A gripping thriller with a backdrop of enticing reality ... Shapiro masterfully interlaces history with mystery in The Collector's Apprentice, making it ideal for fiction lovers and art enthusiasts alike.
Art and intrigue make scheming bedfellows in the latest novel by B.A. Shapiro, master of the 'historical art thriller' ... The plot requires readers to suspend disbelief in key places, but the payoff is a fast-moving, multifaceted battle of wits. Art lovers will savor Shapiro's sensual descriptions of paintings that bring now legendary masterpieces to life.
B. A. Shapiro delivers another dose of art history, wrapped tightly in a thriller ... Shapiro takes liberty with the actual story, creating an enticing page-turner ... does an extraordinary job merging fact with fiction, bringing not only Henry Matisse and the real Edwin Bradley into the story, but Gertrude Stein and her consort of post-Impressionist artists. With Shapiro’s attention to detail and intricate plotting, it’s worth checking out two of her other novels, The Muralist and The Art Forger.
As the tale enters a late, repetitive spiral of machinations, a credulity-stretching mood intensifies ... less might have been more in this increasingly convoluted fusion of history and fantasy centered on an ambiguous central figure.
Clever and complex ... Shapiro’s portrayal of the 1920s art scene in Paris and Philadelphia is vibrant, and is populated by figures like Alice B. Toklas and Thornton Wilder; readers will be swept away by this thoroughly rewarding novel.
