A Forgery of Roses

Olson (Sing Me Forgotten) crafts a lush and atmospheric murder mystery in this take on Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Seventeen-year-old Myra Whitlock has a powerful gift: she can alter living bodies through her paintings. But in the fictional city of Lalverton—where the governor considers her gift a blasphemy—Myra has been forced to become a portraitist’s assistant, knowing that to expose her power would be akin to targeting Myra and her ill younger sister, Lucy, just like their mother, who disappeared a year before. When she inadvertently reveals her gift to the governor’s wife, Myra has no choice but to accept the woman’s offer: if Myra can paint a portrait that can resurrect the governor’s murdered son, Wilburt, she will receive enough money to find better care for Lucy and ensure the woman’s silence. Together with August Harris, the governor’s forgotten eldest son, who experiences anxiety, Myra must work to solve Wilburt’s murder so she can fulfill her bargain—before his killer catches up with her. Though an uninspiring romantic subplot detracts from the twisting, secret-layered narrative, its gothic ambiance and the strong bond between Myra and Lucy delivers. Protagonists read as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Christa Heschke, McIntosh & Otis. (Mar.)