"The Genius" by Jesse Kellerman; Putnam ($24.95)

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Jesse Kellerman's niche in the mystery genre has become the anti-hero who, improbably and against all odds, not only is worth rooting for but also becomes downright sympathetic.

In the brilliant "The Genius," the hero is Ethan Muller, a self-described narcissist whose world revolves around his upscale Chelsea art gallery, avoiding contact with his wealthy mogul father and evading any meaningful relationship.

Art is his work, but his passion is not what's on the canvas but the price tag and the power it brings. Art dealers "are creators, too - only we create markets, and our medium is the artists themselves. ... A piece of art becomes a piece of art - and an artist becomes an artist - when I make you take out your checkbook."

But Ethan's views on art and the artists are turned upside down when he takes possession of hundreds of boxes of intense drawings by a recluse named Victor Cracke, who has disappeared from his seedy Queens apartment. For the first time, Ethan who has always lacked a "purity of purpose," sees art that "lived."

Victor's neighbors remember him, but each has a different recollection, and no one knows where he went or when. The art show is a success. Ethan claims the sales are more than about cash. It's "... not for the money so much as for the legitimacy; by convincing other people to literally invest in my vision of genius."

Interest in the art show is helped a bit by a rumor that Victor could be a killer. He may well have been. The next day, Ethan receives a call from a former cop who claims that the boys depicted in the most prominent drawings were killed more than 40 years before.

Retired cop Lee McGrath, who is dying, pulls Ethan into his decades-old case, turning the art dealer into an amateur detective. The two try to find Victor and learn his connection with a killer who preyed on boys decades ago.

Kellerman shows his strength at creating the unconventional character who is thrown into an equally unconventional plot. Kellerman gracefully explores Ethan's persona, permitting his character to change and grow but wisely not allowing the art dealer's maturation to become maudlin. Ethan is a jerk, no question about it, but one the reader will care about.

Ethan has more than a few father issues and finds an ironic substitute parent in Lee, who was so consumed by his job as a detective that he wasn't an attentive dad to his two daughters when they were children.

While a very modern story propels "Genius," Kellerman's view of Ethan's ancestors and their rise from poor Jewish immigrant in 1847 to wealthy entrepreneurs is richly - and ironically - detailed.

A peek behind the scenes of the art world and its egos adds texture to "Genius."

Kellerman is the son of crime writers Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, each of whom have separate, successful series, a fact that gets lower and lower in each review.

From his first novel, "Sunstroke" (2006), the younger Kellerman set his own path. Jesse Kellerman's three stand-alone novels have been different; the only template he has followed has been quality novels expertly executed.

"Genius" fits well into Kellerman's standards.