A professor takes a sabbatical at an Amsterdam University, where his neighbor is an art professor and author of a book about an art forger. His brother, still in Texas, is meanwhile dating a psychologist who likes to hunt feral pigs with knives. How in the world can these two worlds connect, you ask? It's a very strange tale, but surprisingly interesting. The narration is true to form, including accents for various regions, and the story keeps your attention. I could have lived without the pig hunting part, but the art-related parts of the story were intriguing.

As I read “The Forger’s Forgery” by Clay G. Small , the thought kept running through my mind that the book was a screen treatment for a streaming service presentation. Beautiful foreign locales, some moderately upscale , somewhat glam people, and a plot of sweet revenge against a nasty guy who had it coming. As with most TV movies, it is so-so.

“The Forger’s Forgery” begins with Henry Lindon’s arrival in Amsterdam as a visiting lecturer He meets with Bernadette Gordon, the head of the art department and his upstairs neighbor who will act as his guide to Amsterdam. She is attractive, unmarried, and the author of some technical art books and a current novel about Hans Von Meegeren, who gained infamy for forging fake Vermeer paintings. Henry, whose undergrad degree was in art history, travels with Professor Gordon to see some of the forgeries so as to re- familiarize himself with the history of Dutch Art and to enjoy Bernadette’s company. Henry’s feels a growing attraction to Bernadette, in part because of his strained relationship with his wife, Marylou, in part because of a mid-life ennui.
The history of the art forger , who was at first despised, then lauded in the Netherlands is nicely presented , as were the character of Dutch cities and the Dutch people. They are the best parts of the book.

In order to set the story in motion, the scene shifts backwards in time by two months, back to the US and Lindon’s troubled relationship with his wife, who is deeply depressed.

The main character , Henry Lindon, is as bland as unflavored oatmeal and his wife Marylou a null. Even the villain of the book, Guy Wheelers, comes off as mostly peevish and petulant. Various other participants in the novel leave little impression, with the possible exception of Constance, a shrink with more serious problems that her patients.

There are lengthy chapters in the book that have little to do with the story and could have added to the insight into certain characters, but did nothing but add superfluous characters. The climatic reveal could have a lot more focused. In fact, and in my opinion, the author has too many sub- stories happening in the book which detract from the main flow of the story, especially as the characters involved are not very real.

Love all of the twists and turns! I know some about art and art forgery but after listening I know so much more! What a great book!

I’d give this one a 3.5 stars. It was written in a back and forth style that I struggled with in terms of connecting to the characters. The stories didn’t come together for me until the end where it did wrap up and pull together nicely. I just struggled to really invest in the story for a long time because it was so segmented. It was about the time the connections happened that the story concluded. Good premise but I think the execution could have been better. That said I’m grateful for the read from NetGalley and it took me into places of the art world that I wasn’t expecting.

Henry Lindon is a terrific main character. He is smart, flawed, and old enough to know when he is leaping without looking. He leads a fully rounded cast of characters in a tale of adventure and derring-do that takes the characters between the United States and Holland.
It is luck that Henry Lindon's upstairs neighbor is fellow professor Bernadette Gordon. Bernadette's art expertise, particularly her formidable knowledge about famed forger Han van Meegeren lead to Henry formulating a plot to bring down an old rival - Guy Wheelis.
After a strong start, we are taken back a few months to meet all the various players and learn why Guy Wheelis must be taken down and humiliated. There is a lot of information to process and the reader needs to pay attention so they don't get lost. It is worth it though - the last third of the book really brings everything together!
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC of the audiobook to read and review.

Pros: I was drawn to this book by the title and description—I love books about art/artists. This book’s storyline contains information about Han van Meegeren, who notably forged Vermeers. I think the parts about the forger and this book’s forgery were the strongest parts of the book.

Cons: Although the setup of the book was very promising, the execution was just okay. I didn’t care about the characters or their motivations.

Thank you to NetGalley, Greenleaf Book Group, and River Grove Books for the opportunity to listen to this book.

3 stars = I liked it

(I attempted to post this book to Goodreads through NetGalley, which didn't work. I did post this review on Goodreads and StoryGraph.)

I was a little misled by the label “historical fiction “attributed to this novel, so a little confused at the beginning when they are talking about call phones and other modern conveniences. However, that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of reading the book… I just offer it as a caveat for someone who is looking for a historical fiction novel. This is not that. I enjoyed the audiobook, and it was a fast “read “with enough intrigue to keep me listening, and enough interesting characters to keep my attention.

I have mixed feelings about the voice actor - when he was simply narrating I don’t mind him (it was strange to have a male voice because the last dozen+ audiobook performers I’ve listened to have all been women or full casts) but I really hated some of his voices - especially those of women. Why do audiobook performers feel the need to caricature women, minorities, and people with accents? Maybe a bit less “performing” and a bit more “reading” would have been better in this case.

I enjoyed the Amsterdam setting and hearing about the locations, and some of the discussions about the art. I do feel like there were a few too many subplots thrown in, and although they all turned out to eventually have some significance to the story, some of it was a stretch and felt contrived.

All-in-all, the book was a nice way to spend a day running errands and riding on the subway in between. It wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t bad. A good summer beach read, or perfect for a long airplane ride.