Framed in Death

Manhattan is filled with galleries and deep-pocketed collectors who can make an artist's career with a wave of a hand. But one man toils in obscurity, his brilliance unrecognized while lesser talents bask in the glory he believes should be his. Come tomorrow, he vows, the city will be buzzing about his work.

Indeed, before dawn, Lt. Eve Dallas is speeding toward the home of the two gallery owners whose doorway has been turned into a horrifying crime scene overnight. A lifeless young woman has been elaborately costumed and precisely posed to resemble the model of a long-ago Dutch master, and Dallas plunges into her investigation.

But the artist is passionate about his work—and prolific. Dallas has barely made a dent in the case before a second twisted masterpiece is unveiled. There are countless struggling artists in New York, but this one refuses to wait for the attention he craves. Like the geniuses who've come before him, he is willing to sacrifice for his art—as long as it's someone else being sacrificed . . .