The art world is stunned. In the space of a little over a week three Edvard Munch paintings, including the iconic ""Scream,"" have been stolen from museums in Oslo and Stockholm. Retired professor of art history Megan Crespi, on vacation in Scandinavia with her little Maltese dog Button and her old friend Lili Holm, is asked to help. In her capacity as Munch specialist, she visits three possible suspects, all major collectors of Munch, and soon finds her life is endangered. Being kidnapped had not been in her plans. Who is responsible? The fanatical ""Norseliga"" clan, with its emphasis on Norwegian superiority? The beautiful cosmetics queen, Myrtl Kildahl, who hides her German roots, or the Swedish collector who denies he is the grandson of writer August Strindberg? Pursuit of the truth takes Megan from Copenhagen and Oslo, to Bergen and Trondheim, and finally to Stockholm and the myth-laden island of Runmarö. Megan's dog adds an element that qualifies him as a detective second only to his mistress. Includes Readers Guide. * * * * Distinguished Professor of Art History Emerita at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, Alessandra Comini was awarded Austria's Grand Medal of Honor for her books on Viennese artists Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. Her ""Egon Schiele's Portraits"" was nominated for the National Book Award and her ""The Changing Image of Beethoven"" is used in classrooms around the country. Both books in new editions are now available from Sunstone Press. Comini's travels, recorded in her memoir, ""In Passionate Pursuit,"" extend from Europe to Antarctica and are reflected in her fourth mystery novel in the Megan Crespi Mystery Series, ""The Munch Murders."" It, and the first three in the series, ""Killing for Klimt,"" ""The Schiele Slaughters,"" and ""The Kokoschka Capers,"" were also published by Sunstone Press.