{"id":412,"date":"2012-01-09T16:32:34","date_gmt":"2012-01-09T22:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/?p=412"},"modified":"2012-01-09T16:32:34","modified_gmt":"2012-01-09T22:32:34","slug":"gordon-cotler-artists-proof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/gordon-cotler-artists-proof\/","title":{"rendered":"Gordon Cotler: Artist’s Proof"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If this book interests you at all, snap up one of the few used copies we have, as it’s out of print. I’m a sucker for “art” mysteries, and so I picked up this book by an apparent past Edgar winner who is now totally out of print. This novel features one of the more unusual characters I’ve encountered in a mystery – Sid Shale is a retired NYPD homicide lieutenant who has taken his twenty year pension to pursue life as a painter. His ex-wife handily owns an art gallery that handles his work, but still, sales are on the slow side for Sid. The Long Island Beach community he lives in is a small one, and when one of Sid’s friends runs in to tell him there’s been a murder “up the beach” – Sid goes up the beach himself to see if he can’t be of help to the green Chief of Police whose main function heretofore has been investigating bicycle thefts.<\/p>\n

Sid is allowed into the crime scene and discovers to his dismay that the victim is one of his former models, a beautiful sixteen year old named Cassie Brennan. Through various machinations of the plot Sid becomes one of the main suspects – and though we as readers are never seriously worried about what might happen to Sid – it gives him a reason to investigate the crime further. This is a well put together mystery with fair clues that, while it doesn’t have the sparkle of some enduring series, still has a good main character, story, and art backdrop for the aficionado (and I know you’re out there). I’ve included a list of some of my favorite “Art” mysteries, should Artist’s Proof<\/em> be unavailable.<\/p>\n