Harmony in Flesh and Black

Fred Taylor Art Mystery #1

by Nicholas Kilmer

Nicholas Kilmer's Harmony in Flesh and Black exposes a deep knowledge of the sometimes tricky and treacherous haut monde of art dealers, collectors, and curators. Smartly tailored, well-to-do Beacon Hill collector Clayton Reed has habits so refined that he doesn't even venture out to pick up his own acquisitions. He leaves that sort of work to Fred Taylor, a veteran of clandestine action in Southeast Asia who is presently working as Reed's factotum. A passionate noncollector, Fred researches possible purchases and fights for them at auction - but he is really more interested in his blossoming relationship with Molly Riley, an independent-minded Cambridge librarian.
In this series debut, Reed suspects that there may be a Vermeer painting worth millions lying underneath the oils of an unexciting nineteenth-century landscape. Tension mounts as he and Fred try to keep the vultures away and their hunch to themselves before auction. Meanwhile, Reed buys an unsigned nude smacking of 1890s Paris - it could be a Whistler, something he might have titled Harmony in Flesh and Black - from a down-and-out porno photographer who is soon afterward found murdered on the floor of his filthy studio. Their success depends on keeping a low profile, but now Clayton and Fred are in danger of being implicated in a very sleazy crime which may at best jeopardize their plans to get the Vermeer, and at worst put their lives in danger.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller

261 pages, Hardcover

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.