The Mystery of the Invisible Hand — Marshall Jevons

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.