The Death Artist

Kate McKinnon, a former cop turned philanthropist, art impresario, and socialite, is a heroine straight out of a Judith Krantz novel, which is not necessarily a bad thing: you can always count the brand names Jonathan Santlofer drops on almost every page, even if you're not particularly intrigued by the mystery of who's behind a string of ritualistic serial murders that are carefully staged to resemble famous paintings only a woman with Kate's arcane knowledge and aesthetic judgment might recognize. Or you could figure out who's next on the killer's list faster than Kate manages to--she can't rule anyone out, not even her husband. Despite that rather silly red herring, she finally manages to get to the bottom of things in this stylish thriller from a painter whose fantasies of murder and revenge--on critics, collectors, competitors, and gallery owners, evidently--must have required a wider than usual canvas. -- Jane Adams