Title: The Missing Ink
Author: Karen E. Olson
No. of Pages: 299
First Released: 2009
Synopsis (Courtesy of B&N): “Brett Kavanaugh is a tattoo artist and owner of an elite tattoo parlor in Las Vegas. When a girl makes an appointment for a tattoo of the name of her fiancé embedded in a heart, Brett takes the job but the girl never shows. The next thing Brett knows, the police are looking for her client, and the name she wanted on the tattoo isn’t her fiancé’s…”
Comments and Critique: I want another tattoo. That’s my biggest takeaway after reading this book. It probably isn’t the reaction Ms. Olson was hoping to generate from this book, but I admit that the fact that this mystery revolved around a female tattoo artist is the reason why I read the book in the first place. My overall thoughts on the book itself are, unfortunately, mixed. Mainly, I thought this was quite a fluffy, engaging but not overly so. I found it easy to put down each night and found myself rolling my eyes quite often at many of the very unrealistic scenes that occur throughout the book. Still, I enjoyed the book.
In addition, I feel that the subject will not appeal to the masses. While it is a mystery, the fact of the matter is that the main character has a full-arm tattoo plus one that wraps around her body. Tattoos are mentioned on almost every page. While society in general is more tolerant of tattoos, full sleeves or massive ones that cover large portions of the body still generate stares and cause others to immediately form negative opinions about the owner. I have three small ones and still get stares of disbelief that someone as “vanilla” as me could possibly want one let alone three. So, I do not seeing a large portion of society being interested in a book about a tattoo artist or someone trying to solve a mystery surrounding a tattoo client.
Also, I feel that the author knows nothing about tattoos themselves, even though she should. I get this impression from the way Ms. Olson glosses over descriptions of someone getting a tattoo, how to take care of a newly inked one, and the mindset of someone who is interested in sleeves and leg tats. She also does not adequately describe the pain of getting inked. It is a subtle lack of knowledge but, again, for someone who has several of her own, the lack of knowledge is there.
There is a significant lack of character development in The Missing Ink. All of the characters remain one-dimensional, with very little back story shared to fully round out the main characters. Brett remains nosy, selfish and fairly superficial, which surprises me given her profession; tattoo artists or anyone considered on the fringes of society are, in my experience, fairly accepting and open-minded. Brett constantly jumping to conclusions based on superficial observances bothered me and kept me from fully becoming immersed in the book.
Given the mostly negative review I have written so far, I did enjoy the book. I attribute this to the fact that I am a sucker for any mystery. I have a compulsive need to know the answer that will keep me reading and enjoying them on the whole. The Missing Ink is no exception. From a macro level, I enjoyed my time with Brett and her staff from The Painted Lady, even though on a micro level, there is quite a bit with which I can find fault. The fact is I enjoyed this book in spite of its faults. I will not be running out to get the rest of the series but I had fun reading it and trying to solve the mystery. I also figured out what I want for tattoos number four and five. I consider that to be a successful book.
Has anyone else read this yet? What did you think?

In a weird way I’m still kind of ‘drawn;)’ to this! My first thought was the cover, with a blurb like this Id have loved something darker, but then from the way you describe it that’s not what this is. Great review, pity you had those issues
It is such a cute cover, but alas, it was too bubbly for me!
Big mistake on her part. She should have hung out at a tattoo shop. The guys where I went are fantastic. Happy to answer questions and think I should go to ComicCon next year.
And LA Ink probably wasn't on when she wrote this book.
No, research is very important.
Linda
Linda – The only major pain I had was on my finger. Apparently, the finger is extremely sensitive. The lack of research was definitely a turnoff. I remember reading that the author has never gotten a tattoo, and as I mentioned, it shows in her writing. It's unfortunate because I feel it should have been a better book.
Stephanie – I'm not certain if it was her or this particular work. Christina read this book, which is how it got on my TBR pile. I remember her thinking it was okay too, but the tattoo thing was a turnoff for her. I will probably not purchase one of her books again but may pick her up from the library some time in the distant future.
I haven't read anything by Olsen, but this one did kind of leap out at me. Yeah…it's the tattoo thing. I know a lot of people that love her books. Maybe this wasn't one of the better ones??
The book sounds interesting to me, but if she didn't do her research, I'd feel thrown off.
I have a tattoo on each ankle, the magickal creatures from my books, and I lucked out, no pain, just some pinpricks feelings. But when you go for the major work, yes, it will hurt!
Maybe something like this would work better as a sidekick.
Linda Wisdom