The Art Forger: A Novel

by B.A. Shapiro Narrated by Xe Sands

Overview

Razor-sharp writing and rich plot twists make The Art Forger a rousing literary thriller spanning three centuries of forgers, art thieves, and obsessive collectors.

On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art today worth over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there's more to this crime than meets the eye.

Making a living reproducing famous artworks for a popular online retailer and desperate to improve her situation, Claire is lured into a Faustian bargain with Aiden Markel, a powerful gallery owner. She agrees to forge a painting-a Degas masterpiece stolen from the Gardner Museum-in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But when that very same long-missing Degas painting is delivered to Claire's studio, she begins to suspect that it may itself be a forgery.

Her desperate search for the truth leads Claire into a labyrinth of deceit where secrets hidden since the late nineteenth century may be the only evidence that can now save her life.

Editorial Reviews

DECEMBER 2012 - AudioFile

On the outs with the art community, Claire Roth is barely making it by painting famous artworks to be sold online as reproductions. When a renowned art dealer makes an appointment to see her work, Claire believes she may finally be getting a break, but instead she’s pulled into art forgery that involves the paintings taken in the infamous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist. This is a fabulously suspenseful story of a young woman who is in over her head. Narrator Xe Sands does a wonderful job imbuing Claire with emotion, underscoring for the listener just how overwhelming—indeed, terrifying—this situation is for someone who never anticipated being on the wrong side of the law. J.L.K. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2012 - AudioFile

On the outs with the art community, Claire Roth is barely making it by painting famous artworks to be sold online as reproductions. When a renowned art dealer makes an appointment to see her work, Claire believes she may finally be getting a break, but instead she’s pulled into art forgery that involves the paintings taken in the infamous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist. This is a fabulously suspenseful story of a young woman who is in over her head. Narrator Xe Sands does a wonderful job imbuing Claire with emotion, underscoring for the listener just how overwhelming—indeed, terrifying—this situation is for someone who never anticipated being on the wrong side of the law. J.L.K. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170128686
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	10/23/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos