Art Crimes Fiction

The art world is one of the most secretive of global businesses, and the list of its crimes runs long and deep. Today, with prices in the hundreds of millions for individual artworks, and billionaires' collections among the most conspicuous and liquid of their assets, crime is more rampant than ever in this largely unregulated universe. Increased prices and globalization have introduced new levels of fraud and malfeasance into the art world—everything from "artnapping," in which an artwork is held hostage and only returned for a ransom, to forgery and tax fraud.

Springtime on the Cornish coast and Porthpella’s artistic community are throwing open their doors, welcoming visitors to the annual Arts Trail. And this year, celebrity artist Harrison Loveday is the guest of honour. However, the light mood soon darkens when there’s a dramatic death at the opening-night party, and after threatening messages start appearing around the village, fear takes over. Before long, Porthpella is shocked by a second brutal murder, and whisperings of a ‘serial killer’ start to circulate.

Umiko Wada never set out to be a private detective, let alone become the one-woman operation behind the Kodaka Detective Agency. But so it has turned out, thanks to the death of her former boss, Kazuto Kodaka, in mysterious circumstances. Keen to avoid a similar fate, Wada chooses the cases she takes very carefully. A businessman who wants her to track down his estranged son offers what appears to be a straightforward assignment. But she should have known that the simplest cases are never really simple at all. Soon she finds herself pulled into a labyrinthine conspiracy.

The prestigious annual story anthology, featuring prize-winning stories by a diverse and exciting array of writers. Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines...

The newly formed Ministry of Fine Arts has a staffing problem - one minister dead within six months of its inception, his successor snuffed out shortly before the General Election. When a third victim, Permanent Secretary Edwin Pompfret is fatally crushed by the fall of a giant bust, Inspector Julian Rivers is drawn into a case of murder of artistic devilment.

As Paris rediscovers its joie de vivre, Tabitha Knight, recently arrived from Detroit for an extended stay with her French grandfather, is on her own journey of discovery. Thanks to her neighbor and friend Julia Child, another ex-pat who's fallen head over heels for Paris, Tabitha is learning how to cook for her Grandpere and Oncle Rafe and Tabitha's sojourn is proving thoroughly delightful. That is, until the cold December day they return to Julia's building and learn that a body has been found in the cellar.

Edinburgh, 1849. Hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. And a whispering campaign seeks to paint Dr. James Simpson, pioneer of medical chloroform, as a murderer. Determined to clear Simpson’s name, his protégé Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher must plunge into Edinburgh’s deadliest streets and find out who or what is behind the deaths. Soon they discover that the cause of the deaths has evaded detection purely because it is so unthinkable.

THE INSTANT #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER (SUNDAY TIMES, UK) The highly anticipated return of "irresistible" (New York Times) private eye Jackson Brodie in the newest installment of the bestselling series hailed as "unputdownable" by Time “How delicious to have Jackson Brodie back, this time...

A musical prodigy and his mother spend years searching for each other in this beautiful novel of hope, perseverance, and love. A SWEEPING NOVEL FROM JENNA BUSH HAGER’S NEW VENTURE, THOUSAND VOICES. Song is a nobody—just a food delivery worker from a village in Northeastern China—but her...

A dark and utterly original literary horror debut, following a priest whose bloodthirsty life has extended far longer than any mere human's—and is upended when a stranger comes to town Stutley Tillinghast lives a solitary life, ostensibly as the minister of a remote rural parish in Rhode...

When the bizarre death of a mob foot soldier sparks an escalating war between Boston’s Irish and Italian mafia, detective Ray Hanley’s relentless search for the truth uncovers evidence of a serial killer obsessed with the art of human suffering. As the body count rises, Detective Hanley must navigate a minefield of crime families, dirty politicians, and crooked cops, while matching wits with a deranged serial killer. But temptation, betrayal, and death threaten to derail the investigation, and justice doesn’t come without a price.

Spring is a magical time in England - bluebells massing along the woodland paths, primrose and wild thyme dotting the meadows. Antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is spending the month of May in the Suffolk village of Long Barston, enjoying precious time with Detective Inspector Tom Mallory. While attending the May Fair, the annual pageant based on a well-known Anglo-Saxon folktale, a body turns up in the middle of the festivities.

A chance discovery of something unimaginable will steer Detective Patrick Gutteridge’s life down a path littered with memories of his past, memories he’s spent a decade trying to forget. For two years, Gloucester’s provincial streets have glowed to the media interest gifted by the works of an anonymous graffiti artist, Tick-Tock. But the art is changing, distorting, each piece becoming more perverse and contentious than the last. Only DI Gutteridge sees a pattern forming which points to something far more sinister looming on the horizon.

Master Forger David Henty has a problem: a forgery he painted is rejected and suddenly he owes a murderous, blind, female Japanese gangster £5 million.

When their son Arthur mysteriously vanishes in the idyllic village of Kenwood, Emily and Derek are plunged into a heart-pounding race against time to uncover the truth behind his disappearance. As the facade of their once-perfect community crumbles, the couple must navigate a treacherous web of deceit and betrayal, testing the very meaning of family and trust. Discover the chilling secret that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about this seemingly peaceful village.

The death of a famous art dealer and revelations about his hidden life shock the rarefied world of high society. There are concerns that many of the artworks he sold were fakes. A television news reporter uncovers a web of suspicious connections between the art consultant and foreign government officials. Following the money reveals a devious scheme to have American art lovers fund the very people who wish them harm. It is a tale of fraud, political intrigue, murder and computer sabotage.

A forbidden love blows open the world of a teenage girl, altering the trajectory of her life–from the author of the New York Times bestseller The Chaperone "Radiant...What begins as a teenage romance in 1950s Florida becomes an intimate, deeply moving story of separation, sacrifice, and...

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1841. Poe referred to it as a "tale of ratiocination" featuring the brilliant deductions of C. Auguste Dupin; it is today regarded as one of the first detective stories and is almost certainly the first locked-room mystery. Auguste Dupin is a man in Paris who solves the mystery of the brutal murder of two women.

One late-summer’s evening, before the beginning of the new term, Dorothy Martin and her husband, retired police detective Alan Nesbitt, are guests at Sherebury University art department’s drinks party to introduce the new teaching assistant, sculptress Gillian Roberts. However, tragedy strikes on a tour of the sculpture department when the lift breaks down and a corpse is discovered at the bottom of the lift shaft. Dorothy and Alan become involved in the ensuing investigation, putting their local knowledge and sleuthing skills to good use once again.

Max Allan Collins became Spillane's friend and collaborator, continuing the Mike Hammer series for years after the author's death, building upon unfinished manuscripts the writer left behind. Now, with coauthor James Traylor, Collins has produced the first comprehensive and authoritative profile of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. It is a must-listen for any fan of the author—or of the generations of crime writers that were influenced by his work.