Dirty Linen: A Fred Taylor Art Mystery

Fred Taylor Art Mystery #4

by Nicholas Kilmer

Nicholas Kilmer writes the most gripping―and well researched―art mysteries of today. With all of the artworld's chicanery and multimillions at stake, the action never flags. This time the cache is an improbable portfolio of erotica purchased clandestinely at a seaside auction, and protecting it leaves collector Clayton Reed mired deep in the seamy underbelly of a Fall River brothel. The pictures may illuminate the dark side of a major artist. Shades of Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec.... "Reed and his scholarly man Friday, Fred Taylor, provide the best mystery tandem this side of Nero Wolfe and Archie, matching wits with a well-etched, mixed cast of villains from both country-club and peerage. This is Kilmer at full throttle, a work with characteristic panache." ―Larry A. Silver, Farquhar Professor of History of Art, University of Pennsylvania, who writes an Afterword for Dirty Linen . Originally published in 1999 by Henry Holt, Dirty Linen is the fourth Fred Taylor art mystery following Poisoned Pen Press' releases of Harmony in Flesh and Black , Man with a Squirrel , and O Sacred Head .

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 1999

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

[Red Fields · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an art mystery and usually right up my alley. It never really took off for me; the mystery/solution was not that interesting. The characters were OK. I believe it is part of a series but I will not be rushing out for any of the others, any time soon.

[Alline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like reading Nicholas Kilmer books because I love reading about art, artists and art history. Unfortunately, Kilmer sometimes seems to clever for his own good, and leaves me lost and confused. The good news: I learned a new term - ha-ha. And I don't mean the giggle.

From the book: "...letting his car stop at the edge of the cattle ditch that cut the road. Running out in either direction from this interruption, and continuing its purpose, a half mile's worth of ha-ha separated the pasture from the ground sweep of boxwood gardens that sloped down toward the hollow..."

From Wikipedia (so it MUST be right, right?): "ha-ha - The Ha-ha is an expression in garden design that refers to a trench, the inner side of which is vertical and faced with stone, with the outer face sloped and turfed, making the trench, in effect, a sunken fence or retaining wall. The ha-ha is designed not to interrupt the view from a garden, pleasure-ground, or park, and to be invisible until seen from close by." Cool!

Click this link for an illustration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha-ha

[Michel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a fairly good book to read while you have no umpf for the books you really want to read.
Fairly well built, with ok characterization, and just enough hi-brow stuff about art and art history to make you feel you are getting smarter.
And I am still "29 books behind schedule"!

[James Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

although this mystery is no great shakes, it is solidly written and plotted, and has a good bit of art historical text interwoven in a way that doesnt make you wanna gag. good summer fare.