I absolutely loved this story and I’m so impressed with Katherine Reay’s absorbing, thoughtful, well-researched writing. This story hit all the right notes and kept me engrossed all the way through. If you like history, art, mystery, or rich character development, this book is for you! Thank you NetGalley, for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to receive an ARC of this book. Please note there may be spoilers.
I was enamoured of the 70’s time frame and the setting of the Tate Art gallery for this intriguing story of the lowly assistant who declared “it’s a forgery” in front of all of the UK art world.
I appreciated Lily’s story of desperately wanting to move in to the world she admires so much. We can appreciate her beginnings on the sidelines of Saint Martin’s College in to getting her chance as the assistant to Diana Gilden, the Tate's modern collections keeper.
I struggled more with Diana’s story. I was intrigued for the humble beginnings of escaping Eastern Europe. It was a bit vague and perhaps not as informative or nuanced as Lily’s story. Sadly, this is where it fell apart for me, as we are meant to believe in 20 years she has gone from being a refuge of the war to the echelons of high society. That her husband Heinrich, also a refuge from Eastern Europe, has orchestrated this masterful rise with painting his forged masterpieces, I just struggled. That it all fell in to place before Lily came along and outed them.
I enjoyed the book regardless but I was less enthused as when I started it.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This is an excellent book about art and one does not need to know about art. The intrigue begins around a Picasso exhibition that goes off the rails. The threads are woven so well with good character development. It becomes a thriller as solving a crime becomes the focal point of the book. Family and love figure in along the way. A great read!

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. As with all of her novels I am so impressed with the amount of research involved in the writing of this story. It took me a little while to get into it but it was so worth it. It centers around two women working in a museum and forgery! Highly enjoyable.

The English Masterpiece by Katherine Reay was an enjoyable read, especially as my first introduction to her work. The writing was engaging, and I really appreciated the depth of research into the art world, particularly the focus on art forgery and its historical context. It was clear that a lot of effort went into the details, which added to the richness of the story.

I liked both Lily and Diana, though I found myself more drawn to some of the secondary characters (i.e. Daisy, Connor), and I wish they had been featured more often. I didn’t mind the pacing, but I did think the first half was weaker than the second—granted, it was mysterious, so maybe I was just confused at the time.

Despite that, I thought the ending came a bit too quickly for my taste. While some readers have found the characters a little hard to connect with, and the pacing slower in parts, the novel’s historical depth and the intriguing plot make it worth reading, especially if you’re into art.

The English Masterpiece is a wonderful story, fast paced story that totally kept me enthralled right up to the end. I couldn't wait to get back to the book and once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down! The story is about Lily who works for Diana as her assistant in the art world. The mystery which evolves around the Picasso exhibition introduces so many aspects of painters that it made me want to get to a museum to see if I could see the paintings with a new eye. The story includes family dynamics, deception and great artists.

I received an advanced copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback

London 1973. Pablo Picasso has died and art galleries worldwide are racing to put together a collection of his paintings for public exhibitions, in order to honour the master.
At the Tate Gallery, London, Diana Browning, keeper of Modern Collections and her assistant Lily, are likewise occupied. Lily has ambitions to be an artist and is studying at St. Martin’s College of Art. She copies the paintings she sees at work in order to understand the brushstrokes and composition details.
A fortnight later, all is ready for the public viewings. Lily notices a painting, The Laughing Woman, and realises that something is wrong. She loudly declares, “ that is a forgery!” Consternation all around! The Press cannot believe their luck at such a headline, the Director of the galley wants Lily to leave, the provenance of the painting is in doubt, and will have to be re- authenticated.
Connor Walsh, an Art Investigator starts work at the Tate, could this be an insurance scam? Who has the necessary skills to perform such a forgery?
Connor has a degree in art history and a police background that will be very interesting with such pressure in the art world.
As museums demand their paintings to be returned, Lily finds herself under suspicion.
A wonderful story that will appeal to all those who love to dabble with paints, visit galleries and like to gain extra knowledge about colours.
Lily learns the importance of finding her own style, and to care more for her family members.
There is a budding romance, which helps with a happy ending for most of the characters, the real life story didn’t work so well.
I gave this a four star read. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Harper Muse, for my complimentary copy of this book, given in return for my honest review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.
I will leave copies to Goodreads and Amazon UK upon publication.

Set in the Art World in the 1970s, "The English Masterpiece" follows Lily Summers. She works at the Tate Art gallery and dreams of one day seeing her own masterpiece hang in the gallery. A discovery of a forged painting launches our FMC to the center of an investigation.

I really really enjoyed the book. An art heist and the setting of 1970s London was compelling in itself. But then relationship of Lily to those around her really adds a complexity to the main character and helps understand her. I seriously could not put this book down. Not quite a 5 star read but definitely a 4 to 4.5 star read.

This book releases June 10, 2025.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A riveting tale set in 1973 London centered around the shady world of art forgery. Mystery, intrigue, and hints of romance kept this fast-paced story interesting. Lily's eye-opening experience to the world around her after she accidentally blurts out loud, "It's as forgery!", becomes a time of personal epiphany as she sees herself in a new light. Being authentic, cherishing family and friends, and being true to your own dreams become new themes in her life. The scenes towards the end were terrific, with some action, and well worth the wait. This was a good clean read, one that made me think, plus the nods to real people and places made it a fun 'getaway' read.
Recommend! 4.5 stars

Loved it! I really enjoyed the unique art history perspective and getting lost in the shadowy, dramatic world of art dealing. As someone who appreciates art, this book was an irresistible treat.

Diana’s point of view was compelling, and I loved watching the story unfold as more details were revealed. The pacing was fast, the drama was intense—a real page-turner.

That said, my mind did wander at times, and I struggled to connect with the main character, though I still found her intriguing. The love story between Lily and Connor felt half-hearted; the author didn’t do it much justice—it should have been scrapped altogether.

While the concept was great, the execution needed a lot more refinement. This book could have benefited from another round of edits, as some details were simply too far-fetched.

Overall, a solid read with an interesting premise, but it had room for improvement.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC.

After spending my 40th with a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, I am always on the look out for books on the art world. I enjoyed this one, but not sure if I would recommend it. I really enjoyed the character of Diana and would have liked if her character was fleshed out more. I did find this interesting as I had no idea about how the Nazi stealing artwork in WW2 led to so many forgeries on the walls of museums worldwide. It makes you wonder next time you go to museum!

This was a slow build, but it is definitely worth hanging in there! I liked the way it started, but the slow pace of the development was getting a little frustrating. Still, I was highly intrigued by the premise (I LOVE The Thomas Crown Affair!) and was very curious to see where things were going given the teasers in the blurb, so just keep moving forward. I'm SO glad I did, because this turned into a wild ride that had me furiously flipping pages in no time.

This is a fantastic tale full of well-developed characters, an intricate conspiracy, and lots of references to art that I had to search Google to fully understand. It was worth those searches, because it really helped me to grasp the artistic flavor of the story (I'm not very well-versed in art history of this period). I loved the interplay between the professional and personal sides of Lily's - and Diana's - lives. Watching the perspective shift between these two women, whose wildly different circumstances lead to so many of the life-changing decisions they make, was fascinating. I loved the way secrets and lies were teased out slowly - the very slow build that I found frustrating at first came to be one of the elements I most appreciated by the end.

This was a fabulous book and I will definitely be telling those at my library about it!

Although this book was a bit slow to start with please persevere as it becomes a riveting read. A real cat mouse thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Lily is an assistant to Diana, the Keeper of Modern Collections at the Tate Gallery in London. Pablo Picasso has died and Diana and Lily are organising a special exhibition in his honour. On opening night Lily declares that one of the paintings is a forgery. This declaration sets off a time bomb in not only her career and life but also Diana’s.
There is a wonderful cast of characters and you are left guessing if the art work is truly a forgery and who is the forger.
A great read! With the added bonus of lots of history about the art world.

Set in the weeks after the famed Pablo Picasso’s death, the English Masterpiece follows a storm ignited when Lilly speaks aloud one single thought at the Picasso Commemorative Exhibit at the Tate Museum in London. What should be the celebration of a near possible feat opening new career opportunities for both women, instead launches them into a self-discovery journey as expressed through relationships. By the story's end, they exemplify Picasso’s meaning when he declares, “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”    

Katherine Reay is a master at depicting messy relationships. As is true for so many of her books, the reader is left considering the blessings and challenges of family, community, and work relationships longer after finishing the book. You should not expect anything different from the English Masterpiece. Block time on your calendar to escape into the 1973 art world and learn from Lilly and Diana’s life journeys. Lovers of art, post-WWII fiction, and psychological thrillers are sure to enjoy this masterpiece of a novel.

Great mix of mystery, history, and art. I liked all the many working pieces of figuring out the forgery of the art, tracking down the clues, trying to show innocence or guilt, and dealing with all the fall out. Diana’s and Lily’s characters were a good contrast and complement and gave a lot of life and complexity to the book.

Lily’s story held some great nuggets about guilt and isolation and the damage it does not just to yourself but to those who love you. I liked her character quite a bit.

I did struggle a little with the first, maybe 25% of the book, just getting into it. I think it was a mix of all the art references which I don’t know much about, and obviously being a visual thing, felt kind of lost in, and also in the context clues that were left out initially to lead the reader into the story little by little. While normally that’s great and lends to greater investment and imagination, maybe it was just me but I felt like there were so many missing all at once without anything to anchor on. Along with the art references, it felt like walking into a conversation already in full swing and feeling like I missed something that everyone else understood.

Over everything started to come together in the second part, I enjoyed it a lot, and had a hard time putting it down.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

Katherine Reay’s recent novels have been some of my favorites, but this just fell a little flat for me. Someone with greater art knowledge might like it more than I did, but I just had a hard time connecting with the plot and characters the first half of the book.

The second half was fast paced and entertaining. I wished for Lily and Connor to have a spinoff with them investigating art mysteries.

Specials thanks for NetGalley and Harper Muse. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I liked the second half of this book so much more than the first half, hence my three star rating. At the beginning, the writing just felt a little vague and emotional. I'm always a fan of "show, not tell", but maybe this plot needed a little more "telling" earlier on! Once I finally understood what was going on with each of the main characters and what was important to them and why, the story really picked up for me. As a huge fan of the mystery genre, I always appreciate when an author sprinkles that element in, even in a book that is more strictly historical fiction. As with all of Reay's stories, there is a great mix of engaging plot and character development. All of the art history and painting details were especially fascinating!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for a free eARC of this book!

If you haven't read any of Katherine Reay's books, then starting with The English Masterpiece is a great place to start. The storyline itself is a bit different, but still very much Reay's voice.
I didn't know much about the art world and the under belly of forgeries, but Reay takes us along on a ride that makes you realize what a huge business it is.
Lily has been promoted to assistant to Diane, who is the director of the Tate' Modern Art Keeper. When Pablo Picasso passes, Diane wants to do a tribute to him and quickly. Lily helps make it happen. It is going to be a smashing success, that is until opening night and Lily walks by Picasso's Woman Laughing and casually announces that it is a fake. The fallout from that pronouncement will cost her job, one Lily can't afford to lose.
There are several reasons to like this book, one being Reay's writing. It not only draws you into the story, but she is also a master at leaving tiny little clues to help you figure out who actually is the forger. The second reason is traveling throughout an art world that is still reeling from the discord that World War II and the Nazis grabbing artwork from all over Europe and hiding it. It was something that I never really thought about and how much chaos it would cost, no would know for sure which ones were real or fake.
The third reason is because of Lily. You will find yourself cheering her on even after you see all her 'warts and imperfections.' She is probably one of my favorite characters that I have read in the last few months. She is like us all, worried about her family, worried about her job, and trying desperately to find her way in the world.
Join Lily and Reay, discover the art world and enjoy yourself.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Reaching the final page of The English Masterpiece was an immense relief, I was plagued by this book for what felt like months. This short book felt far longer than it actually was. It took me months to finish, and frankly, the journey was a struggle.

I apologize to those who seemed to like it, but this book simply wasn't for me.

One of my main frustrations was the excessive detail. The author includes an overwhelming amount of information—random facts and descriptions of things that hold no real relevance to the plot, characters, or overall theme. These added little more than unnecessary words, bloating the story without contributing anything meaningful. It became a chore to read, and I admit to skimming large portions just to make it to the end.

The main character, Lily, was particularly unappealing. In fact, I didn’t find myself caring for any of the characters, with the possible exception of Paddy—who, despite being wronged by Lily and spending time in jail because of her, is barely acknowledged by her, even at the end. It's baffling how quickly she forgets the impact her actions had on others. Lily also repeatedly drags her friends into dangerous situations, despite the author's attempts to portray her as innocent of manipulation. It's clear from the way the friends are pressured into risky schemes that Lily has no qualms about putting them in harm's way for her own benefit.

Then there’s Connor, who harbors an inexplicable and somewhat confusing love for Lily. This random romance feels completely out of place in the chaotic mess of the plot. And Lily's decisions? I just couldn't understand them. Leaving critical evidence in an office belonging to a man she doesn’t fully trust is hardly the action of someone who’s supposed to be smart. Moreover, when she clears her name, instead of seeking safety or support from her family, she goes straight to the house of those who framed her—seeking an explanation from the very people who wronged her. It’s an unbelievably foolish decision.

Her actions continue to bewilder as she follows a frightening man up to a mini attic, provokes him, and is shocked when he pulls a gun on her. Honestly, I couldn’t help but feel like this was a textbook case of "playing stupid games and winning stupid prizes."

As for the conclusion with her family—supposedly a heartwarming moment—it fell flat for me. It wasn't touching or emotional. I was simply bored. This story is chaotic, messy, and ultimately tedious. If I hadn’t forced myself to finish it, I doubt I would have made it to the end.

I can always count on an amazing read that I can’t put down when I pick up a book by Katherine Reay (@katherinereay), and The English Masterpiece was no exception! I love how much research she puts into the historical aspect, and she writes with such eloquence of speech. The mystery of this story kept me on the edge of my seat, and I learned quite a bit about art history in the process.

I’ll be recommending this one just like all the other books by Reay that I’ve been sharing with my friends. I can’t wait to get my copy to add to my collection when it releases in June.