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.