The Devil's Portrait

A John Cooper Novel

At a small art gallery in Los Angeles, the recently acquired portrait of a scarred young woman draws attention more for its' foul odour than artistic accolades. Detectives from the Art Theft Detail immediately recognize the smell as human decomposition and the signature on the painting has many art lovers shocked. Could this grisly piece of art really be the work of former child prodigy, Alexander Dimitroff? Detective Horne of the ATD asks her old friend, Homicide Detective John Cooper to investigate. Without a partner and currently chained to a desk, Cooper readily jumps on board and agrees to take a look. He first runs the likeness through the missing persons database and surprisingly pulls up a hit right away. Another portrait shows up, this woman and her disfigurements similar to the first, and she too, proves to be a missing person. With an unseen timer ticking down on a potential third victim, Cooper needs to get his partner back and put a stop to these macabre killings before another woman finds her way onto a collector's wall.