What to read after watching Art Detectives on Acorn TV
- Dane Luna
- Jul 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 3
I'm always on the lookout for new British murder mystery shows, and Art Detectives, which premiered in June, has become a new favorite!
The series features Detective Inspector Mick Palmer (played by Stephen Moyer of True Blood and The Gifted fame) and Detective Constable Shazia Malik (played by Nina Singh from 2022's The Lazarus Project) of the Heritage Crime Unit as they investigate art theft, forgery and fraud, even wine, and of course, murder.
I watched the pilot, about a murdered National Gallery employee in a Yorkshire estate, and as soon as the plot twist of the episode was revealed, I was sold to the show. The other episodes in season 1 feature an archeological site with buried treasure, rock and roll memorabilia, rare bottles of wine, and artifacts from the Titanic.
Art and crime combined make for some compelling storylines, and there's no shortage of cozy mysteries with this theme. Here are a few art-themed cozy mystery books to add to your TBR list!
Child prodigy-turned-art forger Anne Kincaid thought she'd left her criminal past behind, until she's asked to appraise a museum's Caravaggio and she discovers it's a fake. To make matters worse, the museum's janitor turns up dead, and the curator, who happens to be her ex, goes missing.
First in the Jonathan Argyll series, the art scholar finds himself in a small church in Rome in search of a long-lost Raphael painting, but he's too late: the painting has already changed hands and has somehow found its way to the national museum in Rome.
But just as swiftly as it was restored, the painting is destroyed in a fire. Argylle suspects there's more to the story, and with Flavia de Stefano and Rome's Art Theft Squad, they work to uncover the painting's trail of crime and intrigue.
Juliet Henry is helping with preparations for the opening of the Modern Death Art wing of the Memento Mori Museum in California when a mummy goes missing and a murder takes place. And while it would be easy to put the blame on the mummy's curse, Miss Henry knows there's nothing deadlier than a real-life killer.
While on vacation in Italy, Jessica Fletcher witnesses the theft of a painting and the murder of a retired police officer. Months later, she's told that an old friend has been murdered, and his stepson asks for her help in finding the killer. She soon discovers a surprising connection between the art theft she witnessed and her friend's murder.
Countess of Harleigh Frances Hazelton and her husband George are in France to visit the Paris Exposition and to investigate the suspicious death of renowned artist Paul Ducasse at the request of George's Aunt Julia.
Things become personal when Aunt Julia is murdered at the Paris Exposition, and the sleuthing couple become determined to find the killer behind the murders.
What murder mystery show are you currently watching?
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