Painted by Kirsten Mckenzie

Painted by Kirsten Mckenzie

If art can capture a soul, what happens when one of those souls escapes?

When art appraiser Anita Cassatt is sent to catalogue the extensive collection of reclusive artist Leo Kubin, it isn't only the chilly atmosphere of the secluded house making her shiver, it's the silent audience of portraits clustered on every wall watching her, including those of the unfinished portrait on the artist's easel. A portrait with an eerie familiarity.

Kubin's lawyer didn't share the detailed instructions regarding the handling of the art and Anita and her team start work in ignorance of the very instructions designed to keep them safe. Safe from the art.

One by one, the people in the portraits climb out of their frames, free at last from the confines of their canvas. And they have no intention of ever returning.

Perfect for lovers of Rachel Caine and Willow Rose.

What readers are saying about PAINTED:
Caravaggio meets Poltergeist.
The chapters where she is alone in the house are so unbelievably spooky.
This is no ordinary house and these are no ordinary portraits. The plot is sensationally addictive and the creepy factor kept me alert page after page.The author teases you with a story that reveals its secrets slowly, bit by bit - mesmerising.

Kirsten McKenzie is a full-time novelist who has worked as a customs officer and an antiques trader, as well as in cinema and television. Fifteen Postcards, The Final Letter, and Telegraph Home are part of her historical time-slip trilogy, The Old Curiosity Shop Series, which has been compared to 'Time Travelers Wife meets Far Pavilions' and 'Antiques Roadshow gone viral.' Kirsten is also the author of Painted, a successful gothic thriller, and Doctor Perry, a medical thriller. Her latest novel, The Forger and the Thief, is set in Florence, Italy. Kirsten lives in New Zealand with her husband, two daughters, and two rescue cats, and she spends much of her time on Twitter procrastinating.