A Trick of the Light by Ali Carter
This mystery is part of a series featuring painter Susie Mahl. Susie specializes in landscape painting, but also has quite a reputation for her pet portraits. Here, she is invited to be the teacher at a small class hosted by the owner of a highland estate. The estate's large house will not only be the location for the classes, but will also provide rooms for all the participants. The estate owner, Fergus, Earl of Muchton, and his wife Zoe have arranged the course and the registration of participants. There are two scholarship students as well.
The estate is a large one, and the house is large too, with several wings. There are issues with electrics, and the heating isn't up to par. One of the wings is closed off. As Susie gets to know her students and observes the people around her, she falls into her usual habit of curiosity, trying to learn more about everyone. Susie has recently learned some upsetting news from her parents, who she is close to, and she has been ghosted by a man she thought she might spend the rest of her life with.
There are some triggers for her which appear in the plot.
I found the art information very interesting. She discussed a lot of techniques for painting and how to approach it, that I found useful. The author is a painter herself and it shows. The plot was interesting and many of the characters were intriguing although only the main character had real depth.
This was a fun and enjoyable read that I also learned a fair amount from.
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