Theo is an ex-NFL star turned high school math teacher and football coach and Penelope (Pen) teaches art. They work together to solve a mystery when Penelope inherits a painting from a mentor and discovers a note attached to it that mentions a murder!

Theo and Pen both teach at the same school and are friends. Pen lives with another guy who isn’t very good to her and she wants to leave him. She doesn’t know many people in town and when her boyfriend kicks her out and she needs a place to stay, she calls Theo. He offers her his spare room and soon they become close but try not to let anyone know (especially people at school). When Pen inherits a painting from her mentor and former art teacher, she discovers a note attached that hints at a murder.

The story gets off to a good start, but once they are together and investigating the murder, it slows down. They go to a Christmas Village with Theo’s family and visit Pen’s Gran in assisted living and find clues. When there is danger, the pace picks back up again. This is the fifth book in the series and while we see brothers from previous books, I thought this one stood well on its own and I liked all the ways they were kind and supportive of each other. Theo has a brother who has been gone for years and I hope his story is next.