THE ART OF DECEPTION

The daughter of Sherlock Holmes (who’s married to Dr. Watson’s son) investigates a case of vandalism and murder tied to the world of art treasures.

Inspector Lestrade once again calls upon Joanna Watson, who’s inherited her father’s remarkable crime-solving talents, to help with an odd case of vandalism. Someone has been breaking into private homes and art galleries and slashing valuable paintings but not stealing anything. From the only clue, a tattered scarf left behind, Joanna deduces that the wearer is a tall, middle-aged man fallen on hard times who suffers from a skin condition he’s treating with coal tar. All the paintings were either displayed at the Hawke and Evans Gallery or had been restored there by James Blackstone or Harry Edmunds, two former restorers who used their talents to create and sell forgeries. Edmunds is in jail; Blackstone is presumed to have fled to Australia. Because all the paintings were slashed and torn open but their backings left in perfect condition, Joanna concludes that something valuable is hidden in one of the paintings, though the searcher does not know which one. She’s sidetracked when an attack of cholera at her son’s school forces her to remove him to 221B Baker St., where she has the support of both her husband, John, and his father, the ever reliable Dr. Watson. Johnny’s remarkably like his grandfather, and even in his illness he provides valuable ideas about the case. Joanna relies on a number of informative experts as she unravels a complex mystery involving several people, at least one of whom is willing to kill to gain his ends.

A primer on art history combined with a mystery that crawls toward the denouement.