Katherine Kovacic's Alex Clayton series (all two books of them so far...) could be used as a teaching tool for aspiring Australian crime novelists on the balance between personal backstory and plot, and how to craft a realistic strong female lead character, because they are both extremely good examples of that. As well as lots of other pluses. There's always been a bit of chatter about second novel syndrome and it's hard to ignore as there have been some amazing debuts followed up by something that's not as strong, confident or unsurprisingly as original, but PAINTING IN THE SHADOWS has none of the syndrome symptoms, and all of the impact of the initial novel.

I wasn't sure where Kovacic would take Clayton, her best friend John Porter, and their art-world based shenanigans in this second novel. The collapse of a museum worker, damage to a cursed painting and the death of a senior conservator is the perfect scenario pulled off with considerable aplomb (helped by Kovacic's obvious knowledge of art history), combining wit, some personal and professional angst and enough personal jeopardy to make the whole thing believable, tense and perfectly balanced between plot and character, personal and professional, career and relationships.

Alex is from the prone to wisecrack her way through life category of accidental PI's, and her career has been directly impacted by past events at MIMA which are hinted at early, and expanded as the plot moves forward. Porter on the other hand, is a respected freelancer whose expertise is needed when one of the centrepieces of a new exhibition - the cursed painting - is damaged in an accident. This gives him an in to the backrooms of the museum and it's here that together they uncover a very odd photograph and a startling discovery. Fraud is not unknown in art circles, and this one appears to have big implications in the Australian art world in particular, although finding the perpetrator isn't as easy as you'd hope as there's more than enough red herrings stinking up the place to provide confusion, and that aforementioned jeopardy. Clayton and Porter are a great pairing in this outing, and the idea that they are mostly just old friends with a propensity to be a bit nosy is an elegantly simple device to get them "into" an investigation.

When reviewing the first novel (THE PORTRAIT OF MOLLY DEAN) I noted that the real-life subject of the portrait - Molly Dean - and Alex Clayton had a few similarities. Both strong, determined individuals and whilst Porter might not have quite as much of either of those qualities, the friendship between he and Clayton feels real and genuine. Mind you, the original review also mentioned both women could be daft and clever all at the same time, and it certainly feels like Porter's stepped into that aspect of the personality match quite happily.

After two books, the Alex Clayton Art Mystery series is shaping up to be one of the good ones. Make sure you read them both if you've not had the pleasure before. Oh, and a hat tip to the cover designer Nada Backovic, it's an absolute stunner.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/painting-shadows-katherine-kovacic

‘Great art can make even the most important person seem insignificant – and I’m not important by any means.’

Art dealer Alex Clayton is both thrilled and nervous to be previewing the Melbourne International Museum of Art (MIMA)’s latest exhibition: Masterpieces of Victorian Britain. Alex is thrilled because of the art, nervous because she has some unpleasant memories from the time she spent working there. She and her friend, conservator John Porter, meet and make their way into MIMA. They are present when, as a large painting is being unpacked, one of the packers collapses and damages the reportedly cursed painting. The packer is taken to hospital.

Meredith Buchanan, a senior conservator, is to repair the work. But when she dies, less than twenty-four hours later in an apparent suicide, John Porter is asked to supervise the repairs. Was Meredith also a victim of the reputed curse?

The conservation studio is now a crime scene, but there is something strange about the scene. There is a splash of paint: a vivid crimson which is not a colour on the painting to be restored. And then Alex discovers a torn-up photograph. The police dismiss the photograph as irrelevant, but something is not right, and Alex and John are determined to investigate. Their amateur investigations lead them into some tight spots while their knowledge of art leads them to some worrying conclusions. Alex is offered a job at MIMA, which complicates matters.

This novel is the second in Ms Kovacic’s Alex Clayton Art Mystery series. We were introduced to the characters of Alex and John in ‘The Portrait of Molly Dean’, and they are further developed here. They are good friends, have been for years, even though John’s jealous wife does her best to keep them apart.

Ms Kovacic works some interesting technical detail (about the behind the scenes work of art museums and the restoration of damaged paintings) into the story. But the real focus is on the death of Meredith. If she did not commit suicide, who killed her and why? And what is the significance of the crimson paint?

The various pieces come together in a satisfying conclusion.

I enjoyed this novel. The story and the setting held my attention, as did the working relationship and history between Alex and John. I especially liked Alex’s Irish wolfhound Hogarth.

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series shortly.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I just love these books - a confident and cool art dealer who solves crime, has an adorable dog (and it is also very nice to see that the author knows her stuff not only about art but also animals) and loves her work. Tbh the mystery itself sort of took a back seat for me because the characters were so fun and entertaining. Also learned to much about art and curating. Can’t wait to start on the next one!

I really enjoyed this instalment of the Alex Clayton series, my thoughts after reading the first book were hopeful that the author would cement the character and have more of a confident style and I wasn't disappointed. I will be reading the third book which has just recently been released.
Also (as a side note) the cover is amazing, it drew me into picking up the book in the first place but when I saw that it was the second in the series I had to put it back until I could find and read the first one and I'm glad I did.

Lovely quick read, nicely paced, neatly packaged up and all questions answered at the end. The relationship between the two felt a little forced and not 100% believable.

Loved the local setting - the NGV - but found the story a bit simplistic