Draw and Order

 Draw and Order is the second book in Cheryl Hollon’s Paint and Shine mystery series. I devoured book one in this series, so when I heard there was a book two, I was eager to get my hands on it. Getting back to the little country town that Miranda is now calling home, and getting to know more of the characters was something I was looking forward to.

Miranda’s business is growing, and she’s taking steps to fulfill the requirements for her to keep the property. Things are looking up for her, but it seems that she’s about to be hit with a few potholes along the way. It all starts with a group of rock climbers who call themselves the Risky Business Adventurers. What is supposed to be a simple excursion and meal turns into something more when one of the group literally stumbles across the remains of one of their own. The location of the remains leads Miranda to believe that it’s her long-missing cousin, Howard Cable...and former group member of the Risky Business Adventurers. Due to budget (aka political issues) the sheriff wants to chalk it up to an accident, but there are clues that point otherwise.

Draw and Order, for me, fails to be as good as the first book in this series. While the author gives readers quite a few new characters to be engaged by, the actual mystery falls flat. Cozy mysteries aren’t always chock full of drama and thrills, but I feel that this book needed something to give an energy boost. There are some problems that Miranda deals with that had me really thinking that it was sabotage of some sort to distract her from her investigation. Apparently, they were just...regular problems that she had to deal with? It seemed a bit convenient, these problems, but instead of adding to the mystery/drama...they are just red herrings. It’s a bit disappointing, but not everything needs to be related to the mystery of her cousin, right?

I feel that there was more day-to-day life in this book in comparison to the first. I will say that I like that Miranda and Doris Ann Norriss, the receptionist, has smoothed out their issues and are friendlier now. The relationship between Miranda and Austin is growing, but slowly. Honestly, it’s hard to really tell what’s going on with them (whether they are in a relationship or not). I’m not saying that they should be hot and heavy (lol) I just want something a bit more established that indicates that they are indeed together. Most of the time it comes off more as that they are getting together to eat meals or work the case.

My biggest disappointments with this story come from how flat the storyline is. You get a few blips of excitement, but they are just that...blips. The reveal, similar to book one, is once again disappointing. The lead-up to the reveal, leaves you second-guessing that person is truly the bad guy. The ending is honestly disappointing and leaves me feeling dissatisfied. While this book is overall a page-turner for me, it’s mostly to get back to the mystery and see where it all leads. The whodunit question that demands to be answered.

While we don’t get as much scenery or amusing anecdotes concerning the characters, this book still manages to be an enjoyable novel. I’m hopeful that the next book will be able to recapture that nice balance that book one had so that it becomes truly engaging again. I’m choosing to rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. While it falls more than a little flat on the main mystery, there are several smaller ones that kept me digging deeper. If you enjoyed the first book in this series and are eager to continue the series, I encourage you to do so. I look forward to what the author’s next book.