving at a breakneck pace that was hard to follow, or nothing important was happening, there was no in-between. Part of the appeal of the premise was that restoring the mural would take time and so clues would be slowly unraveled but that didn't seem to be the case for most of the novel.

Additionally the synopsis hints at discovering Annora's own past losses, and while this holds true, they seem a little lackluster compared to other 'dark pasts' in most thrillers. Along those lines I would have liked to see some more about some of the side characters and the things happening with them. There are a few particular things brought up about some of the characters that are more or less just mentioned in passing. I would have liked to see these explored more, which would also have provided more time to slowly unravel the main story.

Overall A Cruel Light was not a bad read, I just feel that it had the promise to be even better if some of the above mentioned problems I had with it were done a little better.

Audiobook wise I thought that the narrator did a great job, and I did not see any issues with its production.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for this opportunity. It was a totaly new form of the listening. And I admit maybe I should read it to like more.not because of the narrator that was great just me is the one who neded to " see" more. A fascinata reflection

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator of this book did a great job. She was very easy to listen to and I found myself getting lost in her voice. The story itself started out strong and then slowly dwindled to the unbelievable for me. I liked the premise of a girl commissioned to restore an old mural and getting wrapped up in a decades old murder but that supernatural aspects of the book were a bit much. The characters also seemed to be moving at a breakneck pace and I wish I would have gotten a little more in depth backstory for them.