As I get towards the end of the semester my thoughts inevitably turn to "escape" reading - and that means mystery novels. I read lots of different kinds of mysteries and have a lot of favorites. After teaching this class for a number of years I've accumulated a long list of art-related mysteries which might be of interest to you, once you don't have assigned readings anymore! Among my particular favorites are the Ngaio Marsh series featuring Inspector Alleyn and his wife Troy who is an artist and features in a number of the stories. I remember Sarah Caudwell's Thus was Adonis Murdered as being very funny in a dark way (it's on my list to re-read). John Creasey's Baron is always good fun and usually a very quick, satisfying, if formulaic, read. Ruth Dudley Edwards also has a series with the main character, the somewhat feckless, Robert Amiss. His pal Dame "Jack" Troutbeck is pretty outrageous at best and the attack on the world of contemporary art in Killing the Emperors (think Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin) isn't much of a mystery but is pretty satisfying if you agree that a lot of stuff that is regarded as art is mostly "a load of old rubbish."

Aaron Elkins has a couple of series but one features a curator in an art museum in Seattle. Dick Francis, one of my favorites, although his later work falls off a good bit, has one entry in his In the Frame. As usual with Francis there are horses and racing involved somewhere and the mystery is more of a puzzle but it will keep you entertained for an afternoon.

If you like mysteries set locally then you should try Nicholas Kilmer's series which starts with Harmony in Flesh and Black and features Fred Taylor, an art historian with hidden depths, who is based in Boston. Another local one you shouldn't miss is Jane Langton's Murder at the Gardner. I'm not crazy about Langton's series but had to read this one and I remember liking it. And of course no mention of Boston settings would be complete without our own Robert Parker and his detective Spenser. Here's what the blurb on Amazon says about Painted Ladies:

• Spenser had a simple job-protect an art scholar during a ransom exchange for a stolen painting. No one was supposed to die. But the scholar had secrets no one knew, and uncovering them will endanger Spenser as well.

Among the books in the stack beside my bed that I'm looking forward to are Simon Tolkien's The Inheritance, and Neville Steed's Clockwork, featuring an amateur detective who collects antique toys. If you are into antiques and haven't yet come across the prolific Jonathan Gash and his Lovejoy series you should start with The Judas Pair. As is often the case the early books tend to be stronger than the later ones in the series, and Lovejoy's sex life gets very wearing after the first few.

The famous Florence flood of 1966 and the "mud angels" (students who flocked in from all over the globe to help with saving the art work) is at the center of a book called Angels of the Flood by Joanna Hines. Having had two trips to Florence and fallen under its spell quite thoroughly I went to some lengths to secure a copy of this (it's easier now as it is available for Kindle!) but found the story didn't live up to my expectations. When I say it felt like I was wading through it you'll get an idea of what it was like. And that reminds me that if you are in love with Italy then you should check out Donna Leon's wonderful series set in Venice, starting with Death at La Fenice (which really belongs on my theatre mystery list but I think of Venice itself as a work of art!).

As you can see I could go on and on. I'm planning to put a list together, like Candy's list of bibliomysteries and would be glad to hear from you if you have suggestions and additions, as well as comments. Happy reading!