Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr – 416 pages
ARC from Harper, Get Red PR and Netgalley for an honest review
Book Blurb:
After talking her way into a job with Dan Mansfield, the leading investigative reporter in Chicago, rising young journalist Jules Roth is given an unusual–and very secret–assignment. Dan needs her to locate a painting stolen by the Nazis more than 75 years earlier: legendary Expressionist artist Ernst Engel’s most famous work, Woman on Fire. World-renowned shoe designer Ellis Baum wants this portrait of a beautiful, mysterious woman for deeply personal reasons, and has enlisted Dan’s help to find it. But Jules doesn’t have much time; the famous designer is dying.
Meanwhile, in Europe, provocative and powerful Margaux de Laurent also searches for the painting. Heir to her art collector family’s millions, Margaux is a cunning gallerist who gets everything she wants. The only thing standing in her way is Jules. Yet the passionate and determined Jules has unexpected resources of her own, including Adam Baum, Ellis’s grandson. A recovering addict and brilliant artist in his own right, Adam was once in Margaux’s clutches. He knows how ruthless she is, and he’ll do anything to help Jules locate the painting before Margaux gets to it first.
My Review: 4.5 stars
Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr explores the high stakes world of art theft, the risks involved and the players that investigate it. This is Barr’s third novel and it’s fantastic to see her range of writing in various genres. This book offers a bit of everything: a contemporary storyline, some historical information, a dollop of romance and a whole lot of suspense. It’s a winning combination and will appeal to readers of all types.
Art is the common denominator in all of Barr’s books, and the subject never gets old. You’ll find a great cast of characters, young and old, bad and good, flawed and relatable. I loved getting to know Jules and her mother. Jules was fearless and knew exactly how to get what she wanted. Ellis Baum, whose art was stolen, was a wonderful man trying to put closure on what he’d seen during the Holocaust. His career as a shoe designer was also fun to read about.
The book’s plot falls into a good vs. evil trope as Julies and Adam are pitted against the manipulative Margaux. I was flipping the pages so quickly to see how they’d all end up. You’ll have to read it to learn the powerufl conclusion. I think this is Barr’s best book to date and left me googling for more information about high-end art theft, how it’s recovered and how it’s sold.
Book clubs will have a lot to chew on in their discussions especially because Nazi stolen art has been a hot topic lately.
Quotes I liked:
One important trick she’s learned is that silence moves the needle. When there is silence, people tend to talk -blab- to fill in the uncomfortable space.”
“Did you know what Mark Twain said about Baden-Baden? ‘After ten minutes you forget time, after twenty, you forget the world.'”
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