Alice Humphrey has her dream job working at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. That is until she was laid off. One bright moment did come from Alice’s unemployment. She was offered a job working for Drew as the main art curator for a small, private museum in the meat packing district. Alice believes there has to be a catch and there is. The artist is really different. His art work is almost riding on the edge of being pornographic. Alice figures she can handle one crazy artist. Though, when Alice arrives at the art galley to begin her first day, she receives a huge surprise. Drew is dead lying in a pool of blood. Alice becomes the prime suspect. Alice must find the true killer before she becomes a piece of art.

When I first eyed this book, it sounded right up my alley. I love a good mystery. Unfortunately, this book was just so, so for me. In fact, I would have given up on this book if it was not for the fact that I chose to do the audio version of this book versus the print version. Tamara Marston did a good job doing the audio version of this book. She could switch it up when it came to the male and female characters. There was crude language used thought out the story. Which I was not offended by but other readers may be. I agree with some of the other readers that the many different story lines coming at me all at the same time were a bit much and hard to untangle. Once, I got the story lines figured out as to how they meshed together, I was able to enjoy it better but not much. Most of the characters were dull. Alice was good but she took a while for me to warm up to her as I found her whiny and timid but as the story progressed she grew a back bone. Overall, I was Long Gone a long time ago but I listened to the whole book hoping it would get better but it never really did.

It seems too good to be true. Alice Montgomery is attending an art exhibit when she is approached by another patron--an attractive, charming man. They talk and Alice is amazed when the man says that he is helping a friend open an art galley and he is looking for someone to run it. Alice's last job was in an art galley but since being laid off, she hasn't worked for a year. She jumps at the chance and agrees to meet the man in the next few days once he has picked out a location.
In New Jersey, a teenage girl runs away. Was it typical teenage angst or had she run away to escape the bullying she is encountering in high school? Her mother had never told her about her father but had she run off to try to find him? The police investigate but don't find much in the way of answers except that her fingerprints are inside the galley that Alice has just opened.

Hank is an FBI agent. He is obsessed with a man who is a Dirty John figure--he charms women, gets all of their assets in his name then disappears. The last woman who fell for his schemes is Hank's sister. The man escaped all charges after her death but Hank is determined to bring him to justice. He surveils him in his spare time even though he has been warned at work to stop and that unapproved surveillance could cost him his job.

Everything is brought to a head and the disparate threads merge when Alice opens the galley one morning to find it completely stripped of everything; pictures, desks, telephones, office supplies. The only thing left is a body and it's the body of the man who is Alice's galley contact. The police question her and her answers don't satisfy them. It becomes apparent that Alice is the chief suspect and there are questions that the police aren't even investigating. Can Alice solve the murder?

This is Alafair Burke's first stand alone novel. It is fascinating to watch the plot unfold and the various threads weave together into a story that makes sense. There are hints of relationships that will continue after the case and it is always interesting to think about what happens to people swept up in a police investigation afterwards. Alice is the archetype of a young woman trying to make it on her own in New York although she has a family that can rescue her when needed. This book is recommended for mystery fans.

This treat of a mystery displays Burke's signature wit and taut pacing and provides readers with another unforgettable experience.