Interesting enough, not sure I'd read more with these characters. ( )

2nd in a series that begins with his Tripletree (which I have not yet read but which I have ordered), The Nature of Rare Things is an art mystery. It's pretty good, and I didn't figure out the who or the how it was done at all. That speaks highly for this author; I can normally figure these things out early on if the writing is poor. It's neither cozy nor police procedural, but rather the story of an individual who enters the case most unwillingly but sees it through to the end.

Nathaniel Gye works at Cambridge University and studies the paranormal. It is this connection that gains him an invitation to a medium who contacts him because a man who had earlier been on trial for stealing a priceless painting is found dead in his garage, apparently was found dead in his garage, and the signs pointed to suicide. Now the ghost wants to talk to Nathaniel and have him find out the truth behind his death. Gye attends a seance, and agrees to help the man's widow clear up the mystery of the man's death. His investigation will lead him into the art world and its seamy underbelly, and at times bring him close to meeting his own end.

Overall, an okay read; a bit above the average mystery novel that one finds out there these days. Recommended if you're into art mysteries or into just decently-written mystery novels. ( )