Just put this one down. Actually I had to take it back to the library and I hadn't finished it, but I wasn't desperate to, so I didn't renew. I had read about two thirds of it - plus the ending!
It's a great fat read of a novel and could do with some of that fat trimming off as there's a lot of self indulgence there.
The book is about a painting stolen by the Nazis during the war. Various people are claiming it as theirs and although the artist is a mundane 18thC hack, this particular painting is of higher quality and there's a mystery surrounding it, particularly as Hitler desired it for his personal collection. When the protagonist, Ruth, and her sidekick Myles begin investigating the background, sinister things start to happen. There's a fascinating thriller behind the flab and if only an editor had got their hands on this and 'killed the darlings' it would have been a much better read. The novel does have strong page turning quality despite the waffle, but 450 pages should have seen it done rather than 700. There are some rather beautiful descriptions of the effect of light streaming through windows etc that are like paintings in themselves. 3 stars.
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The Apothecaries House
The Apothecaries House
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
-
diamondlil
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 2642
- Joined: August 2008
EC, did you mean for this post to be somewhere else?
My Blog - Reading Adventures
All things Historical Fiction - Historical Tapestry
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton
All things Historical Fiction - Historical Tapestry
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton
Oh nuts, yes. Sorry! I meant it be a new thread in the general section. It's got lots of historical elements including quotes from imaginary 18thC letters, but the setting is still modern day. I should have put a fresh thread starter.
Got woken early by son going out to work and couldn't get back to sleep so I was typing while only half compos mentis (sp?)
Got woken early by son going out to work and couldn't get back to sleep so I was typing while only half compos mentis (sp?)
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
-
Vanessa
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 4326
- Joined: August 2008
- Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
- Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
- Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
- Preferred HF: Any
- Location: North Yorkshire, UK
Oh dear, this one might be going to the back of the TBR pile!
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
I haven't read that one, EC, but i did enjpy another mystery with a similar theme- an old painting seems to be the connecting point in a series of murders, and when the trail is followed up, it leads to a Nazi connection. I thought it was quite well done.
"The Soldier in the Wheatfield", by Philip Hook.
"The Soldier in the Wheatfield", by Philip Hook.