Stealing Mona Lisa
A Mystery
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3.5 • 12 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2011 Fiction and a Library Journal Best Mystery of 2011
What happens when you mix a Parisian street orphan, a hot-tempered Spanish forger, a beautiful American pickpocket, an unloved wife, and one priceless painting?
The charming Eduardo de Valfierno makes a very respectable living in Argentina fleecing the nouveau rich—they pay him to steal valuable pieces of art, and Valfierno sells them flawless forgeries instead. But when Eduardo meets the beautiful Mrs. Hart on his latest con, he takes a risk that forces him back to the city he loved and left behind—Paris. There he assembles his team of con artists for their final and most ambitious theft, one that will enable them to leave the game forever: The Mona Lisa.
But when a member of the team turns up missing, and Mr. Hart shows up in Paris, Valfierno and his crew must stay one step ahead of a relentless police inspector, endure a devastating flood, and conquer their own doubts to keep the priceless painting in play—and survive.
Based on the actual theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911, and published on the 100th anniversary of the crime, Stealing Mona Lisa is a sophisticated, engaging caper, complete with a richly imagined group of con artists and a historical mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historical fans will welcome professional musician Morton's first novel, set in the early 20th century. Eduardo de Valfierno, the epitome of the suave criminal, has assembled a motley crew of thieves, grifters, and opportunists who sell priceless paintings to wealthy collectors. Though the greedy investors receive expert forgeries, Valfierno is adept at making them believe they possess actual masterpieces. The stakes rise when Valfierno and his colleagues joined by American pickpocket extraordinaire Julia Conway, disgruntled Louvre employee Vicenzo Perugia, and struggling artist Jos Diego Santiago de la Sant sima plot to steal the Mona Lisa, known as La Joconde in France. The audacious plan, however, is undone by human nature as love, lust, jealousy, greed, and murderous revenge come into play, along with excessive rains and the worst flooding in contemporary Paris history. Morton smoothly blends fact and fiction while evocatively exploring the era's seamy underbelly.
