Artists Die Best in Black: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A fast moving mystery with entertaining characters
Review: An art gallery used for a movie set is the stage one for this fast moving mystery. There are interesting characters such as the gallery owner and one of her artists whose son is the victim. The scenes are authentic Richmond and the story keeps moving as the scene moves from the riverfront to the govenor's office. By the end you are fond of many of the characters and want to know more about them

Rating:
Summary: Great characters and gripping suspense in the art world.
Review: Fans of the best-selling author Carl Hiaasen (Striptease) know that he weaves his stories around slightly off-balance characters. In Artists Die Best In Black, Martha Mabey captures this somewhat zany approach, but tells her story on the stage of Richmond, Virginia, a proud old and very traditional confederate city. (Richmond is the setting for Patricia Cornwell's (Cause of Death) block-buster Kay Scarpetta series as well.)Mabey has created an unusual protagonist in Rosemond Wallace, the petite and funny owner of a trendy art gallery. She has a beautiful and haughty rival, Lila Hunt, whose gallery sells to the establishment trade. The young man who is killed in Wallace's gallery is the son of an eccentric artist, Lucy Moon. Add to this mix crazy Tyrone, Beverly and Jack, the homeless couple in the alley, and a wild assortment of characters, including some colorful gender-benders. I was captured by the characters and drawn in by the suspense of the lively mystery.