When I read the blurb for The Sketch Artist by Amanda McKinney, I thought the premise sounded interesting so I requested it from NetGalley, and was happy to be approved.
Harper Leighton has recently moved to her aunt’s home with her young daughter, shortly after which her aunt dies in a car accident. When Harper is given some documents from her aunt’s lawyer and realizes her aunt had been investigating a long solved murder, believing the man who was convicted is innocent, Harper starts to believe that her aunt’s death was not an accident after all.
There are two plotlines happening in parallel in this story. The first, told from Harper’s point of view, involves her trying to convince the local police to open up the 40 year old murder case, and investigate her aunt’s death as suspicious. The second is told from the point of view of a young woman at the campground where the murders took place.
While I enjoyed the overall story, I found it was a bit slow to get into. I was also disappointed that more of the story didn’t actually involve Harper’s job as a sketch artist. I think there were only a couple of scenes in the courtroom, and they were not really important to the story. I feel like the title referred more to the aunt, who was also a sketch artist in her day, rather than to the main character, so the description of the story felt a bit deceptive in that way.
I liked the side plot of the romance between Harper and the detective, Nate. I realize that their romance was not the point of the story, but I would have liked to have seen more of their relationship developing before the end of the novel, but I can’t say I was unhappy with it.
What I really didn’t care for was the ending. First of all, at a certain point it became very obvious what was going to happen, although the motive at that point was a bit unclear. Once the motive was made clear it still didn’t help matters for me. I felt like I really had to work at believing how all the circumstances came about to lead to the present day situation. (Sorry for being vague, I don’t want to give any spoilers.)
Despite the ending, I did enjoy The Sketch Artist and I will probably give Amanda McKinney another go at some point. If you like a good thriller with a side of romance, then The Sketch Artist might be a good choice for you.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Sketch Artist will be available on September 29 2026.
Life, Tea, and Everything 