For the Minds and Wills of Men

War changed Will Oxley. He returned home to a different life, a different world. He has found solace in paintings, found that contemplating them helps keep the nightmares at bay. And now, in 1953 New York, he has created a role for himself as the sole art insurer for All American Insurance. He isn't a detective, as such, but when an insured piece of art goes missing, he tracks it down.

When a Jackson Pollock painting is purloined from a small art gallery, Will is tapped to find it. This brings him into the circle of Liz Bower. Liz, the daughter of wealthy businessman Frank Bower, is the head of the Bower Foundation, which supports and funds American art and artists and owns the missing painting. She is, naturally, interested in his search for the Pollock, as it's part of an exhibit traveling to Europe that the foundation is helping fund. She's also interested in Will himself, and he in her. But Will can tell Liz is holding something back. She asks him to trust her – but can he? Should he?

As Will pursues his search for the painting, Liz ushers him into the rarefied world of the artists themselves – Kline, Pollock, De Kooning. But anti-Communist sentiment is running high, and abstract art and artists are coming under intense scrutiny as potential Communist inroads into the country. The Rosenbergs have been found guilty of espionage, and everyone – the FBI, the House Un-American Activities Committee, the CIA, maybe even the Communists – has eyes and ears in unexpected places.

Jeff Lanier's story does not read like a debut novel. He perfectly captures the mood and madness of the Red Scare, the unsettling angst of not knowing who might be watching you and of wondering if you'd done anything to land yourself on someone's list. He also paints (pardon the expression) a vivid picture of the renaissance of abstract art. I'd never really considered the juxtaposition of abstract art with the end of World War II, never really thought of it as an expression of American freedom. That was an interesting point!

The plot dashes from gallery showings to bar brawls and shouting matches between artists to clandestine meetings with informants and Mafia types. Will feels the crosshairs on his back as he works, not only to find the painting, but to figure out who's on what side and where he'll end up in all this. Lanier layers plot twists and paranoia like oils on canvas, and does it masterfully.

Mystery, drama, art, romance, action, all wrapped up into one compelling story. If you're a fan of mysteries, historical fiction, art, or all three, you need to read For the Minds and Wills of Men.