“Powerful . . . Fascinating . . . Truman absolutely amazes.”—Atlanta Journal & Constitution When the senior curator at Washington's famed National Gallery finds a missing painting by the Renaissance master Caravaggio, he mounts a world-class exhibition—and plots a brilliant forgery scheme that will stun the art world. “A thrilling chase.”—Publishers Weekly But an artful deception suddenly becomes a portrait of blackmail and murder—as gallery owner and part-time sleuth Annabel Reed-Smith and her husband go searching for clues in the heady arena of international art and uncover a rare collection of unscrupulous characters that leads all the way to Italy. “Highly recommended . . . One of [Margaret] Truman's best.”—Booklist
A grim portrait of murder in Victorian London.1897, London. The capital is shocked to learn that the body of a woman has been found at the National Gallery, eviscerated in a manner that recalls all too strongly the exploits of the infamous Jack the Ripper.Daniel Wilson and Abigail Fenton are contacted by a curator of the National Gallery for their assistance. The dead woman, an artist's model and lady of the night, had links to artist Walter Sickert who was a suspect during the Ripper's spree of killings. Scotland Yard have arrested Sickert on suspicion of this fresh murder but it is not the last.Copycat murders of the Ripper's crimes implicate the artist who loves to shock but Sickert insists that he is innocent. Who would want to frame him? Wilson and Fenton have their work cut out catching an elusive and determined killer.
Continuing her success in Capital Crimes, the bestselling author of First Ladies takes readers behind the exhibits at one of D.C.'s most popular attractions. When a senior curator at the National Gallery discovers a lost Caravaggio, he concocts a masterly scheme to exhibit and exploit the masterpiece, which escalates into murder as an art form.
The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death offers readers an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a master criminal investigator. Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy grandmother, founded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard in 1936 and was later appointed captain in the New Hampshire police. In the 1940s and 1950s she built dollhouse crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence. Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the crimes are revealed to those who study the scenes carefully. Corinne May Botz's lush color photographs lure viewers into every crevice of Frances Lee's models and breathe life into these deadly miniatures, which present the dark side of domestic life, unveiling tales of prostitution, alcoholism, and adultery. The accompanying line drawings, specially prepared for this volume, highlight the noteworthy forensic evidence in each case. Botz's introductory essay, which draws on archival research and interviews with Lee's family and police colleagues, presents a captivating portrait of Lee.
He died beneath the Statue of Freedom, clutching a 9-mm pistol in his hand. But as dawn rose, the politician would die again--in a hail of rumor and character assassination. Now one man suspects the shattering truth: that the congressman's suicide was a carefully planned murder. In the heart of the free world, a furious struggle begins: to reclaim a man's innocence, expose a woman's lie, and stop a chilling conspiracy of murder that reaches halfway around the world. . . .
London, 1897. The capital is shocked to learn that the body of a woman has been found at the National Gallery, eviscerated in a manner that recalls all too strongly the exploits of the infamous Jack the Ripper. Daniel Wilson and Abigail Fenton are contacted by a curator of the National Gallery for their assistance. The dead woman, an artist's model and lady of the night, had links to artist Walter Sickert who was a suspect during the Ripper's spree of killings. Scotland Yard have arrested Sickert on suspicion of this fresh murder but it is not the last. Sickert insists that he is innocent but who would want to frame him?
NATIONAL BESTSELLER MARGARET TRUMAN Bestselling author of MURDER AT THE PENTAGON MURDER ON THE POTOMAC "A first-rate mystery writer." --Los Angeles Times Book Review First time in paperback! "Harry's daughter knows her milieu; better still, she knows how to portray it convincingly." --The San Diego Union Law professor Mac has unflagging passion for two things in his life: his wife Annabel and the majestic Potomac River. When Mac discovers a weed-shrouded body in the latter, the former gets edgy. Lovely Annabel, owner of a flourishing Georgetown art gallery, must not only endure her husband's obsession with another killing, but she must believe Mac when he says that a stunning female former student is one of the only people who can help him. They discover that the corpse was once the confidante' of a wealthy Washingtonian, which leads to the Scarlet Sin Society, a theatrical group that--perilously--reenacts historical murders. And soon, the only thing that matters more to Mac than solving this serpentine case is preventing Annabel's untimely death (. "Truman 'knows the forks' in the nation's capital and how to pitchfork her readers into a web of murder and detection." --The Christian Science Monitor "Margaret Truman has settled firmly into a career of writing murder mysteries, all evoking brilliantly the Washington she knows so well." --The Houston Post
This National Book Award finalist is a revealing and beautifully written memoir and family history from acclaimed photographer Sally Mann. In this groundbreaking book, a unique interplay of narrative and image, Mann's preoccupation with family, race, mortality, and the storied landscape of the American South are revealed as almost genetically predetermined, written into her DNA by the family history that precedes her. Sorting through boxes of family papers and yellowed photographs she finds more than she bargained for: "deceit and scandal, alcohol, domestic abuse, car crashes, bogeymen, clandestine affairs, dearly loved and disputed family land . . . racial complications, vast sums of money made and lost, the return of the prodigal son, and maybe even bloody murder." In lyrical prose and startlingly revealing photographs, she crafts a totally original form of personal history that has the page-turning drama of a great novel but is firmly rooted in the fertile soil of her own life.
The Watergate in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's most famous addresses-- although not everyone knows exactly what it is. This imposing, fabulous complex is made up of a hotel, residences, restaurants, offices, shops, and more. It is a haven for the famous after they break out and, on occasion, for the infamous when they break in. Its very name has become part of our history. Margaret Truman, herself the bearer of one of the world's most famous names, knows Washington's ins and outs, including who is "in" and who is "out." In this absorbing, timely Capital Crimes mystery, she shows us around this fascinating city that is America's center of power and--some would say--corruption. Some of those who are "out" here are very dead indeed. The glittering cast of characters includes Vice President Joe Aprile, who plans to become president, if he can avoid a tempting vice; a glamorous Washington hostess and fund-raiser, Elfie Dorrance, with a propensity for marrying rich and powerful men and then grieving prettily at the end--their end; and Chris Hedras, a special assistant to the vice president, with some very special ambitions. And, of course, Annabel Smith, gallery owner, and Mac Smith, law school professor. The story deals in part with the influence on political campaigns of "soft money" and its hard consequences, as well as this country's tortuous and often ambiguous relationship with Mexico, in particular the glorious San Miguel de Allende, home of the well-to-do, and a few ill-to-do, a place involving drugs, politics, and police and politicians looking the other way. Once again Margaret Truman offers a delight to the reader who likes a fast-turning page, the pleasure of inside information, the allure of high life crossing paths with lowlife, and the return of the attractive crime-solving couple Mac and Annabel
"Margaret Truman has become a first-rate mystery writer." LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK REVIEW When a genius doctor is murdered and a desert madman gains the means to kill millions, Major Margit Falk, a helicopter pilot and Pentagon lawyer, is drawn into Project Safekeep--an antimissile scheme under congressional investigation. The alleged murderer has his share of secrets, but Falk smells conspiracy in the air. And although she turns to her mentor, law professor Mackenzie Smith for help, she's got to beat a cunning madman and a nuclear blast.... An Alternate Selection of the Literary Guild
