A thoroughly enjoyable romp through the world of art - buying, selling, and (spoiler alert] making unofficial donations to the greatest galleries in the world. Loved the main character, who may have been Percival (retired company bigwig who takes up painting for a hobby), and may have been Lucinda (ex-Broadway actress now working as Percival's "house manager)... or even Red (industrial espionage expert, who finds himself working in a very different world indeed). Either way, all were well-rounded and very well developed.

My one qualm was the speed with which Percival went from an enthusiastic amateur to someone whose work could... okay, no more spoilers. Let's just say there's not many chess grand masters who have only just picked up their first pawn. Maybe more time elapses than the author lets on... or maybe it doesn't matter, because the idea of a total beginner achieving all he achieves is itself a great idea.

I received my copy of "Stealing the Scream" through Netgalley. Thanks to Run Amok Books for making it available

The story is okay, and I appreciate the opportunity to read this book. I would enjoy this more if only I didn't struggle in reading the book.

*Full review will be posted on my blog, Alys in Bookland*

Stealing the Scream by Theodore Carter blends fact and fiction in this thrilling tale of the infamous art heist; the moment the Scream by Edvard Munch was stolen. And how it mysteriously appeared once again.
Have you ever wondered what happened, the night the Scream was stolen? Or the motivations behind our thieves? What about the reason for it returning? Well, clearly Theodore Carter has wondered. His novel fills in all of the blanks with his own theorized version of events – purely speculative, of course. But still, quite a lot of fun to read.
If you’re looking for a novel that blends art history and mystery into one dramatic tale, then be sure to check out Stealing the Scream.

“That would be something. Passers-by standing pensively in front of it contemplating his genius.”

Stealing the Scream was as fact-filled as it was whimsical. Theodore Carter merged the real-life facts of the crime and the history of the painting itself in with a whole new tale of a single man and his quest for inspiration.
Percival Davenport was a successful CEO, despite hating having to put up with people all day every day. So his sudden decision to retire was probably a bit of a shock. I imagine he thought retirement would magically make his world better – and his floundering post-retirement certainly indicates this much.
His character progression was fascinating to follow. From a stable, if irritated, CEO to a man completely lost in his obsession and quest for a spark in his life. That’s what ultimately lead him to the Scream and thus brought him into the big picture of this tale.
I was surprised by the character study done in this novel. I thought the biggest study in this novel would be that of the Scream, or at least focusing on the theft around it. But that wasn’t quite the case. Carter spent a lot of time building up to the infamous heist, taking his time to establish the setting and characters before we even hit that climactic moment.
It was an interesting choice, but it certainly livened up a tale that otherwise would have been missing so many details (we never did find out the whole story of the true heist, after all). This fleshed-out version of events may be highly dramatized, but it’s all in good fun. And since theorizing is about all we can do at this point, there’s no harm in it.
Stealing the Scream is perfect for any fan of art heists, mysteries, or a blend of the two. It’s full of enough real facts to add weight to the tale, yet whimsical and theoretical enough to avoid any true risk of becoming dull or dry. And of course, it’s utterly unique in the way it told its disturbing tale.

Percival Davenport was a successful CEO, but when he decides to retire, he soon realises how much of a struggle life can be when you don’t have anything to do with your time. Percival, who once did a minor art degree, finds his escape through art and painting.

This escape through art leads him to an unhealthy obsession, particularly with Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. But will Percival’s obsession lead to his own self-destruction?

If you know me, or frequently read my blog, then you will know that I have a huge love of art, and anything art related. So when Stealing The Scream became available to request on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to give it a read.

Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” has been the target of multiple theft attempts in the past, and on more than one occasion, these attempts have actually been successful. Theodore Carter’s novel, Stealing The Scream, is based on the events of the 2004 theft, where masked gunmen entered the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, and stole 2 of the most valuable paintings in the museum: The Scream and Madonna. Little is known about the theft, and what happened to the paintings in the 2 years between them being taken and their recovery, but Carter’s novel gives an exciting fictional account of that time.

Stealing The Scream is packed full with historical accuracy, and it is obvious that the author did a lot of research on the not only the real life incident, but the painting itself, and many other works of art and galleries too. As an art enthusiast, I would have to say that this was probably one of my favourite things about the book.

All of the characters were very well developed, even the less important characters of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing their personalities develop, and in some cases completely spiral and change, as the story progressed. I felt that this added more intensity and excitement to the story. Percival’s progression in particular was excellently written. It was both intriguing and heartbreaking to read, and Carter deserves a round of applause.

Stealing The Scream was a joy to read, and I struggled to put this book down, especially those last few intense chapters. It definitely lived up to my expectations.

Thank you to NetGalley and Run Amok Books for my copy, in exchange for an honest review.

I give Stealing The Scream a 4.5/5 rating!

A strange but intriguing book.

Percival Daveport was a successful CEO. However he struggle to fill his time when he took retirement. So what do you when you retire? You paint. Percival years ago did a minor art degree and began a fascination with the art.

Looking at his art, Percival wondered what if he could get his work into the big galleries. Calling on a thief called Red to help him do the job. Just how is Percival planning to get his painting into these popular, famous art galleries across the world.? Bored and rich Percival wanted to do the impossible!

As time goes on Percival develops an obsession with Munch's scream painting, so much that it brings him a lot of bad luck and craziness. Does Percival lose everything? Or does he get away with his well-planned plan?

His assistant Lucinda sticks with him through thick and thin, will she stay with him when she finds out all?

At first I thought what has this plot got to do with art and the Scream painting in Norway. I thought it was more of a detective/ mystery / thriller type novel. However as I read on I realised that the author was just setting up the scene and developing the characters. The more I read on, the more I understood.

The book took me by surprise as I certainly was not expecting the last part of the book!

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

In 2004, masked thieves stole Edvard Munch's “The Scream” from an Oslo museum. Norwegian police recovered the painting two years later but never explained how or where they had found it.

An okay mystery but struggled to keep my attention, ended up skimming the last few chapters.

2.75☆

When I first requested this book I thought it was a factual based book on Munch's painting "The Scream" and in reality it is a fiction based version but none the less it is a good read. Percival Davenport who becomes the former CEO of Diacom. The main character is someone who has always been one who is driven to accomplish task and who has had a daily full schedule who also happens to be well off to the point of having a live in assistant and a full time chef. Percival newly retired needs someway to occupy his times and the fact he received a minor art degree he decides to attempt to be a successful painter. This story weaves his progress of becoming a successful painter and his daily interactions with his assistant Lucinda. Eventually along the way without giving away to much of the story Percival finds some interesting ways to get his paintings shown. He also develops an obsession with the painting "The Scream".

I was concerned as I got close to the end of this book that I was going to be left hanging with unanswered questions but the author does a good job answering them. This book has a nice follow from start to finish and I would recommend this book even if you really do not have an interest in art.

This was a pretty fun book, I love what if books or when an author imagines a unsolved mysteries solution. Overall I really enjoyed reading this one, it was fun and clever.

Thanks so much to #netgalley and #runamokbooks for letting me read and review #stealingthescream by @theodorecarter2. This book kept me reading long past my bedtime and I couldn’t wait to finish to see what happened. About a grumpy old retired CEO that is beyond bored in his retirement and takes up painting as a hobby. Being that he has to excel at everything he does, painting is his new 9:00 to 5:00 job. He then gets a brilliant but kind of twisted idea to take his painting hobby to a new and dangerous level. I highly recommend this book! It was funny as well as thrilling!

Stealing The Scream has a good storyline and interesting characters. If they would fix the errors in this book before publishing then it would be a great book.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book, in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available on September 15th.

This book had a fascinating premise. The Scream has actually been stolen not once, but twice. True story! Having an entirely fictitious narrative woven around the little that we know about the 2004 theft is an awesome idea.

Let me first talk about the positive aspects of this book. Percival Davenport was a fascinating character. Having retired, he goes through a period of time where he’s really sort of lost. He doesn’t know what to do with his time. Eventually, he starts painting and discovers that, not only does he enjoy it immensely, he’s really talented. His hobby soon becomes an unhealthy obsession, however, which is what made this character so interesting. Reading about his shift into the shell of a person he becomes was both riveting and heartbreaking.

There were a few supporting characters as well: Lucinda, the house-keeper; Leonard, the security guard with an eye for art; and Red, the thief that eventually slips into the narrative. While they all added to the story, the only other character that really stood out to me was Leonard. He was very kind and honest, and just stumbled into something he never would have expected.

Now, let me move on to the negative aspects of this book. The grammar and spelling are atrocious. I kept being pulled from the narrative because a glaring error would pop up and distract me. I’m not sure whether I should be quoting any of these errors in an ARC review: suffice to say, they were both obvious and numerous enough to pretty much ruin this book for me. I dearly hope they will be fixed by publication time. It looked like it hadn’t been touched by either editor or spellcheck.

If the book is polished and the many mistakes are dealt with, then this is a solid read. Otherwise, I suggest reading the history of the theft online.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoyed "The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared‎" you will love this. I know I did!

The characters were well developed and it was interesting to see more of their personalities revealed as their situations became more unusual. Despite the absurd twists and turns in the plot, the author made me feel like they were perfectly normal events. This added to the humorous nature of the story.

It's difficult to write much more without spoiling the plot. Unfortunately you'll just have to take my word for it: This is a great book and you must read it.