The Lost Van Gogh
A Novel
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER!
"Ingeniously plotted, irresistibly readable, brimming with inside information about the high-stakes art world of theft, forgery, and murder...Also included are brilliantly rendered drawings by the author, who is as accomplished an artist as he is a writer of suspense thrillers." —Joyce Carol Oates
From the author of the much-praised The Last Mona Lisa comes another thrilling story of masterpieces, masterminds, and mystery.
For years, there have been whispers that, before his death, Van Gogh completed a final self-portrait. Curators and art historians have savored this rumor, hoping it could illuminate some of the troubled artist’s many secrets, but even they have to concede that the missing painting is likely lost forever.
But when Luke Perrone, artist and great-grandson of the man who stole the Mona Lisa, and Alexis Verde, daughter of a notorious art thief, discover what may be the missing portrait, they are drawn into a most epic art puzzles. When only days later the painting disappears again, they are reunited with INTERPOL agent John Washington Smith in a dangerous and deadly search that will not only expose secrets of the artist’s last days but draws them into one of history’s darkest eras.
Beneath the paint and canvas, beneath the beauty and the legend, the artwork has become linked with something evil, something that continues to flourish on the dark web and on the shadiest corridors of the underground art world.
Alternating between Luke Perrone’s perilous hunt for the painting, and a history of stolen art and stolen lives, The Lost Van Gogh is an intricately layered historical thriller perfect for fans of The Last Mona Lisa and The Night Portrait.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Santlofer's scattershot sequel to 2021's The Last Mona Lisa, artist Luke Perrone and his girlfriend, Alexis Verde, discover what may be a missing self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh hidden beneath a mundane painting Alexis bought at a New York City estate sale. The couple arranges to have the piece appraised, but Alexis is attacked and robbed on her way to meet the auditor. She and Luke reconnect with retired INTERPOL officer John Washington Smith to track the painting down. Santlofer alternates between Luke's first-person narration and third-person sections from the perspectives of other characters, including Alexis and Smith, each of whom harbors secrets that complicate matters. Interspersed throughout are flashbacks to WWII-era France, when Resistance fighters attempted to smuggle valuable works of art out of occupied Paris. The relationship between Luke, who's the great-grandson of a man who stole the Mona Lisa, and Alexis, daughter of a famous art thief, is rich and fascinating—the novel soars when they're at the center. Unfortunately, the proceedings are too often bogged down by a surplus of subplots, secondary characters, and implausible contrivances. Art lovers and history buffs may find things to admire here, but it's a mostly muddled affair.
