Thursday, September 22, 2011

Stealing Mona Lisa

    
     I love reading a great book. It makes my day (or days, depending on how long it takes me). I just finished a great adult historical book called Stealing Mona Lisa by Carson Morton. If you like heist novels- you'll like this one. Here's the blurb from Goodreads:
    
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 riche—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.
    
     This book had great characters, a wonderful setting, I love historical, I loved learning about the art, it was fast-paced, and the end surprised me. I really like the fact that it's based on actual events, even though the author obviously took liberties. Still, love that.
     My only complaint- the blurb is a little misleading. It doesn't happen exactly the way blurb says, which annoys me, but isn't a deal breaker obviously. Another thing I love, which is kind of silly- short chapters! I LOVE short chapters. Honestly, it keeps me reading longer. It'll be late at night and I'll skim through to see how long the next chapter is and if it's long, I won't read. But if it's short... well, I probably end up reading more short chapters than if I'd read just the one long chapter. Seriously. Just a note to all you other writers out there. Long chapters- BOOO!

7 comments:

  1. That books sounds good. I like short chapters too :)

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  2. This sounds great! I love stuff like this. I think I need to put it on my next order list from Amazon!

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  3. Can't wait for the movie. Just kidding ;)

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  4. Thanks for the review. It's always fun to hear about something new, and I love historical fiction.

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  5. There is a documentary that will be released with the true story about the man who stole the Mona Lisa and the exacting research that was done to correct all of the conflicting stories about the greatest little known art crime in history and the intriguing Vincenzo Peruggia, the man who made the Mona Lisa famous! Check out www.monalisamissing.com.

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