taxonick reviewed The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro
Review of 'The Art Forger' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Very much a book of two halves. I found the first half absorbing, and kept reading "just one more chapter". The detail on the painting practices and on Boston locations is lovely. I was in Boston when I read this; I bought it on the recommendation of a Boston bookseller - Trident in Back Bay - who also recommended that I visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum that is key to the story, and recognising locations added to my enjoyment.
The second half was disappointing - overly dramatic, and the contrivance that solves the mystery feels too rushed. It's also irritating that the thread about the juvenile offenders just petered out - while it had presumably served its purpose in promoting our protagonist to consider a particular attribute of brushwork, it had potential to say more about "right intent, wrong choices" that is a theme elsewhere in the book.
To …
Very much a book of two halves. I found the first half absorbing, and kept reading "just one more chapter". The detail on the painting practices and on Boston locations is lovely. I was in Boston when I read this; I bought it on the recommendation of a Boston bookseller - Trident in Back Bay - who also recommended that I visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum that is key to the story, and recognising locations added to my enjoyment.
The second half was disappointing - overly dramatic, and the contrivance that solves the mystery feels too rushed. It's also irritating that the thread about the juvenile offenders just petered out - while it had presumably served its purpose in promoting our protagonist to consider a particular attribute of brushwork, it had potential to say more about "right intent, wrong choices" that is a theme elsewhere in the book.
To give 4 would be over-generous, but the 3 I've given is too mean for the lovely first half. 3.5* is fair.