The main character in this literary mystery is Maggie Richter, the 28-year-old copy editor and assistant publicist for the Rocque Museum in Los Angeles.
As the story opens, the Rocque is having its 2003 Grand Opening for a show called 'Still Lives', which features paintings of real-life female murder victims. The twist is that the artist, Kim Lord, depicts herself as the murder victim in every gruesome picture. Among others, there are paintings of:
- Gwen Araujo: the 17-year-old transgender woman who was killed by four men who had sex with her before they discovered her biological gender.
- Judy Ann Dull: the 19-year-old would-be model who was strangled by a serial rapist/murderer.
- Elizabeth Short (The Black Dahlia): the 22-year-old aspiring actress whose body was sliced in half.
- Chandra Levy: the 24-year-old political intern whose decomposed body was found in Washington DC's Rock Creek Park.
- Roseann Quinn: the 29-year-old schoolteacher who was stabbed to death by a man she met in a bar.
- Lita McClinton: the 35-year-old socialite who was shot in the head.
- Nicole Brown Simpson: the 35-year-old former wife of O.J. Simpson, who was stabbed to death.
The opening of 'Still Lives' - which features a gala and an appearance by the painter - is being staged near the Rocque's loading platform for dramatic purposes. The guests are milling around - and Maggie is consulting with museum staff - while everyone waits for Kim Lord, who's expected momentarily.
Maggie is ambivalent about seeing the artist because Kim 'stole' her boyfriend Greg Shaw Ferguson, who Maggie expected to be with forever.
Maggie and Greg met while working overseas, moved to LA a few years later, and were talking about having children when Greg suddenly moved out. He then opened an art gallery, started calling himself Shaw Ferguson, and took up with Kim Lord.....whom he'd admired for a long time.
While everyone's nervously waiting at the Rocque, Kim texts that she's on her way....but she never shows up. Rumors spread that this is a publicity stunt, but Kim is still missing several days later, and Shaw Ferguson becomes a person of interest to the police.
Before the cops can execute a search warrant on his house, Greg gives Maggie a flash drive and insists he did nothing to Kim. Maggie, who's still hung up on the gallerist, decides to look into Kim's disappearance herself.
Maggie is helped in her investigation by Kevin - a reporter who's covering the gala.....
.....and Hendricks - a private investigator with a murky agenda.
Though the book has the structure of a mystery, it's just as much a literary novel about art; art collectors; the workings of a museum; the public's fascination with violence against women; family interactions; female friendships; the ambiance of Los Angeles; and more.
In between doing her publicity work and probing Kim's disappearance, Maggie meets friends for coffee or a meal; goes horseback riding; attends a spin class; contemplates Kim's 'Still Life' exhibit; examines the flash drive Greg gave her; laments about losing Greg; and more.
Other characters in the book include Bas - the museum director, whose job is in jeopardy because of financial troubles; Yegina - the museum's exhibition manager, who's Maggie's best friend; Jayne - the head of public relations, who's tall and gorgeous; Evvie - the museum's registrar, who's an expert on art provenance; Brent - the supervisor of installations, who came from Broadway; Janis Rocque - the Chairman of the Board, who's setting up a sculpture exhibit on her estate; and various collectors, who brag about their importance to the art world.
After Maggie accumulates sufficient information she realizes exactly what happened to Kim....and the tale is a doozy!
I enjoyed the book's fresh take on the detective genre, and recommend it to fans of literary mysteries.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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