Harmony in Flesh and Black (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First-novelist Kilmer launches a promising series with this darkly humorous story about a couple of art deals turned sour in Boston. Fred Taylor, whose job skills were picked up on clandestine operations in Southeast Asia, now assists a Boston art collector. By the time Kilmer is through acquainting readers with the cutthroat side of collecting (where acquiring a painting can literally be murder), Fred's career path makes sense. First Fred's boss, aesthete Clayton Reed, wants to pick up a mediocre landscape that may be a priceless painted-over Vermeer. Reed also picks up an unsigned nude, which may possibly be the work of a major painter, from a pornographer who is soon found murdered. The suspense builds after a slow start as the art-history sleuthing-which makes murder seem mundane-gains momentum. Kilmer's prose can be self-consciously highfalutin, but his characters are lively, the context makes for a stimulating change of pace and the plot is inventive in this excellent first effort.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

First-timer Kilmer has concocted a certified winner featuring secretive Beacon Hill art collector Clayton Reed and his man-of-the-world assistant, Fred Taylor. Since they suspect that an uninteresting New England landscape destined for auction may have been painted over a "lost" Vermeer, they scheme to win the work without competition. Meanwhile, when Fred picks up another painting purchased by Reed, the two become unwittingly involved in the murder of a seedy photographer. Dry wit, unruffled prose, and uncomplicated plot recommend this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 266 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co; 1st edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805036636
• ISBN-13: 978-0805036633
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,670,161 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful intoduction to the dark side of art dealing., January 22, 1997

By A Customer

A wonderful intoduction to the dark side of art dealing. I was absorbed by the mystery, and by the author's obvious knowledge of the art and the art world. A real page turner

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hidden Treasures Unveiled, April 18, 2006

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Art with its sublime beauty should inspire people to be better. Paradoxically, art also attracts those who are obsessively interested in control and others who want money and power. The art itself often suffers amid the cross-currents that those who are drawn to art bring.

Harmony in Flesh and Black is excellent at exposing the darker side of human nature as expressed in the art world (although not among artists themselves). If the novel had focused solely on that message, I would have liked the book better. There's an intriguing story line about appreciating hidden beauties that can best be revealed through research and well-aimed speculation.

But the book becomes mucked up with a very sleazy fellow who never saw a fast buck that he didn't like. I found myself feeling dirty from having read about this character. I admire writing that can make me have such a strong reaction . . . but I don't have to be attracted to that kind of writing.

The book has a crime and a mystery to solve, but I felt that the mystery element detracted from rather than added to the book. The art mystery and maneuvering would have been enough for me.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars So this guy walks into a Kinko's...., January 1, 2006

By	Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Publisher's Weekly review above gives you the jist of the plot of Harmony in Flesh and Black, and hints at the strange prose. I won't bother with further plot detail, but you should be aware of just how weird this prose it. Here's an example. Our hero has just walked in to a copy store:

"Two seedy academics of the male persuasion, burning their own midnight oil, were already waiting, and Fred was behind them. Each was burdened with extraordinary complexity in his approach to the copying experience."

To me this is the kind of writing that even a vanity press should turn down. Male persuasion? Complexity in getting a document copied? I love novels that deal with art, but struggling through this creative writing class reject was a teeth grinding experience. The sort of book that once you put it down you have a hard time picking it up again. My copy of the book was a Phoenix library discard. It was in pristine condition, and never had been checked out. I'm impressed by the sophistication of the citizens of Phoenix.