The Dutch Muse Review: Blog Tour for JustRead

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Dutch Muse by Heidi Eljarbo, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: The Dutch Muse
Series: A Fabiola Bennett Mystery #4
Author: Heidi Eljarbo
Publisher: Independently Published
Release Date: June 17, 2025
Genre: Clean Historical Dual-Timeline Mystery with a touch of romance

A ruthless thief leaves a private Dutch gallery with a coveted seventeenth-century painting. The owner lies unconscious on the floor. Art historian Fabiola Bennett is on vacation in Holland and takes on the case.

Amsterdam, 1973.

It’s late summer, and Fabiola and Pippa join their friend, Cary, for a few days of sightseeing, museums, and riding bikes around the beautiful city.

For the first time in her life, Fabiola feels a pang of jealousy, and rude comments from a gallerist make her doubt her own abilities.

Then, unexpectedly, Cary’s Dutch client, Lennard van de Hoek, is brutally struck down and a baroque portrait by Ferdinand Bol is stolen. Fabiola pushes aside her problems and jumps into danger without hesitation. The list of suspects is long, and with a cold-blooded criminal at large, they must constantly be on the alert.

Amsterdam, 1641

Ferdinand Bol has completed his five-year training with Master Rembrandt van Rijn and is ready to set up his own studio. The future looks bright, and Ferdinand sets a goal to become a widely sought-after and, hopefully, prosperous master portraitist.

Just when Ferdinand’s career starts to flourish—and patrons and customers discover his exceptional talent—one of his models confesses she’s in deep trouble, and he drops everything to help her.

This is a fast-paced and captivating who-done-it set in the Netherlands—the fourth installment and a spin-off from the Soli Hansen Mysteries. Perfect for fans of Kathleen McGurl, Louise Penny, Deborah Swift, Anna Lee Huber, Lucinda Riley, Sherry Thomas, Ellery Adams, and Jennifer S. Alderson.

MY THE DUTCH MUSE REVIEW:

This is my first book in this series and my first by Heidi Eljarbo. Though mystery is not my typical genre, the beauty of the cover drew me to the story. The style fits perfectly with the subject matter of the book. The image looks like it could have been printed from a picture in a museum. It’s also a perfect match to the style of the other covers in the series which are just as beautiful.

I love the premise of this book. To have a passionate art historian and her friend partner with a detective to add validity to their sleuthing is a great twist on the amateur crime-solver trope. While I don’t know anything about the rest of the series, based on the level of internal versus external acknowledgement of attraction, the romance between Fabiola and Cary has been a very slow burn and unvoiced romance. The trio of crime solvers are all likable and have a genuine friendship that extends beyond their mystery solving.

I do feel there are times when some of the details would have been better relayed through showing versus telling. There were times conversations felt a bit stilted in effort to relay information. And there were times, I didn’t really understand how the characters reacted or lacked reacting to certain situations. For example (without spoilers), something I would consider extremely upsetting and unsettling happens interrupting the girls’s day out shopping. Then, as soon as it is over and everyone is safe, they continue with their shopping like nothing out of the ordinary has just happened. Still, as I’ve said, I’m not an avid reader in the mystery genre, and I realize these two things may be a matter of preference based on my experiences with other genres.

The history the story delves into is another enjoyable element to the story. While I love looking at art, I have relatively little background knowledge of it. I couldn’t pick out a Rembrandt from any other artists work. I enjoyed being able to learn a little bit about the area and life in the time period of the artists as I read the story. Weaving in interesting bits about the city the story is set in gave the story something extra too.

Overall, the story provided a solid mystery with plenty of suspects to investigate, characters who genuinely cared about each other, danger (maybe Fabiola would call it excitement) at every turn, and an ending that keeps you guessing throughout the story. I give The Dutch Muse three and a half stars.

I received a copy of this book through JustRead. However, all opinions and reviews are my own and freely given.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

More in This Series

 

About the Author

HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance during challenging times. She’s been named a master of dual timelines and often writes about strong-willed women of past centuries.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She lives with her husband on a charming island and enjoys walking in any kind of weather, hugging her grandchildren, and has a passion for art and history.

Her family’s chosen retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summer and ski the vast white terrain during winter.

Heidi’s favorites are her family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

Connect with Heidi by visiting heidieljarbo.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Tour Giveaway

(2) winners will each receive their choice of any one paperback from the Fabiola Bennett series plus a $20 Amazon gift card!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 17, 2025 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 24, 2025. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. No shipping restrictions. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!