Elkins hits it out of the park again with this engrossing book! Intelligent plotting and character development excel in this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

Oh boy, does life start at 40 indeed!
Valentino is a currently-not-so-happy art curator for the NY Metropolitan, off to Italy to organize an upcoming exhibition. Just before leaving he's asked to negotiate two recently recovered sketches by Renoir, now on hold in Milan. Longing for purpose and adventure he jumps at the opportunity. And what a ride it turns out to be!

Being an Art Buff myself, this book grabbed me from the start and I finished it in one sitting.
The writing is exquisite. Mr. Elkins sure has a way with words. I loved the quirky dialogue, all those artfully wicked characters had me laugh out loud several times. Indepth descriptions of people and places. I was right there enjoying the sights and sounds of Milan.
As the story progresses the pace picks up, on a mission to get the sketches back to their rightful owner.
'A Long Time Coming' is an exciting murder-mystery covering art, auction, a heist and Nutella brioches...
Very entertaining and highly recommended.

5 stars

Valentino “Val” Caruso is a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He is feeling rather sorry for himself, for he believes he has hit the trifecta of bad luck: the end of his marriage, a promotion denied and he just turned forty.

An organization called IRSA which recovers stolen art works that were “disappeared” during WWII calls Val and asks him if he’d like an exciting mission. Since he is off to Italy anyway, he says sure. Solomon Bezzecca is looking for his great-grandfather’s stolen Renoirs. They were looted by the Italian Fascist militia during the war.

The now owner of the painting happens to be an old friend of Val’s named Ulisse Agnello, and who is basically a good guy. Hopefully, it won’t be too much trouble to get him to agree to a loan of one of the paintings for the balance of Sol’s life. He is eighty-nine after all. When he gets to Italy, Val immediately calls his old friend. He has no problem loaning – or maybe even giving – the painting to the elderly man. However, there is a problem. It seems that Ulisse had to borrow money from a local wealthy man to pay for the lawsuits regarding the paintings. He had to put the paintings up as collateral.

When Val and art restorer Dante are attacked and the paintings stolen, it throws another wrench into the works. They are both transported to the hospital and treated. Val goes to the police station for an appointment with an old acquaintance, Lieutenant Luca Fontanella. Luca throws a wrench into the works when he asks Val is Ulisse could have had something to do with the theft and assault. At first, Val disputes this, but the more he thinks about it…could it be possible?

I really liked Val’s asides about the character and demeanor of the people he meets. It was a refreshing and smart-alecky way of describing people. I found it both humorous and in good fun.

I’ve read many of Aaron Elkins’ novels, and this one is as well written and plotted as the other ones I’ve read. Poor Val is going through a life crisis when he receives word of an elderly man to whom he can restore the past. He will do this by obtaining the looted art that was stolen during WWII. The tension in our story begins here and it is very subtle at first. It gradually builds as Val meets Sol and vows do to all he can to get the art work back. Sol’s story is very hard to hear and Val’s heart goes out to him. Mr. Elkins’ characterizations are absolutely wonderful. He made the people in the book colorful. The reader gets a full picture on the person and almost as if you met them in real life. I was very interested in Mr. Elkins’ descriptions of the art world and how art auctions work. It was fascinating. This is a great novel, and I was so happy to be put on to Mr. Elkins’ work once more. I had relegated him almost to the back of my mind. I’d like to see more of Val Caruso and immediately went to Amazon to look for other novels about Val.

I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book to read, enjoy and review.

We are big fans of Elkins' Gideon Oliver series, which has remained a strong and entertaining series for its entire length. This series, though, features art curator Val Caruso. He's not a bad character, just sort of bland, and with a specialty that doesn't necessarily lend itself to ripping or novel plots. That's would you get here. The book is workmanlike and better than no Elkins at all, but still a step below the Oliver series.