Mystery Novels, Art, and Napoleon’s Penis

Yes, you read that right.

The folks at the Mythical Books Blog–in honor of the missing Greco-Roman statue at the heart of my latest novel, The Sirena Quest–asked me to offer some thoughts on mystery novels that involve works of art.

As I mulled it over, I realized that a missing work of art has been a theme as recently as Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch and at least as far back as those Arthurian legends of the quest for the Holy Grail.

For my novels, the theme is as recent as The Sirena Quest and as old as my second Rachel Gold mystery, Death Benefits.

As I explain in the essay, the inspiration for the missing work of art at the heart of Death Benefits is, believe or not, the most famous (and expensive) penis of all time.

So fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride through the realm of mysteries, art, and, well, a certain collector’s item.