Killing Critics

“The new wave of art was first heralded by the graffiti artist who attacked the city walls—artist attacks architecture. Then it progressed to the vandal artist who scarred the art of others—artist attacks art. And now we see a further escalation in the performance-art murder of Dean Starr—artist attacks artist. This is the new wave—Art Terrorism.” So wrote Andrew Bliss, art critic, alcoholic, and serious, state of the art Bloomingdales’ shopper.Bliss was not celebrated for his radical opinions, and no one suspected he might know something about a terrible crime committed twelve years earlier in one Avril Koozeman’s galleries. Inspector Louis Markowitz, who commanded the Special Crimes Section in New York, had worked on that original double homicide, and now his adopted daughter, Detective Sergeant Kathy Mallory, wants to reopen the old case—against the Department’s wishes. A number of people in high places are also very keen that their secrets remain buried with the dead.