Butterfly in Flame, A: A Fred Taylor Art Mystery (A Butterfly in Flame)

Stillton Academy on the coast north of Boston is in trouble. The academy's days are numbered unless extraordinary help arrives. Worse, a Stillton instructor has purportedly disappeared with a female first-year student, daughter of the Academy's only significant donor. Two of the trustees travel to Boston where they ask wealthy, intensely secretive art collector Clayton Reed for the services of his employee, Fred Taylor. Fred goes undercover as a member of the faculty and soon discovers conflicting motives and designs among faculty and students, as well as a board of trustees whose interest in the long-term survival of the operation seems lazy, misguided or, perhaps, a good deal more sinister. Meanwhile, the motives of Taylor's employer remain obscure. What is it that whets his acute acquisitive instincts? He will only say, "Trust no one. Look at everything." In sleepy Stillton, a town suspiciously backward, un-exploited, and ripe for development, what hidden treasure is Clayton hoping for? And can Fred find it before the college goes up in flames?

Stillton Academy, a small art college on the New England coast north of Boston, is in financial trouble, and its days are numbered unless someone provides extraordinary help. The final straw may be the sudden disappearance of an instructor with a female student, daughter of the Academy’s only significant donor.

 

Fred Taylor, called in to trouble-shoot, goes undercover as a member of the faculty and shortly finds himself enmeshed in the conflicting motives and designs of faculty and students, as well as those of a board of trustees whose interest in the long-term survival of the operation seems lazy, misguided or – perhaps – a good deal more sinister.

 

Meanwhile, as the town of Stillton, Massachusetts, is visited by murder, the motives of Fred’s employer, the collector Clayton Reed, remain obscure. What is there in the town, or at the college, that whets his acute acquisitive instincts? He will not say, beyond his hermetic instructions, 'Trust no one. Look at everything.'

 

And everyone. Fred’s assignment takes him to the Life Room, where his students sometimes moonlight as life models. Are his temporary colleagues on the faculty eccentrics or just artists?

 

Clayton Reed collects art. That’s what he lives for. In sleepy Stillton, a town ripe for development, though suspiciously backward and un-exploited, what hidden treasure is Clayton hoping for? And can Fred find it before the college goes up in flames?

Stillton Academy, a small art college on the New England coast north of Boston, is in financial trouble, and its days are numbered unless someone provides extraordinary help. The final straw may be the sudden disappearance of an instructor with a female student, daughter of the Academy's only significant donor. Fred Taylor, called in to trouble-shoot, goes undercover as a member of the faculty and shortly finds himself enmeshed in the conflicting motives and designs of faculty and students, as well as those of a board of trustees whose interest in the long-term survival of the operation seems lazy, misguided or -- perhaps -- a good deal more sinister. Meanwhile, as the town of Stillton, Massachusetts, is visited by murder, the motives of Fred's employer, the collector Clayton Reed, remain obscure. What is there in the town, or at the college, that whets his acute acquisitive instincts? He will not say, beyond his hermetic instructions, "Trust no one. Look at everything." And everyone. Fred's assignment takes him to the Life Room, where his students sometimes moonlight as life models. Are his temporary colleagues on the faculty eccentrics or just artists? Clayton Reed collects art. That's what he lives for. In sleepy Stillton, a town ripe for development, though suspiciously backward and unexploited, what hidden treasure is Clayton hoping for? And can Fred find it before the college goes up in flames? He will take seventeen to the match - how many will he bring back? In Cibola football is a matter of life and death. Sir Tristram must reunite his Blood City teammates - Knights, Pirates and Westerners - to win the prestigious Seskie tournament against their oldest rivals. Behind the match is a bigger power play, a king's mission to bring down his greatest rival by persuasion, trickery or force. Needing a squad of soldiers as well as footballers, Sir Tristram must also find a place on tour and in his heart for the teenage child he has not addressed by name since infancy... Taylor Is Sent Undercover As A Member Of The Faculty At Stilton Academy Near Boston. An Instructor Has Purportedly Disappeared With A Female First-year Student, Daughter Of The Academy's Only Significant Donor. There Are Other Conflict Brewing-- Are They Misguided, Or Sinister?