Sketch Me If You Can by Sharon Pape

Sketch Me If You Can is the first book in the Portrait of Crime series by Sharon Pape. Rory is a police sketch artist, and has just inherited her uncle's house and private detective agency/client list. At first she doesn't think she wants to pursue being a private investigator, but decides to work on one of the cases that he has left behind at the request of the client. The house holds a surprise for her, she's inherited more than just a place to live, but also a roommate. Zeke was a federal marshall who died in the 1800's, and who had been assisting her uncle in his investigations, and he's more than ready to keep it up with Rory. The two butt heads often, she's a modern, independent woman, and Zeke's an old-fashioned, traditional man who has a hard time letting Rory investigate, or even date! They challenge each other, and even Zeke, though dead, finds out that he can do more than he thought when the situation calls for it! I kept picturing the actor Sam Elliot as Zeke, with his deep voice and rugged looks.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery, I call it that because even though Rory is a police sketch artist, and had to become a full fledged officer in order to have that position, she really is more of an artist, and not involved in investigating on a regular basis, so it is all new for her. I definitely want to continue this series, Zeke is a fun character, and I know that he and Rory have a lot more ahead of them! The second book in the series is To Sketch a Thief and came out in June of this year. For more information on the author and her work, please visit her website.

This was my 7th read for the Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge at Book Chick City, though I'm reviewing a bit out of order!