Pap $14.95
for adults
392 pgs.
Rating: 4
First line: His body was bent over, his head submerged in the confines of the basin, his knees buckled, trousers pulled down.
Setting: London, Amsterdam, and New York
OSS: Marshall Zeigler, who has always avoided his family's interest and business in the art world, finds himself pulled into it when his father is brutally murdered.
The entire story revolves around letters that Rembrandt's mistress, Geertje Dircx (oh, how I wish I knew how that was pronounced) wrote while she was incarcerated in a prison/asylum. She tells of the Rembrandt, and of Rembrandt's students who, under Rembrandt's tutelage and instructions, painted portraits in his style and passed them off as the great master's. The letters have been secretly held by Marshall's father, Owen, and could change the whole world of Renaissance art.
Four murders take place surrounding these letters, and Marshall has to piece it all together. Woven into the fabric of the story are the letters that Geertze Dircx wrote. She had been treated horribly by Rembrandt, and had secrets to tell, of Rembrandt's cruelty, of an illegitimate son, also a painter, and of the art scams pulled off by Rembrandt. And, apparently, some of this is based on actual hints and facts that have been passed down through the years!
There are many characters, and we must decide who to trust, who is telling the truth, who has secrets of their own to hide. I figured out the culprit about 2/3 of the way through the book, but the surprise twist at the end surprised me, and keeps me wondering still. The book kept my attention and made me think. I liked it.
