In the cutthroat world of art and its history, Nazi stolen art equals a stolen life. When Luke Perrone, artist and great-grandson of the man who stole the Mona Lisa, and Alexis Verde, daughter of a notorious art thief, discover what may be a lost Van Gogh portrait, they are they are drawn into a most epic art puzzle. After reading and loving "The Last Mona Lisa" by Jonathan Santlofer, I was eager to read "The Lost Van Gogh", I'm happy to say it was as captivating and fascinating as the first book. Part thrilling mystery and part history lesson, this book is an intriguing look into one of the most beloved artists of all time and the dangerous history of World War II art thefts.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark & NetGalley for this free ARC in return for my honest review.

Artist and author Jonathan Santlofer brings us a dazzling art mystery in his newest book quote the lost Van Gogh End Quote. This is a book that combines art and history and keeps us on the seat of our pants the entire time as we try to find out the mysteries behind a painting that may in fact have been the last and lost Van Gogh painting created by that master. Th this is the second book that features Luke Perrone and Alexis Verde, both of whom are children of art thieves, but they have not followed in there parents footsteps, but rather they are on the trail to find and discover mysteries regarding the world of art. As a lover of art and art history this book is a gem, as it is filled with meticulous detail about artworks, their location, the history behind these pieces, as well as the death of Vincent van Gogh. While not a history book, the book delves into his death and the alternate theory that Van Gogh did not commit suicide, as well as the theory that one of his last paintings was placed near his coffin and mysteriously disappeared after his burial. It's that painting, and that history that the author uses to perfection to weave a tail regarding the location of the painting, and how it eventually turned up in an antique gallery in upstate New York. Not only do we follow Luke and Alexis, but we also follow the trail of the painting, a painting that was disguised to be smuggled out of France. And once the painting was discovered by Luke and Alexis, they immediately lose it and now the story takes us from New York to Amsterdam on the trail of the painting and nothing is as it seems in this mystery or in the world of art. It is a marvelous work, one that keeps you guessing, as there are allies, predators and enemies galore with everyone wanting to get their hands on the lost Van Gogh. Luckily for us we are able to follow and enjoy the trail of that painting in this new and dazzling book by Jonathan Santlofer. 4.5****

I am always intrigued when someone is able to take a familiar subject, such as Van Gogh, and shine a new perspective on “the truth”. This book delves into the idea Vincent Van Gogh possibly completed a final self-portrait before his death. I do think it is important to note, this book is about the possibility the painting exists and leads the reader on a thrilling tale of intrigue and secrets. I believe, when I read the summary of this book, I thought I may be taken on an adventure similar to that of Dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code, but it was not as intricate in its layers, however, please do not take that as any sort of negative comment. If you have an appreciation of art, this book allows you to glimpse some of the more unseemly sides of the art world. I will be picking up a copy of his other book, The Last Mona Lisa to explore the world and works Mr Santlofer creates. This is the type of book I always find fascinating and well worth the read.

Having read Santolfer before, I was looking forward to this book, but I was terribly disappointed.

The book began from a great premise, but it quickly turned into a confusing mess. The narrative was disjointed and herky-jerky, It was difficult to follow and all too easy to lose the plot, so to speak. There were so many shifts in point of view and chronology that it took more effort than it was worth to keep the narrative straight and figure out the relationship between subsequent chapters.

If the narrative had been propelled by vivid characters I had been made to care about, that might have been different, but it wasn't. The characters were as vague and confused as the narrative.

This is a hard book to like and an even harder one to recommend.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

This is the first historical diction I have enjoyed in a while. It is centered around Van Gogh and the self-portrait he is said to have painted. It follows Luke the great grandson of the man who stole the Mona Lisa and Alex a daughter of a third who discover the missing portrait. They are thrust into a terrifying game of cat and mouse thanks to Interpol agent. It's fast laced , terrifying, ladled with secrets and mystery and definitely perfect for historical fiction fans.

The Lost Van Gogh incorporates a range of themes and plots. There is everything from art theft - contemporary and historical - and highlights on the restitution and restoration of art in the modern world. All very interesting topics. Interwoven is a blend of fact and fiction with a touch of espionage and a detailed amount of research on Vincent Van Gogh and the looting of artworks during WWII.

Sadly, this book is difficult to follow at times which a long cast of characters and voice changes not identified at the start of new chapters. The voices also tend to be somewhat similar and pacing uneven. All of which is unfortunate as the premise was so promising.

“Either the painting got lost or someone took it.” She looked back at our newly uncovered self-portrait. “Could this be it, the lost Van Gogh?”

I have a degree in art history, as a result, I have a keen interest in anything relating to art. My excitement for the major five is the same emotions my husband feels with his favorite baseball players.

The Lost Van Gogh was an exciting novel that combined artwork and theft. The Last Mona Lisa, was the previous of Jonthan’s novels, although that art theme compliments both novels, Although, reading both novels was not necessary. I've enjoyed The Last Mona Lisa, so I was happy to have been offered this novel through NetGalley and the author. Jonathan Santlofer’s writing was a pleasure to read and his research,although fictional, was thorough. The combination of art and mystery kept the reader’s attention, to the point that I needed to slow down in order to take notes.

The Label of ‘degenerate’ was labeled by Hitler and the artwork brought to death. ERR, “The most effective art-looting organization of the Third Reich''.

There were many memorable characters that stood out, which included. Alex was a relative to a well known art thief. I also found Luke Perrone, artist and a close relative to the man that stole the Mona, was very interesting. I found Jonathon Santlofer's description of Agent Bruno Steiner INTERPOL liaison “Art Theft, and Cultural Heritage Crime. The description of Steiner was far from flattering, “Small pointy face, no lips, cheap suit, and cheap rug”. The description of Brono was humorous.

Thank you Jonathan Santlofer,Sourcebooks Landmarks, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading and reviewing the novel and in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It reads as a mystery/thriller, with the added high stakes of a missing Van Gogh self-portrait and the frantic race to get it back. I learned a lot about art and the art world in this book. I love the mentions of real art pieces and the descriptions of them. Santlofer gradually reveals bits of information that are crucial to figuring out who may be “Trader,” who is on Trader’s side, and who is on Luke and Alex’s side.

It was difficult at times to keep track of whose perspective a chapter was from. It would’ve been easier to follow if the character’s name was at the top of the chapter, reducing confusion for readers. But overall, The Lost Van Gogh is a delightful read with twists and turns that will keep readers on their toes.

I did not know that this was part of a series and maybe that impacted my enjoyment. I appreciated the short chapters which kept the story moving at a fast pace. There are a lot of characters and we never really get to know them well. Additionally, the constantly alternating points of view made it difficult to keep track of who’s who..

I did enjoy the historical aspect of the story. The author's research into those aspects, as well as his knowledge of art, are evident. It’s the spy/thriller part that didn’t work as well. As the story went on, it became less believable, especially as everyone descended upon Auvers-sur-Oise.

Overall, this book felt very disjointed, its potential better than its execution.

I had high expectations for this book, because I really liked this author's previous book, The Last Mona Lisa. Even though several of the characters are in both books, this can definitely be read as a standalone. I suspect that the mystery surrounding the loss and discovery and loss again of a famous painting is supposed to be exciting and suspenseful, but I didn't find it to be either of those things. The story also lacked good flow and the narrative felt very choppy.

In this story of corrupt art dealers and art thieves all of the characters are either lying, cheating, or stealing, and no one is trustworthy. I found there to be an overabundance of characters and with the introduction of each new one I began to lose more and more interest.

The historical aspects of the story were my favorite parts. The scenes from the 1940s, when the Germans were stealing important pieces of artwork from the families that were being sent to concentration camps, and how resistance fighters were smuggling art pieces out of the grasp of Hitler and Goring were very interesting. And, the tracking of how art works made it into museums in the U.S. was also fascinating.

There is a lot of good information in this novel, but I feel that the delivery fell short of the intended goal.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the DRC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

An interesting novel about art, fraud, and one of the most famous artists in the world.
The author offers a fresh new slant to the well known story and speculation about Van Gogh’s demise.
I liked the short chapters because the narrative was fast.
I also liked the inclusion of Anne Frank.
Art stolen during WWII is still a huge topic of interest and speculation.

“… this painting, every stolen work of art represents a stolen life.”

When Luke, an artist, and his girlfriend Alexis, daughter of a notorious art thief, accidentally discover what may be a lost Van Gogh self-portrait, they find themselves entangled in the dark web of the underground art world. As their lives become endangered because of the various shady individuals lusting for the painting, they find help from INTERPOL agent John Smith.

This story is told in a dual timeline, switching from present time to the early 1940s during World War II. It also shifts perspectives - from first, second, to third person. I appreciate the research that has gone into this book. The author, being an artist himself, certainly knows what he’s talking about. But for me the book gets confusing with the multiple POVs and so many characters to keep track of. It was why I wasn’t into the story at first, until the latter part when the action picked up.

The book’s strength though is when it delves into the histories of Van Gogh, Anne Frank, of art works stolen from Jewish collectors during the Holocaust, of how resistance fighters tried to protect these paintings. I love learning about history and art. I wish though that the author chose one or two perspectives to make the book easier to digest given that it already has a lot going on, because the topics discussed in this book are really important and worth telling.

Thank you netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the copy of The Lost Van Gogh. I really liked the story but the writing and the characters never engaged me. I don’t think I have enough love for art for this book to work for me, but if you love historical fiction and appreciate art, this book is perfect for you!

This was an entertaining international cat and mouse thriller set in the art world. This novel gives us a lost Van Gogh self portrait found in an antiques store by an art student. It doesn't take long for the story to take off with theft, secrets, spies and mysterious musuem curators/collectors. Along the way we find out a lot about Van Gogh and his latter part of life. I think the book touched on a much needed topic of art theft by the Nazis and the attempts to return it to it's owners. I thought weaving that into the story helped make it memorable. I must add that the sketches at the end of the book are a nice addition to the story. Thank you netgalley for an entertaining book. I would read another by this author!

"Art is to console those who are broken by life." (Vincent Van Gogh)

And who better to represent the broken than the artist himself, Vincent Van Gogh. It is said that he painted thousands of his works but sold only so few. The ups and downs of his existence are reflected in his art. It has been rumored that he created two self-portraits that were displayed in his memory upon his death. One of them is missing. And here is where our story begins.

Alexis Verde, an art student nearing her doctorate in Art History, came upon an oddly designed art piece painted solely in black and white. She purchased it and brought it home to her apartment. Upon examining it further, she realises that there's something beneath this painting. And what she finds is the electric current that fills this storyline to the end.

Luke Perrone is Alex' boyfriend. They've become more serious and committed. We met Luke in Jonathan Santlofer's previous novel, The Last Mona Lisa (2021). Do make an effort to pick this one up even though The Lost Van Gogh reads well as a standalone. Luke has worked as an art professor in the past and is currently preparing for an exhibit of his own work in New York City and possibly in Amsterdam. He is intrigued by what Alex may have found. But before Alex can have the painting examined by experts, it is grabbed out of her arms on the street. Someone is watching.

Alex and Luke contact John Washington Smith, a Black INTERPOL agent of the highest caliber. Smith became involved in their last quest involving the Mona Lisa. Smith agrees to doing some background checks on this possible Van Gogh link. They breathe a sigh of relief.....only too soon. Smith contacts them later and tells them to drop their inquiry into this painting. It's probably bogus. But Alex and Luke believe otherwise. Why would Smith spin on a dime?

We'll soon come to find out that there is a dark side to this investigation. Very dark. Faces reflecting professionalism may be false faces, indeed. Who can they trust? The numbers dwindle as these two suddenly realize that their own lives may be in danger.

Jonathan Santlofer presents a creative novel that takes us down deep, winding tunnels in the Art world. We'll visit looted art taken by the Nazis starting in 1937 called "degenerate art". These were works that did not support the German regime. Other masterpieces were conviscated by the Nazis with the destination for an Art museum designed by Hitler himself. Magnificent artwork was stolen especially from the Jews and their extended families who would never live to reclaim them. Many are actually hanging in renowned museums around the world without documented proof of their owners.

The Lost Van Gogh will take us from New York City to Amsterdam and even to Van Gogh's resting place in France. It's filled with intrigue and highly dangerous moments. Here's another precious gem just waiting for a knock on the door from Netflix. Be sure to check this one out.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and to the talented Jonathan Santlofer for the opportunity.

Art thief books seem to be gaining popularity, or maybe I am just drawn to them and have been reading more of them. This is a solid entry into that field. I enjoyed following along with Luke Perrone and Alexis Verde as they discovered what could possibly a lost Van Gogh in a painting behind a painting at an antique shop.

I loved the larger issues this book brought up, about who owns stolen art and a dive into the life of Van Gogh. Even though Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists, I didn’t know that much about his personal life so that was interesting to read about. I will say I did get a little lost with all the character names at the beginning, so I needed to write things down to keep them straight.

Overall this was a solid art thief story.

This book is a part of a series, and I have not read the first book, so this review might reflect that fact. I found the premise of the book to be particularly interesting, and the latter half of the book was fast-paced and kept my attention well. However, I found the first half of the book to be confusing and incredibly slow-paced. In my opinion, there were too many characters being thrown at me and because I hadn’t read the first book, I wasn’t familiar with any of them so I struggled to keep them all straight. The points of view used throughout the book was also confusing to me, keeping straight the first person parts with the third person parts — it took me out of the book as I tried to figure out who anyone was talking about.

I liked the historical aspects of this book, especially the author’s note at the end that goes into what was real and proven to be fact — I thought that was a nice touch. Overall, the potential of this book was better than the execution in my opinion.

I really enjoy reading historic novels and this one tells a lot about how art and jewelry were taken from Jewish people throughout Europe to meet with Hitler's personal desires of fortune and to build an art museum in his birth place. It also describes how inescrupulous art dealers kept on buying these art pieces in America and other countries after the war ended to obtain profit although they knew where the items came from. The Lost Van Gogh has a great storyline, it's well-written and grabbed my attention from the beginning!
I thank Mr. Santlofer, his publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

This is an interesting story, but the way that this book is written each chapter is from a different point of view and because we don’t have an indication of who’s point of view we are in it can be confusing to know what is going on. I made it to 30% and am putting it down because I am not able to keep up with what is going on.

I was fascinated by this story. Rich in historical detail, it kept me drawn to the pages. I highly recommend.
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.