Harmony in Flesh and Black: A Fred Taylor Art Mystery

Fred Taylor Art Mystery #1

by Nicholas Kilmer

Savvy art expert Fred Taylor, factotum for a wealthy Beacon Hill collector too refined―and too paranoid―to do his own legwork, enjoys an odd but well paid life acting on Clayton Reed's whims. Reed suspects that there may be a Vermeer worth millions concealed under a boring landscape coming up for auction. Fred, more interested in chasing an independent Cambridge librarian than pursuing Old Masters, finds his mission to get the Vermeer derailed by Reed's purchase of an unsigned nude from a down-and-out photographer of pornography who is subsequently rubbed out in his sleazy studio. With various vultures circling―including the Boston PD―Fred is thrust into detection in order to score the painting, if it exists, and escape jail. His biggest obstacle is to pry the truth out of his own employer.... Fred's cases continue in Man with a Squirrel , O Sacred Head , and Dirty Linen . Kilmer is at work on a fifth Fred Taylor, Lazarus Arise .

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

About the author

Teacher of art and Latin in Vienna, VA, 1960-62; Action for Boston Community Development, Boston, MA, writer in department of planning and evaluation, 1966-67; English teacher at private school in Beverly, MA, 1967-70; Swain School of Design, New Bedford, MA, associate professor of liberal arts, 1970-82, dean, 1979-82; affiliated with Art Research of Cambridge, Cambridge, MA, 1984-88; founder of Nicholas Kilmer Fine Art, 1988—. Painter, with exhibitions throughout the Northeast.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up looking for a mystery about art. While I did enjoy the main protagonist and most of the storyline, I found the 'wealthy collector' a bit superfluous and irritating. Almost unnecessary. I think the author was going for an American version of the British high society guy with 'street smart' assistant (valet/man Friday/etc.) a la Sayers and Allingham (among others). It just didn't work for me here. The ending was a bit of a letdown, too (maybe the issue with the painting is resolved in future books).

[Lauren Hallal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a mystery set in Boston, written by a local author set in the high stakes world of Fine Art Auction. I didn't really love it, the main character was remote for me I didn't care about him too much. I thought I would enjoy reading about the art but I found I actually didn't really like the collector that the main character worked for. I found it okay, like a second rate detective novel. Fun to read a book set in Boston and the Gardner Museum but I didn't want to continue with the series.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author here presented an intriguing crime thriller set in the seedy recesses of the art trade. In my opinion, he handled the art side of the book with much more style than the crime thriller portion, which makes sense given his background. However, some of the dialogue I felt, fell flat on its face instead of invoking that gritty crime novel feel.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the main character and his developing relationship with his girlfriend and her kids. The mystery was merely OK, and it felt like it left too many threads hanging at the end, but the way he resolved it showed a good deal about what kind of person he was.