The book features Nancy Tingley, an independent scholar known for her exhibitions on ancient Vietnamese art, and Nutandhar Sharma, a cultural historian with a background in South Asian studies. Tingley’s work has been showcased at prestigious venues like Asia Society and the Crocker Art Museum, while Sharma contributes as a freelance writer and publisher. Their diverse expertise offers a rich exploration of cultural and historical themes, highlighting significant artistic traditions and scholarly insights.
Set against the backdrop of Ubud, Jenna Murphy, a young curator-turned-private investigator, embarks on a journey to study early twentieth-century Balinese painting. However, her plans take a dark turn when she stumbles upon the murder of expat artist Flip Hendricks. As she navigates the complexities of art and crime, Jenna must unravel the mystery surrounding his death while exploring the rich cultural landscape of Indonesia.
When the alluring, eleventh-century Cambodian stone head of Radha, consort to Krishna, shows up at the Searles Museum, young curator Jenna Murphy doesn't suspect that it will lead her to a murder. Asian art is her bailiwick, not criminal investigation, and her immediate concern is simply figuring out whether the head is one famously stolen from its body, or a fake. When a second decapitation happens--this time of an art collector, not a statue--Jenna finds herself drawn into a different kind of mystery, and the stakes are life or death. It turns out that the same talents for research and for unraveling puzzles--the bread and butter of an art historian--have perfectly equipped her to solve crimes. She's certain the sculpture provides clues to help her solve the case, which takes her to Thailand and Cambodia. But the collectors, dealers, and con artists of the Bangkok art world only compound her questions. A Head in Cambodia is the fiction debut of noted Asian art expert Nancy Tingley. Readers will delight in the rarified world of collecting, as well as getting to know Jenna, an intrepid and shrewd observer who will easily find her place among V.I. Warshawski, Kinsey Milhone, and other great female sleuths.
