Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Death in a Pale Hue | 2022 | Susan Van Kirk | Buy |
| 2 | Death in a Bygone Hue | 2023 | Susan Van Kirk | Buy |
| 3 | Death in a Ghostly Hue | 2024 | Susan Van Kirk | Buy |
Death in a Pale Hue (2022), Death in a Bygone Hue (2023), and Death in a Ghostly Hue (2024) form the Art Center Mystery trilogy, published in consecutive years as Van Kirk continued the productive pace she had established with the Endurance Mysteries. Each title’s color-inflected name connects to the visual art world Jill Madison inhabits, and the series draws on the specific social world of a community art institution: donors, artists, committee members, and the institutional politics of a place dependent on local goodwill.
The Anthony Award nomination for Death in a Ghostly Hue for Best Paranormal Mystery in 2025 suggests the series took a more overtly supernatural turn in its third entry while maintaining the cozy structure that defines Van Kirk’s approach.