This is about a girl who grows up poor and as an adult starts siphoning money from her local government job to start a side career/life of crime as an art dealer. Ostensibly with a plot like that it should have been high tension and high stakes, but it just never was…it was kind of boring. She wasn’t an interesting enough character and it was just so lackluster. It felt like nothing happened. She stole money, bought art, sold it. Rinse, repeat. I wanted it to be more of a Talented Mr. Ripley type drama and sadly it was not.

This is a story that shows the effects of one act of deceit...the thrill leading to more and greater deception. It also allows the reader sideline seats to an impending train crash. You just KNOW this will not end well. Follow Becky on her thrilling journey. You will not be disappointed! Loved it!

Perhaps I put too much into the blurbs comparing this novel to the works of Patricia Highsmith (and the title's toss off to The Talented Mr Ripley), but I did not find it as suspenseful orengaging as I had hoped. Interesting, to be sure, but passages felt like name dropping and the main character and her motives not fully developed.

I could not put this book down! The main character Becky Farwell starts out as a girl who is good at math and learns accounting to save her family business, then she goes on to become a city accountant with a very unusual side hustle. The story of the path her life takes is very polarizing. For some parts of the book I felt very conflicted about whether I liked it and yet I could not stop reading. The story is almost as addicting as Becky's love of art - it draws you in and you never want to leave, and in the end I was not disappointed, it was an entertaining and satisfying read.

The idea and concept of the book were good and that is why I wanted to read it but I did not enjoy reading it. As stated the idea for the story was good and I did want to know what was going to happen but there was no depth to anything. Everything felt like a layout/outline to what the book should of been. There was no character depth or details in the story.

I’ve seen the mixed reviews on this one and it took me a few minutes to really consider my thoughts.

I read most of this book over a weekend. Any book that can keep me to where I make time to read “just one more chapter”, I have to like more than just a little. I could see where Becky was going with her flawed plan but kept hoping there would be a point where she would come to her senses. I did enjoy how the author gave us a glimpse into the mind of a compulsive gambler...just one more hand, just one more time...and then I’ll have enough.

My fave line from the book:
“What was it like to have just your one regular life and to be content? She was almost forty-seven years old and she had so much and it was never enough.”

Pretty profound.

The ending was the bummer for me. I loved Beckys friendship with Ingrid from the beginning and really hoped for a more rewarding closure for those two. To avoid spoilers, I won’t say much other than to say the ending was my least favorite part of the whole book.

So for the ending, this one ends up with a 3.5 for me and not a full 4. Otherwise, an enjoyable read that I could definitely see make it to a screen.

Very intriguing story of a woman leading two separate lives. Becky Farwell has an innate love and appreciation for art. She knows which works speak to her, and learns the art business and how to sell art. Meanwhile, she worked in a small city near Chicago as a bookkeeper. She carefully separates her “day job” from her glamorous life as an art dealer. It’s fascinating, and kept me on tenterhooks, wondering if her two very separate worlds would crash into each other. However, Throughout the whole book, I didn’t feel very connected to Becky. I wish she had been more expressive.

This title already has many long reviews here, some that give away the whole plot, so I won't repeat what has already been said. My favorite part of the story was the beginning chapters when Becky Farwell is a smart, hard working teenager who takes care of her father and runs his business. In a way, this is a feminist tale: a boy in the same situation wouldn't run into the obstacles that kept Miss Farwell feeling lonely and desperate for a little fun and excitement.
I'm picky about endings and this story has a great ending. Miss Farwell is talented and hardworking, so where ever she ends up, she's going to do well.

The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe features a very smart woman who knows how to “work the system.” She is very good at accounting, as she learns early in her life, and figures out how to use her talents to embezzle money. You will probably feel bad for her, at first, as she tries to help save her father’s business, the reader understands how Becky starts this life of crime. Her motives are pure- help her father save his farm equipment business. But everything snowballs until there is no turning back.

It’s a wild ride to follow her journey and watch as she lives what is a double life.

Synopsis:

At the end of the 1990s, with the art market finally recovered from its disastrous collapse, Miss Rebecca Farwell has made a killing at Christie’s in New York City, selling a portion of her extraordinary art collection for a rumored 900 percent profit. Dressed in couture YSL, drinking the finest champagne at trendy Balthazar, Reba, as she’s known, is the picture of a wealthy art collector. To some, the elusive Miss Farwell is a shark with outstanding business acumen. To others, she’s a heartless capitalist whose only interest in art is how much she can make.

But a thousand miles from the Big Apple, in the small town of Pierson, Illinois, Miss Farwell is someone else entirely—a quiet single woman known as Becky who still lives in her family’s farmhouse, wears sensible shoes, and works tirelessly as the town’s treasurer and controller.

No one understands the ins and outs of Pierson’s accounts better than Becky; she’s the last one in the office every night, crunching the numbers. Somehow, her neighbors marvel, she always finds a way to get the struggling town just a little more money. What Pierson doesn’t see—and can never discover—is that much of that money is shifted into a separate account that she controls, “borrowed” funds used to finance her art habit. Though she quietly repays Pierson when she can, the business of art is cutthroat and unpredictable.

But as Reba Farwell’s deals get bigger and bigger, Becky Farwell’s debt to Pierson spirals out of control. How long can the talented Miss Farwell continue to pull off her double life?

What is interesting to me is that this story is based on a real woman:

Inspired by the true story of the woman who pulled off the biggest municipal fraud in US History, embezzling over $50 million in a period spanning more than 20 years.

This comes out in September, you can pre-order here!

How does a small town girl become a glamorous patron in the art world...and major embezzler? Becky Farwell has the good fortune to be gifted at math, which enables her to help keep the family business afloat, and, later, helps her land a job as an accountant for her small town. When she realized that accounting mistakes are overlooked (her attempt to bring them to the attention of her supervisors is essentially slapped down), she begins helping herself to small sums of money. Unfortunately, Becky also discovers a deep appreciation of art, and the desire to own something of merit. Slippery slope, and things snowball, but her embezzling goes unnoticed at work as she rises to become the city's chief financial officer. The author takes us along step-by-step as Becky/Reba lives a double life and makes it all look, well, almost logical. Unfortunately, Becky's focus on her "Activity" precludes most normal relationships...she has one good friend, who was unbelievably naive in her acceptance of gifts and financial assistance over the years. While I initially felt a degree of sympathy for Becky, over the course of the book I found myself mentally shaking my head and just waiting for her to get caught. A quick, enjoyable read. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book. I didn’t really enjoy it but I think if it sounds interesting to yoh than you would enjoy it!

The art descriptions are the only great thing about this book and I confess I have so little knowledge of the subject that the works described may be all fictional.

DNF this title. I can get behind a cruel & scheming character but I just wasn't feeling this one. Will try to return later to finish because I already purchased it for my library and patrons will ask for my opinion.

Becky Farwell is not a main character to be admired or to be called a heroine, but this is a story of how she started a little something and it just built and built and built until it was out of control. As I got farther into the story, the author created such tension--I was so nervous for her, even knowing how the book ended (I read the endings first), I could not put the book down, waiting to see what would happen to Becky. But yet through all this, the reader can understand why she did what she did and actually I found I pitied her, especially when her friend Ingrid paid a last visit to her. A good read and a good lesson for all readers.

Ever wonder how good people go bad? The Talented Miss Farwell leads you step-by-step down the path from overachieving good citizen to multi-million dollar con artist. Rebecca Farwell is by all accounts an ideal citizen - gifted at arithmetic at a young age, she uses her skills to turn her father's struggling business around and learns how to demand a seat at the table, not a small feat for a young woman in rural US in the 1970's. Her accounting skills serve her well as a young adult, when she lands a job in the local government, despite not being able to go to college with an ill parent at home.

This book had me both rooting for and against the heroine. I wanted her to get caught to save herself! At the same time, I desperately wanted her to fix her own problems. She is a sympathetic con artist, and this is the type of book that reminds you that all of us contain multitudes. We are all capable of a great deal, given opportunity and the skill to do so, how easy is it to justify small moral lapses, then a little bigger one, and a little bigger? Tedrowe draws Miss Farwell and her friends and co-workers well. Everyone feels incredibly real and believable. I loved reading this novel. Also an awesome pick for someone who enjoys tense mysteries but wants to try something different.

What a ride! The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe was a fantastic journey through the 80s and 90s on the tails of Miss Farwell's tailored designer suits. We meet Becky as a brilliant minded young girl who sacrifices a successful future to help her father. Accepting her mediocre but happy existence, she becomes enthralled with the Art World and this is where our adventure begins. Anyone with a heart condition should take caution when reading! My anxiety was off the charts! This was a really great read suitable for multiple generations.

What a delightful ride! Engrossing, fresh, humorous take on a story I have not seen before - a seemingly ordinary woman obsessed by art and where it takes her life. Wonderfully readable and a lovely distraction during these strange days. Highly Recommended!

While the comparisons to The Talented Mr. Ripley were inevitable given the subject material of a risky double life, I feel the comparison is earned and an apt description for this sharp thriller. The story of Miss Farwell is sharp, engaging, and exciting, and as I've always been fond of books where art and deception are key elements, it's no surprise that I enjoyed this read. Admittedly, the plot was slow going, and there were several moments when waiting for the plot to begin had me bored to tears, but once the excitement of the plot kicked off, I was completely hooked. This book was delicious fun, and I was intrigued to learn that it's based on a true story - one I know I'll have to research myself. It takes a skilled hand to be able to craft a plot so tense that I'm surprised to learn that a version of it occurred in real life, and the author does this masterfully. All in all, I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in art, crime, and high-stakes double lives, as the skilled prose and exciting action make this a thrilling and intriguing novel to read.

Becky Farwell grows up a lot through the course of <i>The Talented Miss Farwell</i>. Starting with her childhood, where she becomes an accounting whiz in order to save her family business and moves on to work for the town hall in her small town of Illinois. At some point, Miss Farwell begins to lead a “double life”, one of money and prestige as a well known art collector. She uses money that isn’t hers to fund her art collection and yet at other times, she’ll sell portions to do good deeds for those around her in her “other life”.

I found this book hard to gauge. It’s told in timeline format from youth to Becky’s mid 40’s. As much as we learned about Becky, I still felt like we didn’t get a great grasp of the character—even at the end. We knew her motives, but not truly what drove her. I felt unsettled by the book itself.

Becky Farwell responds to her tragic young life full of limitations by turning her talent for math and problem solving into a new "activity" at which she can prosper.. While I had empathy for her and her life choices this book was so brilliantly written that I just had anxiety throughout. I was never sure whether I was supposed to admire her or just be disgusted.