On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art worth today over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there's more to this crime than meets the eye.
Claire makes her living reproducing famous works of art for a popular online retailer. Desperate to improve her situation, she lets herself be lured into a Faustian bargain with Aiden Markel, a powerful gallery owner. She agrees to forge a painting-one of the Degas masterpieces stolen from the Gardner Museum-in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But when the long-missing Degas painting-the one that had been hanging for one hundred years at the Gardner-is delivered to Claire's studio, she begins to suspect that it may itself be a forgery.
Claire's search for the truth about the painting's origins leads her into a labyrinth of deceit where secrets hidden since the late nineteenth century may be the only evidence that can now save her life. B. A. Shapiro's razor-sharp writing and rich plot twists make The Art Forger an absorbing literary thriller that treats us to three centuries of forgers, art thieves, and obsessive collectors. it's a dazzling novel about seeing-and not seeing-the secrets that lie beneath the canvas.
Industry Reviews
Boston Globe's Best Crime Books of 2012
2012 NetGalley Pick
Kobo's Best Fiction Ebooks of 2012
"The Art Forger is the real thing." --USAToday.com
"[A] nimble mystery."--The New York Times Book Review
"Gripping." --O, The Oprah Magazine
"[A] highly entertaining literary thriller about fine art and foolish choices." --Parade
"Precise and exciting . . . Readers seeking an engaging novel about artists and art scandals will find "The Art Forger" rewarding for its skillful balance of brisk plotting, significant emotional depth and a multi-layered narration rich with a sense of moral consequence." --The Washington Post
"If Bridget Jones's Diary and The Da Vinci Code had a love child, this would be it." --Elle (Reader's Panel Reviewer)
"[Shapiro] has such interesting things to say about authenticity--in both art and love--that her novel becomes not just emotionally involving but addictive." --Entertainment Weekly
"Ingeniously and skillfully plotted." --The Huffington Post
"Warning: Don't dig into this book if you have something to do . . . An addictive thriller." --Redbook
"An engaging tale about art, cupidity, and a Faustian bargain . . . Shapiro convincingly depicts the rarefied art world that lionizes a chosen few and ignores the talented, scrabbling outsiders on the fringe. Shapiro is adept, too, at showing the white-hot heat of an artist engaged in creating a painting. She knows art history, painting techniques, and how forgers have managed through the centuries to dupe buyers into paying for fakes . . . Inventive and entertaining." --The Boston Globe
"Smart, sexy . . . spellbinding." --Redbookmag.com
"An intelligent, cleverly plotted page-turner." --Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Engaging storytelling. Intelligent entertainment." --Kirkus Reviews Boston Globe's Best Crime Books of 20122012 NetGalley PickKobo's Best Fiction Ebooks of 2012
"The Art Forger"is the real thing. USAToday.com
[A] nimble mystery. " The New York Times Book Review"
"Gripping." O, The Oprah Magazine [A] highly entertaining literary thriller about fine art and foolish choices. Parade"Precise and exciting . . . Readers seeking an engaging novel about artists and art scandals will find "The Art Forger" rewarding for its skillful balance of brisk plotting, significant emotional depth and a multi-layered narration rich with a sense of moral consequence." The Washington Post"If Bridget Jones's Diary and The Da Vinci Code had a love child, this would be it." Elle (Reader's Panel Reviewer)
[Shapiro] has such interesting things to say about authenticity in both art and love that her novel becomes not just emotionally involving but addictive. Entertainment Weekly"Ingeniously and skillfully plotted." The Huffington Post Warning: Don t dig into this book if you have something to do . . . An addictive thriller. Redbook An engaging tale about art, cupidity, and a Faustian bargain . . . Shapiro convincingly depicts the rarefied art world that lionizes a chosen few and ignores the talented, scrabbling outsiders on the fringe. Shapiro is adept, too, at showing the white-hot heat of an artist engaged in creating a painting. She knows art history, painting techniques, and how forgers have managed through the centuries to dupe buyers into paying for fakes . . . Inventive and entertaining. The Boston Globe
Smart, sexy . . . spellbinding. Redbookmag.com
An intelligent, cleverly plotted page-turner. " Minneapolis Star Tribune"
Engaging storytelling. Intelligent entertainment. """ Kirkus Reviews"
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