In the 1960s, Vincent Rainwater IV was the art critic for the New York Times. He was
the
most powerful man in the art world, able to make or break any artist's career. During a dinner at the Yale Club with his two best friends, Frank Williams Esquire, a noted criminal attorney, and Gary Tinterow, M.D., one of the city's best-known and renowned psychiatrists, hatch the idea of an art syndicate. One night, Tinterow ran a red light, killing a homeless man, and fled. A few days later, he receives a blackmail letter demanding money. A meeting is arranged for the payoff. Vincent and Williams go along in case things go wrong. Things did go wrong. Deadly wrong. The blackmailer is killed. On top of the murder, the good doctor is going through a messy and expensive divorce. Needing money, Tinterow and Williams devise a plan to kill one of the up-and-coming POP artists, then sell the paintings for a vast profit. Upon finding out, Vincent threatens to go to the police. But is reminded that he, too, was involved in a murder. Thinking this is an easy money scheme, Tinterow and Williams kill another artist and another, sending shock waves through the art world. When Coney Island artist Roger Niles is found murdered, Detective Sergeant Roscoe Brown, the 60
th
precinct's ace homicide detective, is assigned to the case. He and his partner, Detective James Walsh, are thrust headfirst into the world of POP art. Detective Brown's knowledge of art didn't help him and his partner, James Walsh, solve the case, but his knowledge of
ichthyology
(the study of fish) broke the case wide open.
The FINE ART OF MURDER is a series of murder mysteries that involve Art. Dogs. Priests. Clowns. Snakes and Fugu.