The Mystery of the Invisible Hand: A Henry Spearman Mystery

by Marshall Jevons

Overview

Economics professor and amateur detective Henry Spearman tackles a mystery where the price of art is murder

In The Mystery of the Invisible Hand, Henry Spearman, an economics professor with a knack for solving crimes, is pulled into a case that mixes campus intrigue, stolen art, and murder. Arriving at San Antonio's Monte Vista University to teach a course on art and economics, he is confronted with a puzzling art theft and the suspicious suicide of the school's artist-in-residence. From Texas to New York, Spearman traces the connections between economics and the art world, finding his clues in monopolies, auction theory, and Adam Smith. How is a company's capital like an art museum's collection? What does the market say about art's authenticity versus its availability? What is the mysterious "death effect"--and does it lie at the heart of the case? Spearman must rely on his savviest economic thinking to answer these questions--and pin down a killer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691259352
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	05/14/2024
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Marshall Jevons is the pen name of Kenneth G. Elzinga, the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia. Elzinga, along with William Breit (1933-2011), has written three other Henry Spearman mysteries, The Fatal Equilibrium, Murder at the Margin (Princeton), and A Deadly Indifference (Princeton).

Table of Contents

Flash-Forward
1Spearman Meets the King 1
2A Nobel Invitation 5
3No Coase for Concern 11
4Investigation of a Theft 19
5Visiting Professor 29
6West to Texas 37
7An All-Nighter 43
8The Artist Has a Visitor 47
9The Scene of the Crime 57
10Spearman Gets the News 73
11The Academical Village 97
12Dining Protocol in the Academy 107
13A Doctor's House Call 119
14A Conference of Detectives 133
15Art and Economics 141
16It All Began with Adam... 161
17Office Hours: In Three Acts 179
18The Hiring Squad 201
19
Surprise at Sotheby's 217
20Trip to the Travis 231
21Class Action 249
22An Artist's Eulogy 259
23Lost & Found 269
24An Arresting Development 277
25The Death Effect 281
26The Bell Curve 297
27
A Late Night Visit 309
28
Doing Good by Doing Well 317
Acknowledgments 341

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A cerebral delight, The Mystery of the Invisible Hand is an engrossing, original, and compelling whodunit in the tradition of Amanda Cross and Joanne Dobson."—Carolyn Hart, Agatha Award-winning author of Letter from Home

"Marshall Jevons is the pioneer for integrating economics and detective fiction, and The Mystery of the Invisible Hand is another fine effort in this genre."—Tyler Cowen, George Mason University

"While it's been said that economics is the 'dismal science,' there's nothing dismal in Marshall Jevons's latest novel, The Mystery of the Invisible Hand. An art theft and alleged suicide lead Nobel Prize-winning economist Henry Spearman on a puzzling quest that demonstrates his talents both as a sleuth and an economist. Very much recommended!"—Brendan DuBois, two-time Shamus Award winner and author of Fatal Harbor

"This is another terrific Marshall Jevons mystery! If you enjoy your economics served with a side of fun and a dash of suspense, you should definitely read this book."—John Siegfried, professor emeritus of economics, Vanderbilt University

"The more than capable pen of Marshall Jevons transforms the field of economics into something far beyond what has often been referred to as 'the dismal science.' The Mystery of the Invisible Hand is an entertaining and educational treat for crime fiction fans and students of economics alike."—Andy Straka, Shamus Award-winning author of The K Street Hunting Society

"A must for readers who love academic mysteries."—Frankie Y. Bailey, author of The Red Queen Dies

"The Mystery of the Invisible Hand offers interesting economic insights in an entertaining detective story."—Michael Klein, Tufts University and author of Something for Nothing

"Jevons is an accomplished writer who sprinkles his work with eclectic quotes and economic perception. This latest addition to the Henry Spearman murder series is well written and provides an engaging look at the art market. I enjoyed it."—Jonathan Wight, author of Saving Adam Smith

Editorial Reviews

"The way that Spearman uses economics as a lens through which to view the ambitions and rivalries of academics is absolutely riveting. Like Freakonomics, this proves that the much-dreaded 'econ' can provide useful entertainment."

Booklist

"It's hard to imagine how a short, balding Nobel Prize winner from Harvard could use economic theories to help solve mysteries, but Jevons manages it, with a sense of humor and a whole lot of economics."

HowMysterious.com

★ 07/21/2014
Jevons (the pen name of economics professor Kenneth G. Elzinga) combines entertaining economic lessons with a crafty whodunit in his excellent fourth Henry Spearman mystery (after 1995’s A Deadly Indifference). Harvard economics professor Spearman, who’s riding high after winning the Nobel Prize, accepts an invitation to serve as a visiting professor at Monte Vista University in San Antonio, Tex., where a few weeks earlier, the city was stunned by a baffling art theft. Five paintings by an acclaimed local artist Tristan Wheeler disappeared from the owner’s home under inexplicable circumstances. Soon after Spearman arrives in San Antonio, the suspicious suicide of a prominent individual appears to relate to the theft. Jevons delights in dropping counterintuitive economic insights into the story line (e.g., why someone afraid of staining his tie should buy more expensive neckwear). The solution, with a nod to a classic deduction of Sherlock Holmes, flows naturally from an economic explanation of human behavior. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"The twists and turns of the plot make for great fun as well as for an enjoyable way to learn economics. . . . The Mystery of the Invisible Hand reveals clearly that, while economics can only sometimes help to piece together clues to an unsolved murder, it is utterly indispensable for making sense of the world."—-Donald Boudreaux, Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

"[I]t's a very enjoyable romp—campus novel meets detective novel meets economics primer. . . . As a way to bring some basic economic concepts to life for students, this is an excellent series."

Enlightened Economist

"The way that Spearman uses economics as a lens through which to view the ambitions and rivalries of academics is absolutely riveting. Like Freakonomics, this proves that the much-dreaded 'econ' can provide useful entertainment."

Booklist

2014-08-26
Harvard professor Henry Spearman, returning from Stockholm with his Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, accepts a visiting appointment at San Antonio's Monte Vista University just in time to investigate his fourth murder. Nobody except the police believes that MVU artist-in-residence Tristan Wheeler hanged himself. No doubt he was saddened by the inexplicable recent death of his two parrots, Canvas and Frame. But why would he willingly end the torrent of sales, interview requests and speaking gigs unleashed by his championing of "free art"—widely available copies that are indistinguishable from their originals? If he'd wanted to get murdered, however, Wheeler couldn't have picked a better time. His name had already been in the news ever since someone stole five of his paintings from his neighbor Dr. Raul Ramos six weeks ago; his mysterious death sends the cost of his work skyrocketing; and Henry Spearman, who'd rather be teaching than sleuthing (A Deadly Indifference, 1995, etc.), is on hand to sort it all out. But not before the round-robin of obligatory academic social occasions gives him ample opportunity to dispense numberless aperçus on the dismal science and deliver several more extended lessons on Adam Smith and the virtues of the free market. The characters may be cutouts, but the whodunit is logical enough, even if it's something of an afterthought. The closing defense of unfettered capitalism would seem gratuitous if it weren't the whole point of the exercise. Instead of using his mystery as a peg for descriptions of the French countryside or medieval history or gourmet meals or second-chance romance, Jevons uses it for an exposition of elementary economics. The results are scarcely less entertaining and a good deal more educational.

Kirkus Reviews