Arsenic and Old Paint

July 12, 2010
At the outset of Lind's engrossing fourth Art Lover's mystery (after 2007's Brush with Death), a scream interrupts artist and faux finisher Annie Kincaid and her team while they're doing restoration work at an exclusive men's club housed in a historic brownstone on San Francisco's Nob Hill. In a bathroom on the floor below, Annie and her two assistants find a distraught maid kneeling over the body of a man in a bathtub with a sword protruding from his chest. Insp. Annette Crawford, with whom Annie has collaborated uneasily in past homicide investigations, is soon on the scene. More trouble ensues after Annie's art mentor and honorary uncle, Anton Woznikowicz, is hospitalized with arsenic poisoning. To further complicate matters, an insurance adjuster asks Annie's help in locating a stolen erotic painting. Annie's down-to-earth sense of humor and vast knowledge of art, both genuine and forged, make her an appealing heroine.