Quick on the Draw

March 7, 2016
Alexandra Quick, a former detective inspector and the heroine of this disappointing series launch from British author Moody (A Final Reckoning), becomes an amateur sleuth only because her friend and business partner, art historian Helena Drummond, is missing and a murder suspect. When Helena fails to show up for an important meeting, Alex goes to Helena’s Canterbury home, where she discovers a brutalized body, later identified as that of Amy Morrison, a former student of Helena’s. Alex quickly discovers that she knew little about Helena or Amy, the author of a much-lauded biography of the painter Masaccio. In her search for answers, Alex turns for help to bookstore owner Sam Willoughby, who harbors dreams of becoming a private eye. Both Helena and Amy had several husbands, and Amy had a penchant for “borrowing” work done by others, so suspects and sources are plentiful. Moody does a good job creating sympathetic characters, but Alex bumbles her way to the unconvincing finale.

May 1, 2016

A former detective inspector, Alex Quick left the police force after her marriage broke up and she suffered a miscarriage. She has since pulled herself out of a major depression and written several glossy art books with her business partner, art historian Helena Drummond. When Helena fails to show at an important publisher meeting, Alex goes to Helena's house and finds a body that is not her associate. Where is Helena? As Alex investigates, she realizes that she doesn't know her colleague at all. Moody, the author of the "Penny Wanawake" and "Cassie Swann" books, launches a suspenseful new crime series, introducing an intelligent female sleuth who draws on her previous policing skills. VERDICT Aficionados of British crime fiction can't get enough, and this fresh mystery will satisfy their cravings.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2016
After the disastrous end to her marriage, Alex Quick quits the police force and sets off on a new career pathproducing art books that will appeal to children and adults alike. Her books are successful, but when she has a chance to partner with well-known art historian Helena Drummond, she sees an opportunity to take her career even further. It seems to be working as planned, but on the morning when Alex and Helena are to sign a contract for a three-book deal, Helena fails to turn up. A furious Alex goes to Helena's house to confront her, only to find a murder scene. At first convinced the mutilated body is Helena's, Alex soon realizes it's someone else's. But where is Helena? The police are sure Helena is the killer, but Alex believes her friend is innocent and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Moody's latest starts off slowly but builds quickly to fever pace. With a plucky, smart heroine; taut suspense; and an inventive plot, this first in a series will please a wide range of mystery buffs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
When cop-turned-art-historian Alex Quick is asked by her distant Italian relative Sandro, who's young and very handsome, to help discover which of his friends might be a thief, she's puzzled by his odd request. Apparently, Sandro threw a party for a group of close friends at his wealthy uncle's apartment in Venice. Arriving back in London after the event, he was shocked to see his uncle's valuable ring in the window of a pawn shop. Two days later, he had another shock when he saw a painting belonging to his uncle displayed in an art gallery. He bought both and put them back in his uncle's apartment before anyone noticed they were missing, but now he's uneasy about his friends. Who would take the items from his uncle and why? Can Alex help investigate? She agrees, and soon the mystery escalates from art theft to kidnapping and murder. A lively heroine, some romantic descriptions of Venice, and a twisted plot add up to a comfortable, quite entertaining crime novel that would pair nicely with Iain Pears' Flavia di Stefano and Jonathan Argyll mysteries, also drenched in art history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

June 4, 2018
Moody’s pleasant third mystery featuring London art historian Alex Quick (after 2017’s Quick off the Mark) opens with a plea from wealthy 25-year-old Sandro Grainger. He wants his friend Alex, a former police detective, to discreetly investigate some thefts that occurred earlier in the year at the Venetian apartment of his uncle, the Marchese Cesare Antonio de Farnese de Peron. Sandro recently spotted a ring in a London pawnshop that he’s sure is his uncle’s. Alex travels to Venice, where one of the suspects she interviews soon turns up dead. Then Sandro is kidnapped, and the Marchese is asked to pay a hefty ransom. Meanwhile, Alex’s dear old neighbor in Longbury, a short train ride from London, has inherited two possibly valuable drawings that may be the work of Tiepolo. Could all these incidents somehow be related? Casting her trained eye on the noble Venetian families, Alex discovers that the rich aren’t all that different from the lower orders when it comes to murder. Coincidences abound, but armchair travelers will enjoy spending time in Venice. Agent: Jane Conway-Gordon, Jane Conway-Gordon Ltd. (U.K.).

June 1, 2018
A former detective must unravel the secrets of Venetian high society when a friend asks her to investigate a series of thefts from his aristocratic uncle.Alexandra "Alex" Quick left the London police force after a painful divorce and an even more devastating miscarriage. She's created a new career for herself writing about art and compiling art books around various themes, from babies to travel. One day, 20-something Sandro, a family friend, asks Alex if she can discover who stole several valuable objects from the Venetian palazzo of his aristocratic uncle during the course of a party Sandro hosted there. It couldn't be one of his rich and well-behaved friends, could it? Since Alex is going to Venice to write about the art scene, she agrees to do some unofficial sleuthing. But soon theft is followed by kidnapping, then murder, and Alex herself is in danger. Initially Alex seems a relatable character, acknowledging her cynical shell and offering bitterly humorous comments on strangers she sees. But as the plot bounces from one of the (too) many characters to another, the reader doesn't feel any stronger connection with Alex. Baffling plotlines are irritating (at one point, while being held captive, Alex vomits; sentences later, she says she has a gag in her mouth), and there is little sustained suspense.The best character in the novel is the beguiling city of Venice, but it's doubtful you would want Moody's detective as your companion on your trip.

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