Retired New York City police officer Sid Shale moved to a beach house in Long Island, planning to quietly live off of his modest pension and supplementing his income by using his modest talent as an artist to paint and sell his pictures Sid's placid lifestyle is soon destroyed when teenager Cassie Brennan is murdered near the beach house of Misha Sharanov, who has a Shale painting hanging on his restaurant's wall. However, soon the entire village learns that Cassie posed nude for Sid as some of the drawings surface.

Everyone begins to wonder if Sid committed the crime. Concerned about more than just his reputation, Sid begins to investigate the murder of the teen. Even as he digs into the case, Sid's personal life also seems to be unraveling as his ex-wife and daughter place pressure on him to sell more paintings. Sid ponders whether retirement could be any harder than his former life on the vicious streets of New York.

The debut novel of the Sid Shale detective stories shows plenty of promise as a continual series due to the lead protagonist, who is haunted by the interference on his domestic tranquillity by the forces of the outside world (even a year after his retirement, Internal Affairs checks out his "posh" beach house). At times, the story line slows down a bit, but overall ARTIST'S PROOF is an interesting book that will please detective fans who like a slower paced story.

Harriet Klausner

Gordon Cotler's talent for peopling authentic locales with memorable characters is on full display in his latest mystery novel. He takes you on an intriguing tour that includes a down-scale trattoria in New York's Little Italy, a snooty Manhattan art gallery, a garish nightclub in deepest Brooklyn, and a posh Long Island beach resort. Along the way, you share the hero's trials and triumphs as he confronts a Russian Mafia chieftain, a shaady Texas millionaire, and other free-wheeling types, while struggling to clear himself of a murder charge, sort out the women in his life, and put two children through college. You may not spot the clues Cotler sprinkles on route, but you'll enjoy the trip.