The Portrait of Molly Dean by Katherine Kovacic

Publisher's Synopsis

In 1999, art dealer Alex Clayton stumbles across a lost portrait of Molly Dean, an artist's muse brutally slain in Melbourne in 1930. Alex buys the painting and sets out to uncover more details, but finds there are strange inconsistencies: Molly's mother seemed unconcerned by her daughter's violent death, the main suspect was never brought to trial despite compelling evidence, and vital records are missing. Alex enlists the help of her close friend, art conservator John Porter, and together they sift through the clues and deceptions that swirl around the last days of Molly Dean.

My Review of The Portrait of Molly Dean by Katherine Kovacic

A mystery series set within the art world is hardly something I thought I’d find myself terribly interested in, but Katherine Kovacic has lured me in and captured my attention with The Portrait of Molly Dean. The fact that the story is based around a real-life murder from the 1930s added to the appeal of the book and it features a lively and forthright principle character in Alex Clayton.

Alex Clayton is an art dealer specialising in Australian artists and she makes a buck by spotting overlooked or undervalued works and selling them on. She’s good at what she does and goes the extra yard when it comes to researching a potential prospect. So when a portrait of a young woman comes up for auction she has a deep suspicion she knows who the subject was as well as the artist. To ensure she has the best chance of snapping it up, though, she tries to keep her interest low-key for fear of alerting her fellow dealers.

The painting is a portrait of Molly Dean, an aspiring writer who was murdered in 1930 and the investigation was never solved, although the circumstances around a trial and suspects were unusual. Alex was the successful bidder. However, soon after the auction she’s contacted by the auctioneer who tells her the under-bidder believes he wasn’t given a chance to outbid her and was prepared to offer her 3 times what she paid for the painting. Unusual. 

She refuses not least because the under-bidder registered with a fake name and address and because of the overly aggressive nature of the claims against her.

Upon taking possession of the painting she does some research into Molly Dean believing learning more about her could add value to the painting. But she becomes completely consumed by Molly’s story and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death. Adding fuel to her borderline obsession are a couple of attacks that can only be linked to her ownership of the artwork.

Something’s up and Alex, along with her friend and art conservator John Porter, are determined to find out what it is.

The story is told in two time frames, firstly in 1999 and Alex’s research before we regularly return to 1930 and Molly’s life in the weeks and days leading up to her death. The Bohemian lifestyle of the Melbourne art set is described in tremendous detail as we move into the circle of artist Colin Colahan. Through this we’re given insight into the aspirations of the young storyteller and the path that took her to her eventual death. It’s a poignant but tragic version of how Molly’s life may have ended.

The incongruity of abandoning plans to on-sell a painting for a quick profit notwithstanding, I really enjoyed The Portrait of Molly Dean. I thought the mystery itself was finely crafted, the breakdown of the art industry was fascinating and the rapport between Alex and John produced some very amusing moments. 

As well as enjoying a captivating mystery and a trip back to the 1930s, I feel as though I’ve learned a little bit more about the Australian art scene from the early half of the twentieth century. For that I’m very pleased I’ve discovered the Alex Clayton series.