A Brush with Death: A Penny Brannigan Mystery

When Penny Brannigan moves to her cottage in the small Welsh town of Llanelen and begins sorting through the belongings of her benefactor, a deceased teacher, she comes upon a packet of love letters from a promising young Liverpool artist named A. Jones. An artist herself, Penny sets out to discover more about this mysterious painter who met a tragic end in an accident in 1970.

While at a retrospective art exhibition in Liverpool, Penny recognizes what she believes to be a watercolor painted by Jones. But it is attributed to another artist. Helped once more by a small group of townsfolk, including her enterprising business partner, Victoria Hopkirk, Penny sets out to prove her suspicion that art theft is at the heart of the case, and that Jones's death was no accident.

In her eagerly awaited sequel Elizabeth J. Duncan wonderfully revisits the bustling Welsh town and vibrant characters introduced in The Cold Light of Mourning. With its lyrical prose and tantalizing puzzle, A Brush with Death is a real treat of a mystery novel.