Art Meets Love and Murder

Art Meets Love and Murder

by Saralyn Richard

I’m not sure when my
fascination with art began. Perhaps it was in seventh grade, when Ms. Gahagan
incorporated a fine arts curriculum into our elective class. Many students
groaned. They’d taken art class to get away from reading and writing—pounding clay
was more satisfying then. But I enjoyed learning about artists and techniques
and movements, and I fell in love with the Impressionists.

In college, I majored in
English, but my curriculum required me to choose areas of concentration for my
elective choices. I chose art history, and then my fate was sealed. From then
on, I frequented museums, admired the works of the famous and not-yet-famous
artists in my path, and even harbored ideas of “taking up” art, myself, at some
future date, when I had the time.

Over the years, I’ve been
fortunate enough to have traveled to some of the most famous museums in the
world, and each one has left its mark on me. One of the most interesting of the
small museums I’ve enjoyed is the Brandywine River Fine Arts Museum in the
beautiful and rustic Brandywine Valley, Pennsylvania. The museum highlights the
works of local naturalist, impressionist, and modern artists, particularly
those in and around the Wyeth family.

Brandywine Valley is the
locale of my Detective Parrott Mystery series, and, while MURDER IN THE ONE
PERCENT centers around the equestrian crowd, A PALETTE FOR LOVE AND MURDER
deals with the artists. The book opens with an art heist. Someone has stolen
two valuable paintings that artist Blake Allmond had earmarked for donation to
the National Arts Club in New York. Allmond is a reknown painter whose
depictions of water have earned him notoriety and fame.

Detective Parrott is
assigned to investigate the theft from the artist’s own studio, and the
investigation puts him in the milieu of artists, collectors, dealers, teachers,
and warehousers. Soon theft leads to murder, a treasure hunt for a lost
masterpiece, and a palette full of secrets.

Throughout the mystery,
readers are led to wonder at the value of art, its power to transform. If you
love exploring art museums, as I do, put the Brandywine museum on your bucket
list. If you love reading about art, check out A PALETTE FOR LOVE AND MURDER. It’s
a page-turner with a lot of ’art, a brush with death, a landscape for murder—well,
you get the picture.

Award-winning mystery and children’s book author, Saralyn Richard strives to make the world a better place, one book
at a time. Her books, NAUGHTY NANA,
MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT, and A
PALETTE FOR LOVE AND MURDER, have delighted children and adults, alike. A
member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America,
Saralyn teaches creative writing at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and continues
to write mysteries. Reviews, media, and tour schedule may be found at http://saralynrichard.com, or check out her
author page at https://www.amazon.com/Saralyn-Richard/e/B0787F6HD4/ref. Now meeting virtually with book clubs and other organizations.