The Appraisal
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
In the vein of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels comes a smart thriller with literary chops. Art appraiser Helena Marsh explores shady deals and complicated history as she navigates post-WWII corruption in the art world.
“This peppy thriller from Porter bursts with banter and tantalizes the reader with half-revelations and game-changing twists.” — Kirkus Reviews
“[A]n intelligent and exhilarating thriller.” — Publishers Weekly
“A gripping thriller set against the rich post-war history of middle-Europe.” — Staunch Book Prize Committee
When wealthy octogenarian Geza Marton hires art expert Helena Marsh to buy back his family’s Titian painting, Helena flies to Budapest to close what she expects will be a reasonably simple sale. But nothing is ever simple in this beautiful, flawed city where corruption abounds. Helena discovers that there are multiple bidders for the painting, including some dangerous Slavs. Soon there are also dead bodies, and a complicated history that leads her to men Marton knew in Vorkuta, one of Stalin’s notorious gulags.
As she works to unravel the truth of the painting’s ownership and dodges her tail, the dogged ex-detective Attila Feher, Helena is forced to call on all her considerable skills to stay alive and out of jail. Smart, fast-paced, and wildly entertaining, The Appraisal is a terrific thriller set against Budapest’s corruption and lost promise.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Porter (Bookfair Murders) delivers an intelligent and exhilarating thriller following art expert Helena Marsh's mission to restore a Titian painting to its rightful owner, G za M rton. The story reaches back to 1945, when G za was taken prisoner but survived several years in a Soviet labor camp. In the present, G za, now a wealthy merchant living in Canada, hires Helena to help him buy the painting back from the mysterious J nos Krestin. Several other buyers are interested in bidding on the painting, which results in a few dead bodies along the way. The story is told in part from the point of view of Attila Feher, a former policeman working as a private investigator. He is hired to tail Helena and push her to leave the country, but his interest in the case shifts as he delves deeper into it. Much of the intrigue involves Hungary's complex history of occupation and oppression, as well as past deeds and identities that characters are hiding or trying to forget. Helena is a cunning chameleon, skilled in self-defense. Porter's stylish story vividly transports readers to Budapest and other European locales and keeps them hooked as her well-developed characters navigate corruption and deception.
