Alix London, estranged daughter of an
art forger, gets an art consultant job that projects her into the
Santa Fe art world where she finds romance, a chance to exercise her
connoisseur’s eye, and murder. Chris LeMay has a contract to
purchase a Georgia O'Keefe if it's genuine. When Alix sees the
painting she immediately knows it's a fake, her connoisseur's eye,
but proving is is another problem. The FBI is also investigating
forged paintings emanating form the Santa Fe art community. Agent,
Ted Ellesworth, poses as a collector to try to uncover who is
responsible for the forgeries. When he sees the painting, he's
convinced it's real and suspects Alix of ulterior motives in
identifying it as a fake. When the gallery owner, a friend of Chris,
is found dead, the trip turns deadly for Alix and Chris.
I enjoyed many things about this book.
The characters, particularly Alix and Chris, are appealing. The Santa
Fe art scene with gallery owners, artists and collectors is
fascinating. The con-game of selling fake artworks to the unwary is
well done. However, there were things I didn't like about the book.
The meshing of the romance between Alix and Ted with the mystery
seemed strained. He kept trying too hard to consider her guilty when
all the facts pointed in another direction. I also found the mystery
too easy to solve. The murderer is identifiable very early in the
book.
This book is a fun read. However, the
romance and mystery don't mesh well. If you're a fan of either, you
may be disappointed. It feels as if the two authors each wrote their
own specialty. I was very disappointed that the mystery was so easy
to solve. If you are a mystery reader who likes to try to beat the
detective to the solution of the crime, this book is not challenge.
I reviewed this book as part of the
Amazon Vine Program.
A Dangerous Talent by Charlotte and Aaron Elkins
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