After reading this book I still feel I never got to know what really drove the main character, Becky Farwell, to do everything that she did. I know she was motivated to simply collect various artworks but I never fully understood what caused this grand obsession of hers that lead to everything else even as we started with her earlier childhood to her later years.

To me this book was okay. There just seemed to be nothing that really happened or any huge big moment. It was mostly her finding out creative ways to work the money and be able to afford her obsession with art and that was it.

Fictional retelling of Rita Crundwell embezzlement and fraud case in Dxon IL. Didn’t care for it. Ingrid was probably the only likeable character.

DNF. Not really connecting with the content or characters. The flow of the words also didn't work for me but that's just my opinion.

The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Tedrowe. Is about a girl good with numbers and art. And has Panda Express in the story.

Becky Farwell is a criminal I liked. After all, she had a tough upbringing with her mother dead and her father selling farm equipment to just break even if that. In another family or another life, Becky would go far; she would be able to afford college, she would rock a successful career, find meaningful relationships. In her small world of Pierson, Illinois, it seems like there are not many opportunities for which Becky can avail herself. She dutifully helps her dad, offering to take on more of the bookkeeping and business side of things, and then lands a job as a bookkeeper for the Town of Pierson. Becky is so competent that it isn't long before she is promoted. And it isn't long before Becky sees the loopholes in the accounting system and begins to borrow funds to purchase art, then sells the art and returns what she borrows. Even the sneakiest of embezzlers can't keep up with the repayments, as the allure of this secret life in the posh art world becomes more and more enticing.

I flew through The Talented Miss Farwell, crossing my fingers half the time and really hoping Becky would cut her losses and get out of her side career. I hoped that with each new acquaintance, she would find a trustworthy friend, I hoped she would live happily ever after. I was fascinated by the art sales world, and Becky's ability to navigate the relationships she needed to build her collection. I love a like-able character that I want to root for, and I think I may have been conned as much as any other character in this clever novel with a classic feel. It is a page-turner! Set aside your weekend and dig in!

I could not get into the character or like her. I wanted to figure out what made her create her alter ego and the art "dealer", but that was never expored. The plot was very plodding and I felt like I forced myself to finish this book.

This was a difficult read for me. Miss Farwell is a captivating character that fools a great deal of people. I had a difficult time following the plot and harder time getting through the book.

Thank you Harper/Collins and NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is wonderful. Becky grows up in Illinois along the Rock River in a small town. She is smart, maybe too smart. She gets a job working at Town Hall and begins her Activity. Which is basically skimming and buying art. Selling art, repaying the city. Skimming, buying, selling, repaying. Until she can’t. This is also a story that reminds us, our decisions affect others.

This book grabbed me at the start, with a story of a small town girl facing hardships, trying to overcome them on her own. She wants something bigger and more sophisticated for herself. Her mission to do that became so long and drawn out that I lost interest completely. There was just too much unimportant, boring "filler" between the beginning and the end of the book. I finished the book but it was a challenge.

The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe had an interesting premise and I was looking forward to it. However , I did not enjoy the book as much as I would of liked.

Rebecca Farwell is leading two lives. At home she is a town treasurer, somewhat boring. In her other identity she is high priced art collector. Problem is, she is taking money from the town treasury to feed that second life.

I thought this book would be exciting, but it fell flat for me. The characters were one dimensional and not very fleshed out.

Good premise, poor execution.

I really enjoyed this book, I liked the story, I've noticed a lot of reviews that gave away a lot of the plot so I won't do that here. I feel like there was something missing. I can't put my finger on exactly what. Maybe there could have been more depth to the characters. I'm having a hard time putting my finger on what I feel is missing.

Becky Farwell is a small town municipal bookkeeper who gets caught up in an obsession for art collecting. Becky excels at math, but insteD of going away to college, stays home to help her father. She accidentally becomes interested in art collection when a small work catches her interest and she has just enough money for a mistaken deposit to the town to pay for it. As her knowledge of art and interest in it grows, she embezzles larger and larger amounts of money to support her collecting. She vows to pay the money back but is unable to stop. She lives a double life until she finally is caught after bringing the town to bankruptcy and betraying her only good friend,

The book provides interesting details about the art world and the machinations involved in embezzlement. Although I knew her actions were wrong, I did have some sympathy for her as a bright girl trapped in a dead-end situation who found the wrong way to rise out of it.

Thank you Book Club Girl and NetGalley for gifting me an advanced e-copy for my honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It flowed along so easily and kept me intrigued. I never thought much of the art world before, but this book had me interested and taught me a few things. The main character Becky aka Reba was a complex woman. On one hand I wanted to like her and on the other I was frustrated with her and the decisions (mistakes) she kept making. I do think the ending was a little rushed, but it did give some closure to the character.

I would recommend this book for the ease of reading and the insight into the art world.

"The Talented Miss Farwell" is a fascinating story about a woman with a talent to running a business and working with money. It is also a story of a frantic obsession of a small town woman who starts collecting original art at the expense of the town in which she is employed. I enjoyed the story line and the characters - a great read..

A interesting tale of not living within your means. The book starts out with the likable Becky Farwell and her creative ideas for keeping her father’s business afloat. She discovers a talent for numbers and an obsession with art and the art world. As the story unfolds, Ms. Farwell becomes less likable. How does she become a player in the art world while working for a municipal government? If you read this book, you’ll find out.

This novel truly rides the line between “protagonist you love to hate” and the feeling of watching someone get away with something being so satisfying. Even while you find yourself horrified at all the loss she causes the town you can’t help but root for her to not get caught. The richness of the live she’s created for herself, and the buildup and eventual swift end of a lifelong friendship are what makes this book worth reading.

I loved this book. Definitely reminiscent of a Patricia Highsmith novel but Emily Gray Tedrowe made her character unigue. Even though her character was not law abiding I could not help wanting her to succeed. It was a great story and I can't wait for Tedrowe's next novel.

Interesting story but it is hardto enjoy a story about a character ho starts ut sympathetic and becoes less and less likable the further you read.

I really enjoyed this cat and mouse story of the Talented Miss Farwell. Becky Farwell is the likeable hard working accountant at Pierson Illinois a small rural town but her alto ego is Reba Farwell successful art dealer which is funded by her ‘accounting’ job. Will she get caught and just How far will Becky go ? The double life she lives is exhausting as is her need to continue to embezzle more and more funds. A quick easy entertaining read

Becky Farwell is well-known in her small town in Illinois, first as a loving daughter to her ailing father, helping him make his farming equipment business a success, and then as a beloved town comptroller somehow always finding that extra dollar to fund a town project. All the while living a quiet life in the farmhouse she grew up in. Yet, no one knows what's behind her magic with the town's books, or that she's siphoning off money to fund her alter-ego's elegant lifestyle as a high-end art dealer. Reba Farwell, as she's known in art circles, wears Manolo's and YSL and works contacts all over the world to buy, sell, and build her own art collection. The novel's suspense builds as you, and Becky, wonder how long she can keep up the double-life. I was surprised at how much I was rooting for Becky, even as I knew what she was doing was wrong and taking her further down that path as the novel progressed. She's likable, and even when she is being less likable Tedrowe creates a believable contrast between the con artist and the caring friend and daughter, keeping me invested in the choices Becky makes. The icing on the cake for me was that I really enjoy novels about art so I loved diving into the parties, paintings, and ins & outs of the art world.