Deva Dunne is building her interior design business so every client counts. Designing a room to complement two paintings by Monet was a treat. When Deva returns to the home for some additional work, she is stunned to discover that one of the paintings is missing, cut from its frame, and the cook has been murdered. Given her access to the house and her presence at the scene, Deva is an early suspect. The police scrutiny brings with it negative publicity she is afraid may hurt her business. Not surprisingly, Deva is motivated to uncover the true culprit before the police focus all their energy on her.

Handsome police lieutenant Victor Rossi would prefer that Deva leave the sleuthing to the police. He has been attracted to Deva some time. Now that sufficient time has passed since the death of her beloved husband the flirtation between them intensifies. He has multiple motives for keep her close, not the least of which is to protect her from the real killer.

THE MONET MURDERS is a pleasant whodunit that will entertain fans of amateur sleuth mysteries. Deva is an interesting character and I liked the interior design setting. The art theft plot is one I find particularly engaging. The interplay between Deva and Rossi was flirty fun as they try to probe the potential in their relationship. I had mixed feelings about a subplot involving Deva's new part-time intern. The characters have potential but I don't know how much the plot added to the story. The conclusion was as exciting as suspenseful as one would hope.