Publisher's Blurb:
July 1924. Sarah Cunningham, a young Modernist painter, arrives in Carmel-by-the-Sea from Paris to bury her older sister, Ada Belle. En route, she is shocked to learn that Ada Belle’s suspicious death is a suicide. But why kill herself? Her plein air paintings were famous and her upcoming exhibition of portraitures would bring her even wider recognition.
Sarah puts her own artistic career on hold and, trailed by Ada Belle’s devoted dog, Albert, becomes a secret sleuth, a task made harder by the misogyny and racism she discovers in this seemingly idyllic locale.
Part mystery, part historical fiction, this engrossing novel celebrates the artistic talents of early women painters, the deep bonds of sisterhood, the muse that is beautiful scenery, and the determination of one young woman to discover the truth, to protect an artistic legacy, and to give her sister the farewell she deserves.
Publisher: She Writes Press (September 7, 2021)
Paperback: 328 pages
My Review:
Historical fiction is one of my go-to genres and The Artist Colony is tagged as both historical fiction and a historical mystery as a young woman artist seeks to solve the mystery of her older sister's death. I was immediately caught up in the story and in Sarah who journeys from Paris, where she is studying Modernist painting, to Carmel-by-the-Sea in California to take care of her sister's affairs. Although Sarah and Ada had a strained relationship the past few years and were very different people and artists, Sarah disagrees with the ruling that Ada's death was a suicide and with the help of Ada's neighbor Rosie, begins investigating.
I enjoy it when the author makes a book's setting almost another character, and Caramel-by-the-Sea and Ada's little house, The Salt Box are brought to life with FitzPatrick's words. There is a lot of detail about the artist colony in Caramel, especially the young women studying art in a male-dominated world in the 1920s. The sexism along with racism and discrimination play a big role in the book and in the suspicious circumstances of Ada's being brushed aside. Ada Belle is already famous for her en plein air paintings (outdoor landscape portraits) and was branching out into portraits of the people in her world. She also was engaged and excited about her future and Sarah believes there was no way she would take her own life.
I liked Sarah, although I felt like she was very naive and had to yell at her in my head many times ads it was pretty obvious to me (and to Ada's dog Albert) who the murderer was. That made the historical fiction part of the book stronger than the mystery in my opinion, but I did like watching Sarah grow in confidence and maturity. I also liked how the author wove in real life people in the arts (movies, photography, art and writing) into the story with the fictional characters. The Artist Colony is a quick read and I think anyone who enjoys art, the 1920s California, and stories about sisterly bonds will enjoy it.
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Author Notes: Joanna FitzPatrick was raised in Hollywood. She started her writing habit by applying her orange fountain pen and a wild imagination to screenplays, which led her early on to produce the film White Lilacs and Pink Champagne. Accepted at Sarah Lawrence College, she wrote her MFA thesis Sha La La: Live for Today about her life as a rock ’n’ roll star’s wife. Her more recent work includes two novels, Katherine Mansfield, Bronze Winner of the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) in Historical Fiction, and The Drummer’s Widow. The Artist Colony is her third book. Presently, FitzPatrick divides her time between a mountaintop cottage in Northern California and a small hameau in Southern France where she begins all her book projects.
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Note: A review copy of "The Artist Colony" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.
You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.
Hi Deb,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your review of The Artist Colony!