Painting Death

August 24, 2015
Parks’s cerebral third Morris Duckworth mystery (after 2001’s Mimi’s Ghost) finds the middle-aged Englishman every bit as depraved as his younger self. Having systematically dispensed with members of the rich Italian family he married into, Morris is a respected (if not suspected) member of Verona society. To further ensure his good name, he has conceived a blockbuster art exhibit—Painting Death: The Art of Assassination from Caravaggio to Damien Hirst—whose theme is dear to his heart. Morris relishes the bloody details of each famous masterpiece, since they remind him of his own sociopathic artistry. Faced with a meddlesome museum director while juggling his rebellious children, enigmatic wife, and sexy Libyan mistress, he holds secret consultations with his advisory board: the ghosts of his seven earlier victims. When Morris decides that certain Veronese citizens deserve to die, the local cardinal and the mayor, who are aware of his homicidal predilections, have different ideas. Admirers of Parks’s mainstream fiction should enjoy this black comedy, but mystery fans may find it too wordy and the pace too slow.

October 15, 2015
In this final chapter of the Morris Duckworth trilogy, the Verona businessman and comically self-absorbed serial killer has been awarded the key to the city. In his acceptance speech, Morris impetuously announces his intent to create a unique art exhibition that will draw widespread, lucrative attention to Verona. Painting Death, an exhibition of masterpieces depicting murder, assassination, and genocide, is Morris' obsession, and he's convinced that as a sensitive, cerebral killer he can reveal new insights into murder. Guided by the voices of the wife, lover, and business associates he's killed, Morris delves into the duplicitous world of art-museum politics. But, despite his best efforts to keep his and the public's attention focused on the show, Morris is lured back into murderous thoughts by the pressure of a co-curator squashing his vision, a defiant son, demanding mistress, and renewed interest from the authorities in a murder Morris thought he had hidden. Morris' voice provides a strong dose of humor: think Patricia Highsmith meets Jeff Lindsay, as mockery combined with a purposefully caricatured supporting cast creates smart social commentary.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)