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Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) by Ellen Butler – Review by Caralee Loonat

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
5 star!!!!!

I must admit I like a good mystery book once in a while. This was a great find as this is my first book by this author. The book has just the right amount of drama and really grabs the reader from page one. I was at the edge of my seat awaiting to find out what would happen next.

I found that Karina’s character was very realistic. I found myself being transported into the book as she delves into the museum heist mystery. The drama between her and Patrick just adds to the drama in the book. The whole way that things unfold along with the darknet auction to the mob connections I just couldn’t put this book down. I found my adrenaline running as I am sure Karina’s would be as she followed each lead to the heist. I look forward to reading more not only from this series but also this author.

Reviewed by @caraleeloonat
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Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) By Ellen Butler – Review by Dawn Daughenbaugh

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 Star
Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery ( Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) By Ellen Butler is a book filled with suspense, mystery and some Romance and one that will hook you in the beginning till the very end.There are a few twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what happens next. This story is about Karina and how she overheard a conversation that wasn’t meant for hers.Find out what happens next. I highly recommend this book.

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Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) by Ellen Butler – Review by Lisa Boltiador

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Isabella’s Painting was a fun mystery story. Karina gets caught up in an old Painting Heist mystery when she stumbles upon a stolen piece at Christmas. It’s in her boyfriend’s parents’ house, so that adds a whole other element. Then she runs into an old friend and things just kind of get crazier from there. One thing I appreciate in this story is Karina’s strong personality. She’s solid, independent, has a good head on her shoulders. I found the characters interesting and the story entertaining.

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Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) by Ellen Butler – Review by Moriah Venable

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Isabella’s Painting is the first novel in the Karina Cardinal mystery series by Ellen Butler. This is my first novel by this author.

Instead of relaxing at home watching Netflix, Karina Cardinal is getting dressed to attend her boyfriend Patrick Dunne parent’s holiday party.

While there, she notices Patrick’s dad may be up to something that includes the stolen artwork that was taken from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum years before.

The FBI was unable to solve and locate the paintings but with Karina’s new information it’s possible they may have been found.

I have not read a cozy mystery in over a year and have been wanting to. Reading this novel made me remember how much fun and entertaining they are.

While Karina is not a detective, she is really smart and is able to put clues together. And while working with a friend that is an FBI agent, sparks may fly.

The author did a great job combining an actual event within the story of this novel. I even did some research while reading and discovered more information about the heist which made it all the more to read.

I look forward to the next book in the series as well as the cover. The cover caught my eye before I read the summary.

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Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (A Karina Cardinal Mystery Series) by Ellen Butler – Review by Sunday Barnaby

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery by Ellen Butler
Five Stars

Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery by Ellen Butler is the first book in the Karina Cardinal Mystery Series by Ellen Butler. This is the first book I have read by Ms. Butler, but definitely won’t be the last. I was hooked from the very first page. This is mystery, suspense and romance rolled into one. It also has an unusual aspect, that the story is based on a real life theft. I couldn’t put it down down till I finished because I just had to know what would happen next. The twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat throughout. I really loved Karina’s character and look forward to reading more about her in future books in this series.

Reviewed by @sunbarn

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Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) by Ellen Butler ~ Review by Liz Vrchota

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ellen Butler was a new author to me when I picked up Isabellas Painting. It was a late night impulse snag and I am so glad that I grabbed it! I am hooked! This was such a fun read. I got zero sleep but it was so worth it.

So there is a lot going on in this novel but I am going to try to just tease you a tad with some details… the good stuff you have to read for yourself. Trust me it will be so well worth your time. I have to say this is one of those books I will want to add to my re-read pile!

Karina Cardinal seemingly has it all and has it all together. She is a wonderful lawyer. She has the perfect relationship with a handsome man named Patrick. So perfect that things may just be ready to progress to bigger steps. Basically everything is going peachy king. Until…

Sore feet at the family Christmas party forces Karina to take a rest in a room with beautiful art, art that stands out. Art that she wasn’t supposed to see. This makes her start asking questions and things get really interesting to say the least. I loved this one and I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series!

Review by @lizaileen
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Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) by Ellen Butler – Review by Angelina Frazzini

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery by Ellen Butler is book one of the Karina Cardinal Mystery series. This book has it all; a little humor, a little romance, and some mystery. This is the first book I’ve read by this author but I enjoyed it.

This book is based on a real life unsolved mystery. It prompted me to want to look more into it and I really enjoyed the authors take on the whole thing. Karina while quite self conscious is definitely resourceful and intelligent and her investigative skills get her in deep. Karina may not be fully prepared for the risks she’s taken but she can’t give up. The book was definitely suspenseful at times and I was at the edge of my seat.

The author did such a good job portraying this real life situation. I enjoyed the characters and the suspense and couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. I would be interested in reading the next book of this series.

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Isabella’s Painting: a Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery book one) by Ellen Butler – Review by Krystal Gaston

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Isabellas Painting: a Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery book one) written by Ellen Butler. This isn’t my normal genre but I’m glad I gave it a shot. Karina pulls you into this story right away with her witty ways and a promise of some mystery when it comes to seeing a missing painting. As the story progresses so does the mystery and depth of the characters. When it comes down to it you always have to trust your instincts.

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Review by Krystalgaston

Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) By Ellen Butler – Review by Debi Kircher

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1)

By Ellen Butler

5+++++++ OMG stars

My first thought after being totally worthless for the 3 or so hours it took me to read this book was…This is one of the best books I have EVER read. I know nothing about art and truly went into this book thinking it sounds interesting and a break from what I have been reading would be awesome. Well… WOW…..Not really sure how to word this review so that this author gets the justice deserved for her talent in putting together words and having me so hung over right now I cant even hardly think.

She seriously grabbed me at page 1 and when I say I could not put this down I mean I was walking around with my kindle practically stuck to my nose and I couldn’t read it fast enough which angered me because I loved it so much I wanted to slow down and I couldn’t. Karina…what can I say about her…she was so different than most leading ladies and is seriously one of my new favorites. Besides the serious nature of what was going on she had me absolutely laughing out loud in some parts. I love how her story played out and what I loved also was how the relationships all seemed so real and as far as twists and turns, there were a few but I think the biggest twists were that everything played out totally opposite of what I thought they would and I wish I could explain that but I can’t because it would give too much away…Let me also say that my next favorite character in this book was Molly and you will see why when you read it, and you must read it!

I was so excited to see that Book 2 is coming soon and trust me I will be one of the first in line to have this book and I already have this authors page up so I can check out everything else she has written…

I already want to read this again!! Simply perfect!!

Review by @debikircher

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Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler – Review by Kerry Baker

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery by Ellen Butler is the first book in the Karina Cardinal Mystery series. Steeped in history of an actual painting that was stolen this book will take you on an exciting journey.
This is the first book I have read by this author and the first time I had heaerd of the Boston Garden Museum robbery and I was surprised by how much the author piqued my interest. I loved the idea of the book being based on a real life mystery. Karina as a character was the perfect person to fall into this book with. Her character helped to build up the mystery and suspense while also providing a bit of light hearted comic relief.
The author did really well at balancing the two while also creating a fully believable, and fully enjoyable, story. Her writing style had a great ebb and flow to it also. She knew exactly when to build the story and get you as the author involved and when to ease off a little so that it wa never too much.
Overall I found this to be an interesting read that was well developed creatively with strong characters to back up the story. I can’t wait to see what else is to come from this series and I will certainly be looking into more of the authors work.

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Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) by Ellen Butler – Review by Maura Harper

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Being from Boston, the art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has always intrigued me. The who, why, where is a mystery that I don’t believe will ever be solved.

ISABELLA’S PAINTING is fiction based in truth. All of the aspects that surround the theft really happened. The rest is fiction and was fun to read.

This is a story filled with a bit of mystery, suspense, murder and very civilized mayhem. I really enjoyed the layers of the story. The complexity of the relationships and the roller coaster ride we were taken on.

I would recommend this story and I look forward to reading the next installment of this new series

Review by @mauraharper

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Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) By Ellen Butler – Review by Laura Furuta

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Isabella's Painting (Karina Cardinal Mystery #1)Isabella’s Painting by Ellen Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1)
By: Ellen Butler
5 out of 5 stars

The story Isabella’s Painting: A Notorious Art Heist Mystery (Karina Cardinal Mystery Book 1) by Ellen Butler is a book that I loved reading. It hooks you in from the very beginning and I didn’t want to put it down until I had read the final page. It is a story that includes suspense and mystery. It had me turning pages in order to find out what was going to happen next in both the plot and to the characters. I loved reading about the character of Karina Cardinal. She is a lawyer who is independent and intelligent. Some would also call her a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, however, she would cringe at such a label. She runs into a mystery when at her boyfriend’s parent’s home for a holiday party. What happens next has Karina’s investigative skills and a bit of paranoia working overtime. Is the painting that she has seen one that was stolen so many years ago? Why does her boyfriend’s father have the stolen masterpiece? Now that she has started an investigation into the painting how much danger is she in? Read this book to find out. There are times when this story had me on the edge of my seat. Trying to put together the clues that Karina uncovers is like trying to put together a puzzle to find the truth. The other character that I enjoyed reading about in this story is Mike Finnegan. He is an old friend of Karina’s and works for the FBI. This is a wonderfully written story with some amazing characters. Highly recommended.

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