Man with a Squirrel: A Fred Taylor Mystery

My favorite of the Fred Taylor mysteries, the book involves a Viet Nam vet turned art sleuth who's not afraid to play rough when necessary! This not your easy cookie cutter theme mystery, but an actual thrilling piece of work. Plus, you learn something about an American artist. How great is that!

Fred Taylor is doing what he does best, wandering amidst the antique shops of Boston searching for a treasure for his employer, wealthy art collector Clayton Reed. In one ye olde shoppe, Fred finds a segment of a pain ting of a squirrel that has been cut out of a larger painting. He thinks that this fragment is part of an important work by Copley, an eighteenth century American artist. Fred buys the piece, hoping to find the rest of the painting. As Fred begins his search, his girl friend Molly is looking into the activities of Dr. Eunice Cover-Hoover, a noted professor who is helping people deal with cults and repressed memories. To learn whether Eunice is a savior or a brilliant con artist, Molly decides she needs to offer herself up as an alleged victim of repressed memories. Before Fred knows what is happening, his seemingly innocent quest places him on Molly's path, one that is filled with murder and other violent acts. Fred realizes that he must now do more then rescue a painting, he must rescue his beloved and perhaps himself. The second novel in the Fred Taylor series is absolutely great. The story line is extremely well written, entertaining, and absolutely frightening in that it seems so realistic and plausible. With novels like MAN WITH A SQUIRREL and HARMONY IN FLESH AND BLACK (the first Taylor tale), Nicholas Kilmer deserves to become a household name. Harriet Klausner --

Fred Taylor is doing what he does best, wandering amidst the antique shops of Boston searching for a treasure for his employer, wealthy art collector Clayton Reed. In one ye olde shoppe, Fred finds a segment of a pain ting of a squirrel that has been cut out of a larger painting. He thinks that this fragment is part of an important work by Copley, an eighteenth century American artist. Fred buys the piece, hoping to find the rest of the painting. As Fred begins his search, his girl friend Molly is looking into the activities of Dr. Eunice Cover-Hoover, a noted professor who is helping people deal with cults and repressed memories. To learn whether Eunice is a savior or a brilliant con artist, Molly decides she needs to offer herself up as an alleged victim of repressed memories. Before Fred knows what is happening, his seemingly innocent quest places him on Molly's path, one that is filled with murder and other violent acts. Fred realizes that he must now do more then rescue a painting, he must rescue his beloved and perhaps himself. The second novel in the Fred Taylor series is absolutely great. The story line is extremely well written, entertaining, and absolutely frightening in that it seems so realistic and plausible. With novels like MAN WITH A SQUIRREL and HARMONY IN FLESH AND BLACK (the first Taylor tale), Nicholas Kilmer deserves to become a household name. Harriet Klausner -----