Portrait of a Dead Guy

I was immediately drawn to this book by its title and I was not

I was immediately drawn to this book by its title and I was not disappointed. Larissa Reinhart paints a delightful southern mystery full of sassy wit and hometown drama. Amateur sleuth Cherry Tucker pops off the page, and while she gets herself into trouble, she’s pretty good at figuring it out, too. She kept me hooked until the very last page. Highly recommended for those in search of a new humorous mystery series.

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As a small town portrait artist, Cherry Tucker works hard to ma

As a small town portrait artist, Cherry Tucker works hard to make a living. So when she hears that the wealthy Branson family want a portrait of their trouble-making son, Dustin, she jumps on it. One problem--he's dead, and she has to paint a portrait of him in his coffin. Even though she paints a peaceful final picture, Dustin died with a little help, and soon, Cherry stumbles onto a mystery that might leave her as dead as the man in the coffin.

I loved Reinhart's quirky characters and Cherry's relationship with her eccentric family. Add a high school rival, a sexy ex, and a hostile goat, and this humorous mystery kept me up late turning the pages. I can't wait for more Cherry Tucker.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 If there's such a thing as a chick-lit m

My rating: 4.5 out of 5
If there's such a thing as a chick-lit mystery, then Portrait of a Dead Guy fits right in. Cherry Tucker isn't much of a detective...just a starving artist in small-town Georgia trying to make sure that she gets paid for the commission she worked so hard to get. The more she tries to finish her painting, the deeper Cherry gets sucked into the mystery of who killed one of Halo's local sons.

Larissa Reinhart's world building is so vivid that you can practically taste the sweet tea. Growing up in small Southern towns myself, the town and its inhabitants reminded me of my own childhood. It's true what they say too, when you grow up in a small town, everyone knows everything about you and your family going back multiple generations. And poor Cherry has her own past actions (she's been known to be a bit boy crazy) to live down. It doesn't help that she's a spitfire stuffed into a small packed with plenty of attitude to go around.

All the characters are well developed and filled with quintessential Southern charm (which you might call slight craziness). Throw in plenty of humor, a couple of hot hunks, and more twists and turns than a greased pig and I became an instant fan.

I can't wait for book #2, Still Life in Brunswick Stew! Fortunately comes out in just a couple weeks-May 21, 2013. You need to make sure that it's on your TBR too!

This is the first book in the Cherry Tucker Mystery series by La

This is the first book in the Cherry Tucker Mystery series by Larissa Reinhart. Don't you just love new series? A chance to meet new characters that you are going to have the opportunity to really get to know over the course of the series. Their ups and down, foibles and eccentricities, good days and bad. And in the case of a character like Cherry Tucker, you just know that you are going to be on one hell of a roller coaster ride.




The book opens with Cherry Tucker, struggling artist in a small Georgia town, headed to a funeral home to meet with the parents of local bad boy Dustin Branson. She is trying to get the commission to do his death portrait. Sounds creepy right? But that's not all. Dustin Branson was found murdered and the killer is still at large. Added to this, Dustin "had been a criminal in the making for twenty-seven years." If all this isn't bad enough, Cherry finds out that she must compete with her old high school rival Shawna Branson for the commission. To add insult to injury? Shawna wants to do a "Paintograph" of Dustin. And Cherry is just appalled by this paint by numbers masquerading as art. This leaves Cherry only 2 days to get the painting done before the viewing. The final cherry on the top of this headache sundae? Luke, her old boyfriend, is back for the funeral of his step-brother Dustin. The old boyfriend she never really got over.




This was a phenomenal book. As a small town southerner myself, I could completely relate to the trials and tribulations that Cherry is enduring. The crazy family, the past exploits she just can't live down, the rednecks and wannabe's, the "adopted" family like Uncle Will the Sheriff. I could completely commiserate and relate to Cherrilyn "Cherry" Tucker. 




This book kept me laughing out loud at some of the antics Cherry got herself into. If I had to make a comparison I would call this a Southern Stephanie Plum. And since I love the Stephanie Plum series, that is a dang good recommendation, right there! (Geesh, you can almost hear my southern coming out!) I am giving this book 5 stars on Goodreads. 4 stars for the book itself and a whole 'nother star for all the great stuff the author has on Pinterest. I love when an author gives me more to explore with a favorite book. It helps to keep my interest up until the next book comes out. So seriously, ya'll go check out Ms. Reinhart's Pinterest Boards. You can get a feel yourself, of the true essence of Cherry Tucker. 

Portrait of a Dead Guy is funny, creepy, southern mystery. It w

Portrait of a Dead Guy is funny, creepy, southern mystery. It was also enjoyable clean read that kept you guessing what would happen next.
Cherry Tucker is an artist in a small town having a hard time making a living. She is small. The center of a lot of gossip that she does not help at all with her actions. When she hears that the Branson's family wants a portrait of their son for the funeral service, She heads right over to get the job. They are planning to use a member of their own family do the art. Cherry convinces them to give her a chance. She is not to fond of the murdered guy.

That night she decides in the middle of the night to go to the funeral home and start the portrait. She is by herself having let herself in with a key. While she is getting ideas of how she wants to do the picture of Dustin. She is attacked and knocked on the head. The casket is off balance and her coke is spilled all over. Her paint supplies are ruined.

The Sheriff their family friend Uncle Will threatens to arrest her. More rumors spread around the town about her robbing the corpse. The funeral home is not pressing charges.

Dustin's stepbrother Luke just got out of the service and back home, but not to stay. He used to be her boyfriend and she is still mad at him and finds him still hot.

Cherry got married in Las Vegas to Todd who won the trip to play poker. He tells one version of what happened their and Cherry is not telling all the details about it. Everyone is talking about what they did do. Todd is also the drummer in a band and plays the dumb blond who is really good at poker.

Cherry wants to get the Portrait and have the family buy the painting. She is also trying to figure out who attacked her and is robbing everywhere Dustin might have hid something. Everyone tells her to stop asking questions about what Dustin was up too. Also to stop working on the portrait.

Their are some funny scenes especially the comedy of errors at the funeral. I like Cherry and her family. This is small southern town with lots of interesting characters. I would like to see what Cherry gets into next time.

I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it by Netgalley.

Publisher: Henery Press; First edition (August 23, 2012) 280 pages ASIN: B0091X7NGQ

While Portrait of a Dead Guy may not be considered serious liter

While Portrait of a Dead Guy may not be considered serious literature, it is a highly enjoyable comic mystery. It's also an insightful depiction of life in a small southern town and the characters who inhabit it -- warts and all. It's the 'warts and all' part that help make the book such a stand-out - Ms Reinhart doesn't shy away from showing the good, the bad and the ugly. While her affection for the characters is clearly evident, she gives them free rein to make bad decisions and learn from them.

The mystery isn't terribly difficult to solve but it provides a fine framework for the comedy and secondary action to ensue. Whether it's the outrageous lengths Cherry is willing to go to ensure her success as an artist, or the hilarious in-fighting that explodes at the murdered man's funeral, everything is fair game.

All in all, a fresh and sharp debut - I'll be looking for more of Cherry and and company's next adventure.(less)

*I won this as a First Reads Giveaway.* I really liked this boo

*I won this as a First Reads Giveaway.*

I really liked this book. It was so fun and enjoyable. I finished it in two settings but if I had the time I would've finished it in one. I didn't want to put it down. I was guessing until the end whodunit and that's so important for me. I hate when I can see who did it early on, especially with a bumbling stupid cast set around to make the story work. That's so not the case here. The miss steps and misleads are understandable and the reader makes them along with Cherry.

The characters all popped out and felt real. Cherry is are strong lead woman who has clear flaws but she's loveable and trying to do the right thing. Her family isn't perfect but they are family. They annoy each other but band together when there's trouble. There is the love triangle thing going on which has become a staple in these kind of books. It often becomes annoying with the indecisive back and forth. However, Cherry clearly has her mind about her and knows what she wants. She just had a bit of trouble getting her backbone to work with her. She's feminine but not the stereotypical princess. She's country but not the stereotypical redneck. She's southern but not the stereotypical Southern bell nor the Southern Cross flag loving moron. She's real and I love her for it. She's an artist and it colors how she views thing and the author loving helped paint it. Honestly, Cherry is one of my new favorite characters, for all of these reasons and more.

I like the setting. I know how things get twisted in small towns, how everyone knows everything about everyone while pretending not to and the futility of fighting against the flow. Now this small town setting is common but is often idealized. I love the realistic portrayal here. The town and it's people are still engaging, still lovable (or hateable) and really gives you a good idea how small towns really work. It's still understandable why people live there and love it, but there are no illusions used to get this across, it's reality is enough.

It was also a nice break to get a book with working poor people as the cast. I mean really, in a small town there's the one person who owns everything due to inheriting and the rest of us are struggling to get along usually. That was the case in my small town and that's the case here. It's nice to get an honest look and portrayal of people like this, like me. It's refreshing and I loved it. Even city slickers will love it, it's not too above their understanding. ;-) /joke

This book is really beautifully written. The author has a wonderful voice, that lends itself so well to her characters. This sentence "The object of my desire, Todd's functioning vehicle, jerked to a stop at the curb while the object of my ire bounded up the slope to my porch." is such a great example. I love it. There's other examples but you should experience it for yourself.


I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book. My only real hesitation I feel is due to being lead on and disappointed with the continuation of other series. *cough Stephanie Plum cough* However, this is a stunning debut. It will draw you in and you'll fall in love with this book. If you're feeling disappointed and disenchanted, Portrait of a Dead Guy will renew your love for this genre.

All Cherry wanted to do was earn some money and if that means do

All Cherry wanted to do was earn some money and if that means doing a portrait of a dead guy, then so be it. But havoc ensues when Cherry is attacked and her curiosity is peaked as she suspects there's more to his accidental death and thus begins her quest to clear her name and fight off the bad guys.

I could not put down this fast-paced, action-filled and fun romp in this debut novel that had me laughing out-loud from beginning to end. The eccentrically quirky people that inhabit Halo, Georgia were a delight: from spitfire Cherry to handsome ex-fiancé Todd to old foe Shawna and to Luke the man who bedazzles Cherry. The mystery was good and every time I thought I knew who was responsible, the author changed direction with plenty of twists and turns at the corners. Boasting southern charm and engagingly amusing banter, this was very enjoyable and a great start to what I hope is a long-running series.

Cherry Tucker is a hoot! When the local bad boy turns up dead

Cherry Tucker is a hoot!

When the local bad boy turns up dead in small town Georgia and his slightly kooky family wants a "coffin portrait," Cherry hops-to hoping for a fat commission check. But she gets more than she bargained for when another victim turns up -- and then the killer starts after her.

Toss in a couple of sexy guys, a few laugh out loud redneck truths, and a mischievous goat, and Larissa Reinhart has one of the most rollicking mysteries I've read in years. Well done!

I can't wait to see what Cherry and Luke get themselves into next.

Larissa Reinhart delivers the goods in her debut novel, Portrait

Larissa Reinhart delivers the goods in her debut novel, Portrait of a Dead Guy. The series protagonist, Cherry Tucker is a hoot--my very favorite kind of character. The story is well paced, the plot intriguing. I loved this book, and can't wait to read about the next tangle Cherry gets herself into (and out of).

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