The Biltmore's Mona Lisa: A Heist Novel

by Daniel Smith

Overview

In 1941, France's national treasure, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting is moved to the Biltmore House near Asheville, North Carolina, for safekeeping.
German General Hermann Goring hears about this move and sends a special Luftwaffe detachment to America by U-boat.
Their mission is to break out a German art expert from an American POW camp and continue to Asheville to steal the Mona Lisa, leaving a masterful forgery in its place.
Unbeknownst to the Nazis, a second scoundrel has a similar plan in place. However, while his wealth may provide him with the resources to succeed; his greed may be his undoing.
Will this villainy succeed? Only a disabled Army Air Corps captain and a French art curator from the Louvre stand in their way...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798331451585
Publisher:	Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date:	07/08/2024
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

Author and military historian Daniel Smith, Sr. is retired from twenty-six years in the U.S. Navy. He retired as a Command Senior Chief.

After retiring from the Navy, he joined the all-volunteer Tennessee State Guard as a Captain (Infantry). He retired from the State Guard after seven years as a Lieutenant Colonel.

He has an undergraduate degree from Covenant College and performed post-graduate work in World History at California State University.

After retirement from the Navy, he spent 23 years as an IT manager at the Tennessee Valley Authority and another 10 years as a consulting Senior Project Manager at Olav & Co.

He was an associate editor of the automobile magazine Vette Vues in the mid-1970s.
From 1997 to 1999, Smith was executive director of the National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

He has published four military history reference books, many classic car magazine articles, and short story fiction pieces. His military history books include three on U.S. Navy memorabilia and one book titled “The Medal of Honor and the Battles for Chattanooga.” His latest work is “The Biltmore’s Mona Lisa: A Heist Novel.”

His specialty is the history of the military Medal of Honor and the history of World War II.

Aside from reading, his favorite pastime is showing and judging classic automobiles.

He and his wife, Betty Thomas Smith, have two grown children and reside in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Editorial Reviews

"...refreshingly wild account of an international heist."

kirkusreviews.com - Kirkus Reviews

"Dan Smith's fast-paced, spellbinding debut succeeds as both a WWII thriller and a heist caper. The intricate plot is woven with the assurance of the genre masters yet captivates with its originality. Packed with immersive period detail, Smith's writing crackles with historical authority and stylistic flair."

keithedwardvaughn.com - Keith Vaughan

"Ready yourself for a roller coaster ride through the art world and WWII history."

Poyer.com - David Poyer