The Lost Van Gogh
A Novel
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
When Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Monsieur Trabuc turns up unexpectedly at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—a $50 million painting shipped from Argentina via UPS, like an ordinary package—the case goes to Clay Ryder, the NYPD Major Case Squad detective assigned to art theft.
Ryder discovers that in Paris, late 1944, a Jewish widow accused a German SS officer of stealing the painting. The officer was reported to have died in a car crash at the war's end, and the whereabouts of the Trabuc between then and now remain a mystery. Ryder's search for the widow's heirs leads him to Rachel Meredith, who teaches at NYU. The museum presents the painting to her in a spectacular public ceremony that winds up on the front page of newspapers around the world.
Though the case is closed, Ryder can't seem to shake it. When Rachel Meredith is attacked, she calls on him; what might be a simple assault doesn't quite add up. And he still wonders who sent the van Gogh from Argentina. One of his most reliable contacts in the art world floats a theory that ties the van Gogh portrait to a black market auction in the 70's that might have involved a Swiss art dealer and an international crime kingpin with unlimited cash. Then Israel's Mossad pays Ryder a clandestine visit; the news splash about the van Gogh is the first link they've had to the SS officer in decades.
Meanwhile, art dealers, auction houses, and museums vie to buy the van Gogh from Rachel Meredith. When she refuses to sell, the situation goes from predatory to violent. Ryder has to race against time to outmaneuver a cunning mastermind who will resort to as many murders as it takes to get hold of the Trabuc.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This debut from husband-and-wife team Al and Jean Zerries contains the promise of an innovative, topical thriller, but descends into familiar turf. The action starts with a daring art burglary-turned-homicide at a Park Avenue apartment. The crime soon reaches the desk of NYPD detective Clay Ryder, art specialist for the Special Investigations Division, but his nascent inquiry is sidelined when the Metropolitan Museum of Art receives what purports to be a long-lost original Van Gogh. Ryder soon identifies NYU film professor Rachel Meredith as the painting's heir. Meredith, the granddaughter of the painting's former French owner, opts to reclaim the portrait, a decision that leads to numerous attempts on her life-which shadowy Mossad figures tell the detective are linked to a wanted Nazi war criminal. The concluding section's abductions, gunfights and rescues don't match the originality of the novel's premise, which offers hope for more consistent quality in future books.
Customer Reviews
Good story
Well plotted and written. I enjoyed it and will look for more by this author.