Dangerous Inspiration is very much a nuanced statement for the title and the novel itself. it describes the situation all the artists that are accepted at the art colony ‘Interlude’ only to be trapped by a Nor’easter storm that traps them in the colony where an exotic series of murders occur. Interestingly, every member of the colony has a situation where violence and/or death occurred in their past life that they may or may not have deliberately taken part in.

The protagonist, Ronan Mezini, also has his own brush with death, being the detective that solved a notorious serial killer case. But there was a scandal involving brutal interrogation techniques in his past that he may or may not have taken part in. All of it combines to create an atmosphere of misdirection where more than one artist could be linked to a murder that occurs.

The writing is a little jerky at the beginning, but smooths out quickly and is very entertaining. The occurrences at the colony are like half-seen through rippled glass. There’s enough description to give you an idea of who and how something happens, but not enough for you to really grasp what the reason was and who might have been involved.

For me, when the group of artists switches location to another hotel, does the story shift to a higher gear. The activity is more sparse, but the dialog and flow more than make up for the shift in perspective. It was my favorite part of the story. The ending felt a little overcomplicated, but the information did connect together logically and the deductions and reveal do allow you to look back and see in the earlier parts where those clues surface.

This is an intriguing and fun read, especially in the second half of the book. I plan on getting a copy to enjoy.