December Book Review

                                               

Deadly Provenance
By: Lynne Kennedy

After interviewing Lynne Kennedy and learning more about her book ‘Deadly Provenance’, I decided I really wanted to read it. A mystery, a Van Gogh, and history... just the thing to read in the dreary days of early December.

A quick click at Amazon and the book was downloaded into my E-Reader.

I was not disappointed. From the first page I had trouble putting it down. Every free moment of my busy weeks I would pick up the reader and dive back into the story. Each time getting sucked deeper into the search for the missing Van Gogh, the history of the massive and systematic confiscation of art by the Nazis, and the (private and professional) challenges of the main character; a spunky redheaded professor of digital photography and forensics. Of course I adored her dog, Rosie, too, modeled after the writer’s own yellow labrador.

The historical segments blend seamlessly into the fiction. The writer’s passion for history is very clear in the details she puts in without cluttering up the story.

Her descriptions of Paris made me feel like I was there on the terrace having a coffee and watching Parisian life go by in all its chaotic glory. Her use of occasional French in the story seemed completely appropriate. I know there are people who have trouble with authors who do that, but even if you don’t know the language, you can extrapolate the meaning from the story.

I found the main characters very warm and human, and the thrill of the chase like those you would find in any satisfying detective story.

I look forward to more by this author! Do keep an eye on her blog where she chronicles her ongoing search for that missing Van Gogh painting. It would be wonderful if it was found again.