Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing in return for an honest review.

Museum artist Theodora(Theo)Speer loves her job most of the time. Except for when she is forced to charm donors in an attempt to get more funds for the musuem's newest exhibits. That is until she meets Seth Adler. Seth isn't who he appears to be. He desperate to get closer to one specific Egyptian mummy. Somehow Theo gets wrapped up in his quest and it is up to her to save him before it is too late.

This book was not for me. It was well written and I liked the idea of the book but I had a tough time with the plot. It took a long time to build up to main plot then it was rushed and the ending was anti-climatic. The characters were very one dimensional and I did not buy the romance. To me it came out of nowhere. I also found myself having to re-read sections because I felt like I missed something. Overall it was well written but slow. ( )

This tremendous story follows the extraordinary events in the life of a museum display artist. Theo is a true artist, struggling to create the best possible supporting material for an upcoming exhibition of Egyptian antiquities. However some odd crimes start happening in the area as a criminal starts carrying out museum heists in a very destructive manner. As the mystery develops our heroine gets increasingly involved in uncovering what lies behind the attacks, and then becomes very involved. I don't want to spoil the story for future readers but fantastical elements creep in and then the plot really takes off. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read helped along by a very likeable protagonist and supporting characters. ( )

Painter of the Dead by Catherine Butzen was so much better than the last book I got through the Early Reviewers program that I may be marking it higher than it deserves. Having an Art degree myself, I can see how Theo would get caught up in colors and motion. I can also see how she would be intrigued by the differences in Seth from normal people. I don't know how that translates so much into romance... The authoritative details were interesting. I found myself wanting to know more about these people, and it kept me reading. The culprit was telegraphed a bit too early. I had it pegged pages before the characters figured it out. ( )

I enjoyed this book. It has an unusual story line and I felt the characters were well developed. The author has done a lot of research for the story and it shows. ( )

Painter of the Dead by Catherine Butzen 3 stars

When I started reading this book, I was sure I was looking at a five star read. Butzen really set the scene with interesting characters and a museum setting that leapt off the pages. The behind the scenes of pulling an exhibition together was so detailed I was pulled into the story. Then...it lost me. I realized I was almost 80 pages in and NOTHING HAPPENED. There was so much scene setting and world building-which was awesome, but that was all. So I kept reading and some things happened, there was some running around, some weird Egyptian stuff, some romance, and a ho-hum ending. I never bought into Theo’s motivations or ever really got to know her or Mr. Adler. The entire plot is in the blurb on the cover. The first part of the book was very well done and I will pick up her next book based on that. The rest of it is just 3 stars. I was given a copy of the book-this is my honest review. ( )