Murder at the National Gallery (Capital Crimes Series #13)

by Margaret Truman

Overview

“Powerful . . . Fascinating . . . Truman absolutely amazes.”—Atlanta Journal & Constitution

When the senior curator at Washington's famed National Gallery finds a missing painting by the Renaissance master Caravaggio, he mounts a world-class exhibition—and plots a brilliant forgery scheme that will stun the art world.

“A thrilling chase.”—Publishers Weekly

But an artful deception suddenly becomes a portrait of blackmail and murder—as gallery owner and part-time sleuth Annabel Reed-Smith and her husband go searching for clues in the heady arena of international art and uncover a rare collection of unscrupulous characters that leads all the way to Italy.

“Highly recommended . . . One of [Margaret] Truman's best.”—Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780449219386
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/28/1997
Series:	Capital Crimes Series , #13
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	4.23(w) x 6.75(h) x 0.78(d)

About the Author

Margaret Truman has won faithful readers with her works of biography and fiction, particularly her ongoing series of Capital Crimes mysteries. Her novels let us into the corridors of power and privilege, poverty and pageantry in the nation's capital.

She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Clifton Daniel, distinguished journalist, author, and editor. They have four sons and two grandchildren.

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Excerpted from "Murder at the National Gallery"
by .
Copyright © 1997 Margaret Truman.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

Truman, daughter of Harry and Bess, centers the latest in her Capitol Crimes series, starring Washington, D.C., insiders Annabel and Mac Reed, in the often corrupt world of international art. Although the title incident doesn't occur until nearly the last chapter, the pace of the preceding action is breathless. As the National Gallery prepares for a special Caravaggio exhibit, senior curator Luther Mason happens to "discover" a lost Caravaggio masterpiece while in Italy. Installing the original in the exhibit but making plans to replace it afterwards, Mason, aided by cultural attach Carlo Giliberti, commissions two forgeriesone to send back to Italy and the other to sell to an underground art dealer who believes he is buying the original. In the meantime, Mason must deal with his scrounging son, Julian, and his mistress and gallery assistant, Lynn Marshall, who is angling for a quick promotion. Along for the ride is well-known art critic, the asexual M. Scott Pims, who adores intrigue. After four murders, the players who remain meet for a thrilling chase from Rome to Abruzzi. The amiable ReedsAnnabel is a gallery owner and Mac a law school professorare in top form here. (July)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

YATruman introduces readers to an art world in which theft, forgery, blackmail, and murder are everyday occurrences, and big money is the catalyst. Senior curator of the National Gallery of Art, Luther Mason, is planning a brilliant exhibition of Caravaggio paintings, culminating with the "surprising" discovery of a work that has been lost for hundreds of years. The commission of two expert forgeries of the lost painting propel Mason, the staff of the museum, the wife of the Vice-President of the United States, and the government of Italy into a dangerous treasure hunt. Truman writes comfortably and simply. By using a modern literary device, she forces readers to synthesize events and information presented in the beginning of the book into the plot. An entertaining mystery.Debbie Hyman, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA

School Library Journal

When a music critic reported after a recital that Margaret Truman couldn't sing very well, her father, the sitting president, wrote to him: "Someday I hope to meet you. When that happens, you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!" Thus, it is painful to report that as a writer she should have stuck to singing. In this effort, about a long lost Caravaggio, Richard Poe does not rise above the material. All his European characters, cultured or criminal, Italian or French, sound alike, and all sound like Americans putting on accents for a spaghetti commercial. But then, they were all written that way. B.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

AUG/SEP 01 - AudioFile