''Murder as a Fine Art'' is a 1953 detective novel by Carol Carnac, the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the ninth of fourteen novels featuring the character of

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

Julian Rivers of

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

.Reilly p.259

Synopsis

The newly formed

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

is seemingly a curse institution. The first minister dies just after taking office and a second not long afterwards. A third death occurs when a huge bust topples down and crushes Edwin Pompfret the

permanent secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

of the department.

References

Bibliography

* Cooper, John & Pike, B.A. ''Artists in Crime: An Illustrated Survey of Crime Fiction First Edition Dustwrappers, 1920-1970''. Scolar Press, 1995. * Hubin, Allen J. ''Crime Fiction, 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography''. Garland Publishing, 1984. * Nichols, Victoria & Thompson, Susan. ''Silk Stalkings: More Women Write of Murder''. Scarecrow Press, 1998. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. 1953 British novels British mystery novels Novels by E.C.R. Lorac Novels set in London British detective novels William Collins, Sons books {{1950s-mystery-novel-stub