Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls
by Cynthia Murphy· 2026
Murder is an art . . . and she's the next masterpiece. An aspiring crime journalist’s investigation into a case of copycat murders seemingly connected to a ‘cursed’ painting.
When aspiring crime journalist Fliss Keller uncovers a disturbing self-portrait of a man at an estate sale, her Art History professor dad buys it, despite how unsettled Fliss feels. The portrait has been lost for decades and completes a set of four existing paintings of women by the same artist already hanging in the town’s gallery.
That evening, the portrait falls to the floor, revealing paperwork inside the frame that suggests the artist was a serial killer and that the women depicted were his victims. Despite her alarm, Fliss vows to investigate and uncover the truth.
But when a series of gruesome murders rock the community, and some think the resurrection of the self-portrait has unleashed a curse, Fliss knows better than to believe them. There are shocking similarities between the poses of the modern-day murders and the painted women, and she’s sure there’s a copycat killer on the loose.
Racing against time, can Fliss unravel the clues before she becomes the murderer's next muse?
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Murder is an art . . . and she's the next masterpiece. An aspiring crime journalist’s investigation into a case of copycat murders seemingly connected to a ‘cursed’ painting. When aspiring crime journalist Fliss Keller uncovers a disturbing self-portrait of a man at an estate sale, her Art History professor dad buys it, despite how unsettled Fliss feels. The portrait has been lost for decades and completes a set of four existing paintings of women by the same artist already hanging in the town’s gallery. That evening, the portrait falls to the floor, revealing paperwork inside the frame that suggests the artist was a serial killer and that the women depicted were his victims. Despite her alarm, Fliss vows to investigate and uncover the truth. But when a series of gruesome murders rock the community, and some think the resurrection of the self-portrait has unleashed a curse, Fliss knows better than to believe them. There are shocking similarities between the poses of the modern-day murders and the painted women, and she’s sure there’s a copycat killer on the loose. Racing against time, can Fliss unravel the clues before she becomes the murderer's next muse?