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WORK TITLE: A Brush with Death
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Carter, Alice
BIRTHDATE: 1983
WEBSITE: https://alicejcarter.wixsite.com/website
CITY: East Sussex
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1983, in Scotland.
EDUCATION:Attended St. Andrews University.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and artist; founder, dealsinprints.com; cofounder, bizzibox.com. Formerly worked in investment management, retail, and technology.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Ali Carter, who has also written as Alice Warrender, began her career as an author after working in a variety of other occupations, ranging from investment management to technology. She changed occupations only after suffering a severe setback. “In 2011,” reported the contributor of a biographical sketch to the author’s home page, the Ali Carter website, “she had a catastrophic bicycling accident. After major brain surgery and a long recovery, Ali set herself a challenge to walk alone from Canterbury to Rome, a three-month pilgrimage.” “Her narrative of this remarkable journey, [An Accidental Jubilee,] with its alternations of pain, introspection, peril and comedy,” wrote a contributor to the Accidental Jubilee website, “is acutely observant and comes to a moving and uplifting conclusion.”
After recovering from her accident Carter turned her energies to launching a career as a fine artist—but one that does portraits of pets as well, an occupation she shares with Susie Mahl, the protagonist of her debut mystery novel A Brush with Death. Susie Mahl’s occupation allows her to mix with the gentry and the aristocracy as well as the nouveaux riche. “In her job as a pet portrait artist,” explained a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “she rubs elbows with many of Spire’s oldest and most well-established families, whose word of mouth is vital to her business.” “I’m an artist, a painter really, and that’s how I’d like to be remembered,” Susie stated in an excerpt from the novel published in Crime Reads, “but I have a side-line cash-earner drawing people’s pets. It’s not that I intended to be a pet portraitist, but through my own doing, I’m ashamed to say, I fell into it. I had been drawing people’s four-legged friends on the front of my thank-you cards: an acceptable alternative to the conventional two-sided letter, with the bonus that I could write less in thanks. Soon my cards were scattered across enough mantel-pieces in the south of England that pet portrait requests started rolling in.”
A Brush with Death places Susie on the estate of Lord and Countess Greengrass deep in rural Devonshire. All seems to be going well until, “while the Countess of Greengrass plays the organ inside the village church,” stated Connie Fletcher in Booklist, “Lord Greengrass meets a mysterious end.” “With her artist’s eye for detail,” wrote John Cleal in Crime Review, “Susie realises that all may not be as innocent as it looks.” Although it appears initially that Lord Greengrass suffered from a heart attack, the local constabulary announce that he was, in fact, murdered. “Lady Greengrass asks Susie to stay,” said a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “and one more night turns into several.” “When Susie realizes she’s part of a murder investigation, she’s thrilled,” stated a Lesa’s Book Critiques reviewer. “She sees parallels between investigating a murder and painting a picture. Both call for careful observation. She’s convinced she can solve the case.”
Critics in general enjoyed Carter’s debut novel. “A Brush with Death shows great promise,” asserted Sue Magee in the Bookbag website. “The standout feature is Susie herself: Carter brings her off the page superbly well and it was a delight to read what she has to say about colours and pet portraiture. I loved too that she has a penchant for delectable underwear and was extra pleased to read that it’s because she loves it.” Carter’s debut “is a charming and amusing murder mystery,” declared a Country Wives website contributor. “It contains great character observations and is written with humour. She brings to life the world of the aristocracy and everything that goes with it. A pleasant change from the dark Norwegian Noir genre. It is definitely a book to take on holiday.” A Brush with Death “is a nice piece of social commentary – absorbing, charming and funny. Carter is a fresh and welcome new voice in crime writing,” Cleal concluded, “and Susie Mahl a very different new detective.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2018, Connie Fletcher, review of A Brush with Death, p. 21.
Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2018, review of A Brush with Death.
Publishers Weekly, May 28, 2018, review of A Brush with Death.
ONLINE
Accidental Jubilee website, http://www.alicewarrender.yolasite.com (October 17, 2018), author profile.
Ali Carter website, https://alicejcarter.wixsite.com (October 17, 2018), author profile.
Bookbag, http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/ (October 18, 2018), Sue Magee, review of A Brush with Death.
Country Wives, https://www.countrywives.co.uk/ (August 15, 2018), review of A Brush with Death.
Crime Reads, https://crimereads.com/ (July 9, 2018), excerpt from A Brush with Death.
Crime Review, http://crimereview.co.uk/ (June 23, 2018), John Cleal, review of A Brush with Death.
Lesa’s Book Critiques, https://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/ (July 10, 2018), review of A Brush with Death.
A Brush With Death by Ali Carter
Ali Carter Author
The Susie Mahl Mysteries
UK REVIEWS
‘Absorbing, charming and funny, A Brush With Death
heralds a fresh and welcome new voice in crime writing.
Susie Mahl is also a welcome new detective:
witty, warm and very inquisitive.’ (Antonia Fraser)
‘A delicious new voice in crime writing Excellent on the
English aristocracy and written in a fine, wry style,
we will hear much more of Miss Mahl.’ (Daily Mail)
‘The first book in a promising new series will remind
you of Downton Abbey and Miss Marple, except that
this Miss Mahl is a pet portraitist with a penchant for
rather expensive underwear, and it's purely for her
own pleasure.’ (The Bookbag)
‘Carter is a fresh and welcome new voice in crime writing
and Susie Mahl a very different new detective.’
(Crime Review)
‘A Brush With Death is the first in a charming new series
about pet portraitist and amateur sleuth Susie Mahl, and the debut novel from animal enthusiast Ali Carter.’ (CrimeReads)
‘An entertaining read, and one that had me up to
the wee small hours.’ (Crimesquad)
‘A riveting, charming and very funny new crime series from
the fabulously talented Ali Carter.’ (Piers Morgan)
‘Brilliantly enjoyable; coolly observed.’ (The Tablet)
Author Picture.jpg
Ali Carter was born in Scotland and read art history at St Andrews. There followed an eclectic career in investment management, retail and technology; then in 2011 she had a catastrophic bicycling accident. After major brain surgery and a long recovery, Ali set herself a challenge to walk alone from Canterbury to Rome, a three-month pilgrimage she wrote about in her book, An Accidental Jubilee by Alice Warrender. From then she decided to follow her passion and become a fine artist, specialising in oil paintings from life with an emphasis on colour. Ali works from her studio in East Sussex and also draws pet portraits to commission. A Brush with Death is her first novel.
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Print Marked Items
Carter, Ali: A BRUSH WITH DEATH
Kirkus Reviews.
(May 1, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Carter, Ali A BRUSH WITH DEATH Point Blank (Adult Fiction) $14.99 7, 10 ISBN: 978-1-78607-276-4
An English pet portraitist uses her keen perspective to probe the mysterious death of one of her rich
customers.
Though she doesn't come from wealth herself, Susie Mahl is all too acquainted with what title, family, and
some money bring. In her job as a pet portrait artist, she rubs elbows with many of Spire's oldest and most
well-established families, whose word of mouth is vital to her business. She got the commission to paint
Antonia Codrington's deerhound, Situp, through her well-received portrait of a dog named Harriet some
years ago. And her mastery of the niceties has made her a regular feature at Beckenstale Manor, where Lord
and Lady Greengrass--Alexander and Diana--Harriet's family, hold court. While getting to know Situp for
his close-up, Susie is summoned to Diana's side when Alexander suddenly dies on the local church grounds.
Diana seeks Susie's steadiness and support as she navigates the details of the will with her son and daughterin-law,
Arthur and Asquintha. Well understanding Diana's inability to speak her mind about Asquintha's
fitness to take on the title and the responsibilities that will now fall on her as Diana's rule at Beckenstale
comes to an end, Susie takes on the unusual role of ad hoc lady-in-waiting, navigating Diana's world while
learning all about the associated help. Already overwhelmed by the minutiae of Alexander's will, Susie
scarcely knows how to react when it comes out that Alexander's death may have been foul play. If only she
can transition from pet portrait artist to detective, with an eye on both upstairs and downstairs, she may be
the one who learns the truth about what happened to Alexander.
The heroine's uniquely comprehensive view of both the wealthy and their help is squandered in a debut
more interested in expounding the details of estate law than going beyond the predictable.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Carter, Ali: A BRUSH WITH DEATH." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A536571169/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2c287f7e.
Accessed 30 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A536571169
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A Brush with Death
Connie Fletcher
Booklist.
114.17 (May 1, 2018): p21.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
A Brush with Death.
By Ali Carter.
July 2018. 320p. Oneworld/Point Blank, paper, $14.99 (9781786072764); e book (9781786072771).
Fans of country-house cozies will delight in this series debut. Carter's heroine, Susie Mahl, is an artist who
pays the rent by touring the UK painting portraits of the pets of the rich and tided. Mahl has two great
advantages as a sleuth. First, she has a keen eye for detail. Second, she has a nearly aristocratic background
herself and status as a supposedly eccentric artist, both of which make her a sought-after guest at country
houses. She is also a witty narrator, giving the reader a behind-the-scenes tour of aristocratic customs and
foibles. In this outing, Mahl is visiting two elderly friends, an earl and a countess, at a large estate in
Devonshire. While the Countess of Greengrass plays the organ inside the village church, Lord Greengrass
meets a mysterious end in the village graveyard. In true cozy style, Mahl's contacts and eye for detail put
her far ahead of the local constabulary in solving the murder. While the plot and characterization here are on
the thin side, they are more than made up for by the divine atmosphere. --Connie Fletcher
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Fletcher, Connie. "A Brush with Death." Booklist, 1 May 2018, p. 21. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A539647190/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b8c1f198.
Accessed 30 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A539647190
A Brush With Death: A Susie Mahl Mystery by Ali Carter
A Brush With Death: A Susie Mahl Mystery by Ali Carter
1786072769.jpg
Category: Crime
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Reviewed by Sue Magee
Summary: The first book in a promising new series will remind you of Downton Abbey and Miss Marple, except that this Miss M is a pet portraitist with a penchant for rather expensive underwear, and it's purely for her own pleasure.
Buy? Maybe Borrow? Yes
Pages: 320 Date: June 2018
Publisher: Point Balnk
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1786072764
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I'm not normally a fan of books featuring amateur detectives, but something drew me inexorably to A Brush With Death: there's a dog on the cover, a big dog and I couldn't resist. Time to put away my prejudices and see what debut novelist Ali Carter had come up with.
Wisely, she's stuck with what she knows best. She's an artist from life, with an emphasis on colour and paints pet portraits to commission. Her heroine, Susie Mahl, is a pet portraitist as well as developing a talent, as this story progresses, as a sleuth. She'd received a commission in the village of Spire to produce a portrait of Situp, the Deerhound and it was whilst staying with the dog's owners that the local grandee, Alexander, Lord Greengrass, was murdered. A prostate problem meant that he was in the habit of nipping out of the Sunday morning church service to relieve himself and his life ended with his clothing in undignified disarray. Susie Mahl was one of the first people on the scene.
Ali Carter is a debut author and A Brush With Death shows great promise. The standout feature is Susie herself: Carter brings her off the page superbly well and it was a delight to read what she has to say about colours and pet portraiture. I loved too that she has a penchant for delectable underwear and was extra pleased to read that it's because she loves it rather than to please a man. Hurrah! Her Catholic faith matters to her and she knows that when she marries there will be no possibility of divorce: she views the market carefully, but is definitely looking.
The setting is excellent too: there's a touch of Jane Austen in the way that those families who are not as wealthy as they used to be are brought within the milieu, as long, that it, as they provide good value. Lady Greengrass is happy to rely on Susie Mahl as a companion-cum-assistant after her husband's death (Susie's despatched to stay at Nanny's house, you know) and Susie's happy to take every opportunity to delve as deeply as she can into what's happened.
I was not quite so impressed by the plot. I already had my suspicions about one character early on and a clue confirmed that I was most probably right before we were very much further into the book. The book was still a good read and it might be that other would not pick up on the clue that confirmed my suspicions. I'll certainly be looking to read the next book in the series and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If this book appeals you might also enjoy By the Light of a Lie by Marjorie Orr.
Buy A Brush With Death: A Susie Mahl Mystery by Ali Carter at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy A Brush With Death: A Susie Mahl Mystery by Ali Carter at Amazon.co.uk
Buy A Brush With Death: A Susie Mahl Mystery by Ali Carter at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy A Brush With Death: A Susie Mahl Mystery by Ali Carter at Amazon.com.
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Categories: Ali CarterReviewed by Sue Magee3.5 Star ReviewsCrimeJune 2018Reviews
A Brush with Death
Ali Carter. Point Blank, $14.99 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-78607-276-4
One summer weekend, while visiting the Earl and Countess of Greengrass at Beckenstale Manor in Dorset, pet portrait artist Susie Mahl, the narrator of British author Carter’s auspicious debut, meets Ben and Antonia Codrington, who commission her to paint a picture of Situp, the couple’s deerhound. The day of her planned departure, on a walk with Situp in the village of Spire, Susie and the Codringtons come across a shocking scene—the 75-year-old earl lying dead just outside the local church, an apparent heart attack victim. Lady Greengrass asks Susie to stay, and one more night turns into several. When the police determine that the earl was murdered, Susie takes it on herself to identify the culprit. Susie pays close attention to the relationships among the Beckenstale residents, in particular the countess’s with her son and the wife she thinks beneath him. Surprising bequests from the earl’s will and arcane inheritance rules create complications. Animal lovers, Anglophiles, and fans of humorous, socially observant whodunits will look forward to the next Susie Mahl mystery. (July)
DETAILS
Reviewed on: 05/28/2018
Release date: 07/01/2018
Book - 978-1-78607-277-1
Publisher Point Blank
Date Published 07 June 2018
ISBN-10 1786072769
Format paperback
Pages 320
Price £ 8.99
A Brush with Death
by Ali Carter
Artist Susie Mahl is a guest at the country seat of the Earl of Greengrass when her host is murdered in the parish churchyard. With the local police baffled, she applies her eye for detail and her natural inquisitiveness to uncover the killer.
Review
Ali Carter’s debut as a novelist is decidedly cosy, perhaps best described as Miss Marple visits Downton Abbey – although it stretches the imagination to picture Christie’s elderly and very correct pillar of the established church Jane Marple boosting her confidence with a passion for racy silk underwear from the stylish and expensive boutiques of St Germain de Pres and the Rue St Honore!
Her style is a modern update of Agatha Christie, her observation sharp, her humour gentle and her characters and their settings all too believable. Carter’s heroine, painter, pet portraitist and amateur sleuth Susie Mahl is everything she should be – witty, warm, charming, funny and endlessly inquisitive.
Carter has a degree in art history from St Andrews and she entered investment management, retail and technology until a cycle accident and major brain surgery cut her career short. As part of a lengthy recovery, she walked the traditional three-month long pilgrim route from Canterbury to Rome alone and wrote about it in her moving book, An Accidental Jubilee. She then decided to follow her first passion and became an artist, specialising in oil paintings from life – and accepting commissions for pet portraits – just as her 30-something detective does.
There’s not much of a plot to this debut. Experienced readers will spot the killer long before the eventual expose. But that’s not really the point. This is a story for mystery fans sick of bloody murder and sexual violence.
You can happily lose yourself in Carter’s shrewdly observed world of animals and monied country gentry as Susie, commissioned on recommendation to paint a giant deerhound, is dragged into investigating the death of a friend and former client, landowner Alexander, the ninth Earl of Greengrass.
The elderly earl has been found dead, caught literally with his trousers down in the graveyard of the parish church his prostate problems have forced him to quit during a service. Police investigations reveal he has been killed and his whole family and staff come under suspicion.
With her artist’s eye for detail Susie realises that all may not be as innocent as it looks and her natural inquisitiveness – allied to friendship and the attraction of a handsome police doctor – leads her to investigate.
A combination of logic, luck and one or two rather underhand stunts which could set her at odds with the police put Susie on the right track and expose the link between a past never spoken about in polite circles and a killer seeking revenge.
This is a nice piece of social commentary – absorbing, charming and funny. Carter is a fresh and welcome new voice in crime writing and Susie Mahl a very different new detective.
Reviewed 23 June 2018 by John Cleal
John Cleal is a former soldier and journalist with an interest in medieval history.
TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018
A Brush with Death by Ali Carter
Fans of "Downton Abbey" and books involving the rich British upper-class may enjoy Ali Carter's debut mystery, A Brush with Death. I found it a little too detailed and slow-paced for my taste, but those who enjoy all the details of English grand homes may enjoy this.
Susie Mahl, the narrator, is what I see as a hanger-on. She's an artist whose specialty is painting pet portraits, so she spends time at grand homes all over England as she studies the pets. She's quite comfortable with the lifestyle of the rich upper-class, and depends on referrals. While she's staying with the Earl and Countess of Greengrass, Diana, Lady Greengrass refers Susie to new neighbors, Ben and Antonia Codrington. That meeting leads to a commission for Susie, one that puts her in the right spot when Alexander, the Earl of Greengrass, dies.
Susie's to paint the Codrington's dog, Situp, but she's surprised to find another guest at their house when she arrives. Henry Dunstan-Sherbet is a doctor and a lifelong friend of Ben's. After Situp digs up a skull from the local graveyard, Ben, Henry and Susie head there one Sunday morning to bury it again. They're together when they hear noises, and find Alexander with his pants down outside the church. At seventy-five, Alexander seems a little young for death, but everyone is shocked when the police say he was murdered.
When Susie realizes she's part of a murder investigation, she's thrilled. She sees parallels between investigating a murder and painting a picture. Both call for careful observation. She's convinced she can solve the case with a combination of her obsessive observation and "nosy-parker instincts".
Frankly, Susie Mahl was not my favorite amateur sleuth. At thirty-two, she feels she's all-knowing about the lives of the rich British landowners. Her obsession with her French lingerie seems a little out-of-place. It's only my opinion, but she comes across as too ingratiating.
There's a contemporary setting in A Brush with Death, but its slow pace and detailed descriptions remind me of the Golden Age mysteries. Perhaps that's what Carter was trying to emulate with her debut. It didn't quite work for me.
A Brush with Death by Ali Carter. Point Blank. 2018. ISBN 9781786072764 (paperback), 320p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - I received the book to review for a journal.
Posted by Lesa at 4:00 AM
EXCERPT
A BRUSH WITH DEATH
Ali Carter
JULY 9, 2018
The following is an exclusive excerpt from A Brush With Death, the first in a charming new series about pet portraitist and amateur sleuth Susie Mahl, and the debut novel from cyclist and animal enthusiast Ali Carter.
It occasionally crossed Alexander, Earl of Greengrass’s mind that his past would come back to haunt him. A perfectly human thought, but one which came in the night and was always dispelled by the first ray of light through the gap in his bedroom curtains. He congratulated himself these days on conquering his demons and never letting his convivial character be dragged down by the silly mistakes any attractive young aristocrat might make.
The radio hummed as the alarm set it off; Radio 3 gently stirring this seventy-five-year-old man from a particularly sound night’s sleep. He stretched out an arm to turn the violin strings down; his ears weren’t ready for a deaf man’s volume quite yet, and long gone were the days where his faithful wife’s leg would give him a nudge to go and make her a cup of tea. Sharing a bed was an occupation they’d mutually given up long ago, and now he was no longer Chairman of the Game Conservancy, other than helping his eldest son learn the ropes of running the estate, Lord Greengrass’s day began with a distinct lack of urgency.
On this particular Sunday morning in November, he rose from his pillow only to be hit by a rush of light-headiness. Something last night must have upset his sugar levels and just as he was going over his movements the cry came along the landing.
‘Alexander! Alexander! What the heavens are you doing. We have to leave right now.’
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
Maybe it was the effort of travelling the length of the corridor, but Diana, Countess of Greengrass, rarely made the trip to her husband’s bedroom.
He knew there was no need to answer, time wasted in speech would set him back a second or two, something he couldn’t afford when he suddenly remembered today was a commemoration service, church was an hour earlier and his wife’s role as organist demanded her presence.
His Lucozade tablets were on the bedside table, but in a flash of forgetfulness Lord Greengrass, now immaculately dressed in a three-piece tweed suit, forgot to put them in his pocket. An unforgivable mistake if his wife should find out.
She was already in the car pulled up to the door, furious Butler Shepherd was nowhere to be seen; one could tell by the great speed she achieved down the beautiful drive of Beckenstale Manor into the village of Spire. The sky was yet to fully lighten in that dragged-out way only a winter sky can.
Lady Greengrass took little notice of her husband as he followed her into the church. Not a soul to be seen. All those years of rushing assured her a life ahead of time.
‘I’m going to rest in this pew,’ he said, just inside the west door, assuming his wife might wonder where he was if she couldn’t see him in the front row.
He sat down, crossing his legs in that masculine way only the aristocracy can, and his shoulders drooped with the lethargy of missing breakfast. He blamed himself and only hoped the glass of water and everyday vitamin he’d taken at his bathroom sink would tide him over for the next hour of ceremony and a little bit of mingling with the community afterwards.
Spire church was large and austere for such a modest village, but today all that space might actually be needed, thought Lord Greengrass as he saw the villagers file in. Had he been of a less simpatico nature he would have minded that his son and grandchildren weren’t here. As it was, what truly mattered to him was his and his wife’s presence. Not every village boasted an Earl and Countess on their doorstep, and so all enjoyed, whether they liked them or not, seeing this pair in their finery.
ONE CHEEKY WINK AND LORD GREENGRASS WAS FLAT OUT ON THE GROUND, DELIRIOUSLY GASPING FOR LIFE, HIS EYES FLICKERING WITH A SPARKLE OF HOPE THAT THE SHADOW ON THE WALL HAD COME TO HELP.
Looking up towards the altar, he could see his wife’s shoulders had begun their work-out, rising and falling rather more exaggeratedly than the music. Getting in the spirit was, for Diana, what church was about and Lord Greengrass certainly didn’t use the doctrine as a wager for his morals; attending the Sunday service was a duty instilled early on in his traditional English upbringing. His family had been coming here for several generations and this thought gave him a warm feeling of pride as he slipped a large note into the collection basket.
With the service in full flow, and feeling a pinch in his bladder followed by the resulting desperate need to spend a penny, Lord Greengrass slipped out and headed round the back of the church, down the mossy side where no one went, confident his wife wouldn’t have time to notice in the organ mirror that he had gone to relieve himself.
It was liberating to get a good breath of crisp air and he felt glad of a little space to himself. So glad in fact that he took his time finding a quiet concealed spot between two flanking walls at the back of the church. He fumbled with his flies, old fingers clumsy with the tight buttons and stiff tweed cloth. There it was. And holding it with two hands, Lord Greengrass raised his chin, crunched the back of his neck and gave a wink to the stone sculpture of Christ above him. Immediately he was overcome with wooziness and a sudden caterwaul from the congregation sent the old man toppling to the ground, breaking his fall with a blow to the head.
One cheeky wink and Lord Greengrass was flat out on the ground, deliriously gasping for life, his eyes flickering with a sparkle of hope that the shadow on the wall had come to help.
***
Home is an eighteenth-century white weather-boarded cottage under the Downs just west of Lewes. Within thirty minutes on foot from my front door I can be at the height of Ditchling Beacon, looking out over vast swathes of southern England.
A country full of houses … and pets. Pets their owners adore like children—sometimes more than children and sometimes replacing children. I know a woman in her seventies, chain smoker and gin drinker. Her only child may get a smile of welcome, but no kisses left—these are given in abundance to a small, white, short-legged poppet. This dog replaced the last one, taken too early, run over, damn extendable leads. A reckless invention for beloved pets. There’s another couple I met recently who live in a rambling house in Berkshire. They have five dogs, five children and a parrot. Every morning Mrs Finnes opens the kitchen door to let the dogs race out into the garden. When it’s time for them to come back, she whistles just once, and then Percy the parrot takes up her whistle until Macy, Darcy, Ivy, Benji and Bridget come bounding back in.
Short-legged, long-limbed; stout, minute; smelly, hairy, fluffy; obedient, disgraceful, greedy, neurotic—the British love their pets.
SHORT-LEGGED, LONG-LIMBED; STOUT, MINUTE; SMELLY, HAIRY, FLUFFY; OBEDIENT, DISGRACEFUL, GREEDY, NEUROTIC—THE BRITISH LOVE THEIR PETS.
I grew up thinking a house is not a home without a pet. Now just turned thirty-two and with a place of my own, I’ve lost the need of such an outlet of affection. I don’t have it in me to love an animal enough to pander to its needs and routines. However, despite what I may think, ignorant friends and sometimes the odd stranger will come to my house, observe my country living and almost immediately exclaim: ‘You don’t have a dog?’ and on realising this to be true suggest, ‘Well, perhaps a cat is the answer?’
The presumption that currently without boyfriend, husband or child I must be lonely, irritates me. People don’t often think in advance that a pet is a tie, and with it comes the need of routine and long periods of time spent at home; a recipe for loneliness and less of a social life. I am and always have been happy in my own company and relish the peace and quiet of having no one around when I am at home. My job enables me to run to my own routine and go away whenever I want.
I’m an artist, a painter really, and that’s how I’d like to be remembered, but I have a side-line cash-earner drawing people’s pets. It’s not that I intended to be a pet portraitist, but through my own doing, I’m ashamed to say, I fell into it. I had been drawing people’s four-legged friends on the front of my thank-you cards: an accept-able alternative to the conventional two-sided letter, with the bonus that I could write less in thanks.
Soon my cards were scattered across enough mantel-pieces in the south of England that pet portrait requests started rolling in. ‘Oh, the Burlington-Smythes were here for a shooting weekend, simply adored your sketch of Trigger, and are just dying for you to draw Bumble, you know, their naughty black Lab?’
I was quite taken aback by the surge of commissions and very quickly realised that I’d stumbled upon a profitable business.
I tend, particularly in the winter when my deckchair is hung up and watching cricket is over, to spend my weekends with people who have mantelpieces towering above upholstered fire fenders. I entered this social sphere five years ago with my good-looking then boy-friend Geoffrey, and was introduced to the glamour of the rich and dazzling grandees. Geoffrey was dumped within a year, being unsuitable long-term material: ten years older and very much on the wagon. He’s now pitied by friends, drowned in booze and living with his mother on their heathery estate in the north of Scotland.
I, on the other hand, have been kept on by his southern circle, and enjoy many a house party, filling a spot as the single, eccentric artistic friend. The upper-classes love a token misfit at any gathering, someone who makes them feel they are in touch with modern life. It’s either me, or a confirmed bachelor: we each add in our own way a colourful touch to their conventional set-up. It occurred to me early on that these society grandees have a combination of adored pets and money.
Some of you might have come to the macabre conclusion that there is guaranteed repeat business in drawing pets, and that’s why I do it. But the pure truth is that I do it for the money, or at least enough money to subsidise my penchant for expensive underwear. As a single woman there are few things which give me a greater boost of self-confidence than knowing that underneath an outer layer is designer seduction. My lacy, red-hot twinset—and I don’t mean the cashmere sweater and cardigan kind—or my midnight-blue real silk G-string or leopard-print push-up cleavage enhancer, all studded with sparkles, give me that little oomph that a woman on her own needs.
The process of picking what to wear each day, and admiring myself in the mirror before getting dressed, gives such pleasure that the more underwear I can buy the longer the whole decision-making process lasts. As soon as there is any fraying, fade in colour or tethering then the piece is relegated to a painting rag and I begin the major save. When I have enough money to cover the cost of returning to L’Hôtel for a night and indulging in the lingerie boutiques of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Rue St Honoré, I set off on the Eurostar with an empty holdall and a wodge of cash. Bliss.
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Excerpted from A BRUSH WITH DEATH: A Susie Mahl Mystery by Ali Carter. Copyright © 2018 by Ali Carter. Published by Oneworld Publications/Point Blank. Used with permission.
BOOK REVIEW: A BRUSH WITH DEATH – FIRST NOVEL BY ALI CARTER 0
BY PAGE TURNER ON AUGUST 15, 2018 · REVIEWS
A Brush with death - book cover - crime thriller from debut novelistA Brush with Death is a remarkable first novel by Ali Carter. It is remarkable on many levels not least by the route that Ali has taken to write it. Ali was born in Scotland and read History of Art at University and followed a career in Investment Banking. Then in 2011 Ali had a dreadful bicycle accident. After major brain surgery, she set herself a challenge to walk from Canterbury to Rome. This was a three-month pilgrimage. It was after this that she decided to follow her passion of being a fine artist. She also does drawings of pets to commission. In her first novel, A Brush with Death, her main character is a Pet Artist, Susie Mahl.
A Brush with Death is a charming murder mystery novel, set among the aristocracy in the idyllic English Countryside. Susie is staying with the Earl of Greengrass and his family. Of course, there are the ongoing family disputes which run through the novel. Susie’s character is light and amusing, and it is through her eyes that we get to know the other characters, such as Asquintha Cornfeld and Antonia Codrington. True to form there is the aged Nanny who is continuing to look after the next Earl’s sons. She knows everything that is going on within the family and is an important source of information for Susie to work with.
Susie is commissioned to paint the uncooperative dog Situp belonging to the Codringtons. Before she is able to complete this the Earl is found dead in the village church graveyard, after leaving the church service for a bathroom break! Susie has a keen mind for detection and is hot on the case to solve this murder. Although there is resistance by the police to listen to her she manages in the end to piece the mystery together.
A Brush with Death is a charming and amusing murder mystery. It contains great character observations and is written with humour. She brings to life the world of the aristocracy and everything that goes with it. A pleasant change from the dark Norwegian Noir genre. It is definitely a book to take on holiday.
I’m sure there will be more Suzie Mahl mysteries to follow.
Some other reviews:
‘A delicious new voice in crime writing… Excellent on the English aristocracy and written in a fine wry style.’ – Daily Mail
‘An entertaining read, and one that had me up to the wee small hours.’ – Crimesquad
‘Absorbing, charming and funny, A Brush With Death heralds a fresh and welcome new voice in crime writing. Susie Mahl is also a welcome new detective: witty, warm and very inquisitive.’ – Antonia Fraser
‘A Brush with Death is a perfectly English mystery, with an abundance of all the right jokes, details, and muddy dogs. Author Ali Carter’s first book is a lovely romp and shows promise for a wonderful tongue-in-cheek mystery series.’ – Foreword Reviews
‘Brilliantly enjoyable; coolly observed.’ – The Tablet
‘Animal lovers, Anglophiles, and fans of humorous, socially observant whodunits will look forward to the next Susie Mahl mystery.’ – Publishers Weekly
To purchase from Amazon click HERE.
For more book reviews from The Page Turner click HERE.
An Accidental Jubilee by Alice Warrender
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"A book about courage-a long string of tiny courageous steps. It is also about hope and faith and love. It is modest, careful and joyous. I do not see how any attentive reader could fail to be touched, awed and encouraged." Sara Maitland, Author
An Accidental Jubilee is an autobiographical account of Alice Warrender’s walk from Canterbury, England to Rome, Italy in the summer of 2011. After the author was subject to intensive brain surgery following an accident on her bicycle in London, the walk took over three months to complete.
Synopsis
On the night of 18th February 2011 Alice Warrender, 28, was found sprawled across Fulham Broadway, having been knocked off her bicycle. After brain surgery she began an indefinite period of recuperation at her home in Ayrshire. However she quickly grew tired of being the centre of worry and attention and resolved to walk by herself from Canterbury to Rome, following an ancient pilgrim route. Her narrative of this remarkable journey with its alternations of pain, introspection, peril and comedy, is acutely observant and comes to a moving and uplifting conclusion.
Published by Stone Trough books, An Accidental Jubilee is available in paperback and covers 202 pages. It is distributed by Stone Trough Books, 01904 670323 and Gardners, 01323 521777.
ebook available on amazon
ISBN 978 0 9544542 6 5 - Priced £15
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"The luminous journey of a valiant pilgrim who observes herself and those she met as clearly as she evokes the changing landscapes through which she walked." Francis Russell, Art Historian & Author
Alice Warrender was born in Scotland in 1983. She read Art History at St Andrews University, then set up dealsinprints.com. Later with two partners, she launched bizzibox.com, an agency which promotes design, web video production and marketing. Alice now lives in East London and is pursuing her career as a fine artist.
t: 07469885219
e: tandempublishing@gmail.com