Joe Reese

Frame Change: a Nina Bannister Mystery Joe Reese

Nina Bannister loves to paint, and she sees nothing wrong with hanging her painting and those of her fellow painting classmates on the walls of Elementals, a small shop she runs in downtown Bay St. Lucy. But, when the shop?s owner, Margot Gavin, a former administrator at the Chicago Art Institute, arrives for a visit, she is appalled at the sight of all the beginner artwork, and demands that her friend remove the eyesores??that is, paintings??from the walls. Nina is hurt but her feelings are quickly forgotten when Margot invites Carol Walker, a creative young docent she had met at the Chicago school, to visit and present a holographic art show at Bay St. Lucy?s famous Auberge des Arts. The program proves so impressive, that both Margot and Nina are shocked to learn that its innovative creator has been recently summarily fired from the Institute. The young woman is miserable and confesses that she has no job prospects??and even worse, her father is in ill health and Carol, being an only child, is his only hope for saving their family farm. Margot and Nina take the young woman under their wing, but no sooner does she take up residence in Nina?s small house, that they all become embroiled in a mysterious and dangerous art smuggling ring. Can Nina save Carol and herself as well as a number of valuable paintings? Can Carol find employment and save the family farm? Just who is The Red Claw and what threat does he pose to the art world? These questions and more are all answered in FRAME CHANGE.