The Book Artist is a good read, definitely better than the previous book in the Hugo Marston series.

Despite Pryor using subplots adding depth to his novels, the shocking, thrilling and brilliant unexpected eye-opener, is missing.

The series appealed to me because the main characters are passionate about their work, kind, smart and always willing to help, and lots of fun.

A quick read. I liked the travel references, and, of course, the book references. I was unfamiliar with most of the titles, so looked each one up. This was not only illuminating, but allowed me to zero in on one character because of his reading choices, and like him for being involved in the murder. ( )

The latest Hugh Marston mystery by Mark Pryor, “The Book Artist,” ranks among the best in the series. Just 268 pages long, it is packed with action because Marston, a former FBI agent now security chief for the U.S. embassy in Paris, has three problems to deal with, not just one.

A beautiful American artist, gaining attention for her sculptures created from books, is found murdered at a Paris art gallery, and Marston’s girlfriend is arrested for the crime after her DNA is found at the scene. He is certain she is not guilty of the crime, but how to explain that DNA evidence? This may actually be the most impressive bit of detective work in the novel.

Then comes the matter of finding the real killer, after first getting the Paris police officer in charge of the case to accept his help.

As for the third problem, this involves a dying man with a grudge against both Marston and his unorthodox buddy, Tom Green. He plans to kill Tom in Amsterdam, then pick off Marston at his friend’s Paris burial.

All this means that once Pryor gets the plot moving, which takes a few chapters, it rolls like a piano going downhill in a Laurel and Hardy movie. Except not that funny. ( )

I'd classify this as a cozy mystery, although no review I read classified it as such. There's little violence. The characters are not diabolical. The ending is OK, but seemed contrived.

Hugo Marston, head of security at the U.S. Embassy in Paris and former FBI profiler, was the date of the beautiful and promising American sculptress Alia Alsaffar at the opening of her exhibition at Paris’s Dali Museum. When she is murdered at the opening, Marston insinuates himself into the murder investigation to the dismay of Paris police Lieutenant Intern Adrien Marchand. Since the opening was invitation only, the suspect pool is limited but motives abound. When Marston’s girlfriend, Claudia Roux, is arrested for the murder, his incentive to find the real killer increases. Simultaneously, Marston’s best friend and former CIA agent, the reckless Tom Green, is in Amsterdam tracking a paroled bank robber and murderer, Rick Cofer, who has a vendetta against both Green and Marston. Marston must keep tabs on Green.

This eighth installment of the Hugo Marston series after The Sorbonne Affair, brings back characters Green, Roux and Cofer from previous novels, in starring roles. While it would have been nice to have a little more backstory, the book read fine. Marston is genteel and old fashioned, using deductive reasoning to solve crimes, so there is little violence. While the denouement seems forced, the book is still enjoyable. The Marston series has a similar tone and characters to Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series. ( )