The Gravity of Shadows: A Novel - Hardcover

Ramus, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060187794 ISBN 13: 9780060187798

Publisher: Harper, 1998

Synopsis

In his critically acclaimed debut thriller, Thief of Light, former high-stakes art dealer David Ramus gave us a harrowing glimpse inside New York City's ruthlessly competitive art world. Now, in an electrifying return, Ramus casts his unflinching eye on the exclusive old-money world of Palm Beach to create a haunting tale of unfathomable wealth, merciless greed and page-turning suspense. Set behind the gates of a sprawling ocean-front mansion, The Gravity of Shadows weaves a layered account of a priceless Palm Beach art collection, an eager New York art dealer and a smoldering political secret whose powerful keeper will protect it at any cost.

Wil Sumner, a self-made New York City art dealer, was entranced by the lure of fine art from an early age. Raised in the shadow of Palm Beach's spectacular wealth, he was determined to succeed in a world that had always existed just beyond his reach. Now, after making it in New York, Wil finds his business about to come crashing down in a heap of bank debt and broken dreams. An unexpected proposition -- to return to Palm Beach to appraise the private collection of Andrew Stevenson, a wealthy recluse -- may be his only chance to get back in the game.

About this title

About the Author

Once hailed by Cosmopolitan magazine as a "Bachelor-of-the-Month," Ramus lost $5 million when the art market crashed. He lives with his wife and children in Palm Beach, Florida.

Reviews

Like a brakeless jalopy that slowly tops a hill then careens out of control on its way down, Ramus's gripping second novel starts slowly, but once it picks up speed, all you can do is hang on for the ride. Down-on-his-luck art dealer Wil Sumner gets the chance of a lifetime when reclusive millionaire Andrew Stevenson asks him to appraise his rare collection of drawings for potential sale. But the job is not without its complications: Stevenson's lawyer is against the sale, and the collection contains a sorely tempting, uncatalogued Velasquez notebook, which could put Sumner on easy street. And when an attacker invades the house and demands to be handed a set of secret files, Sumner?who knew Stevenson and his seductive daughter M.K. when he was growing up on the wrong side of the Palm Beach tracks?ends up in the middle of a long list of betrayal and murder. As in his previous novel, Thief of Light, former art dealer Ramus packs the story with credible art world details; in this novel he also manages to create an unpredictable plot and a believable hero. Sumner is not one of those latent supermen who turns into Rambo when the chips are down. He blunders into crises without thinking, and while he may want to be the white knight in a damsel-in-distress story, he has neither the armor nor the weaponry for the job?which makes his struggle to redeem himself (and resist the temptation of that uncatalogued notebook) all the more interesting. U.K. and translation rights: Aaron Priest Agency.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Scattered, amateurish thriller featuring an art dealer-as-sleuth poking around the mansions of Palm Beach society, by a former art dealer and heroin addict. Ramus' second effort (Thief of Light, 1995) begins with a deceptive semblance of storytelling craft, introducing debt-dogged art dealer Wil Sumner as he helps an elderly couple sell an heirloom painting at auction. Immediately afterward, Sumner is mysteriously summoned to Palm Beach by Broward Gaines, attorney for bedridden multimillionaire Andrew Stevenson, who wants his collection of drawings appraised for sale. A poor boy who grew up serving the cabanas of Palm Beach society, Wil arrives to witness a harassing stranger being driven off by Maj, the black groundskeeper, and soon teams up with the de rigeur poolside blond in the bikini--Stevenson's daughter, M.K.--to try to figure out why Andrew is selling what turns out to be a fabulous collection. Wil ends up fighting a lethal intruder who breaks in and demands ``the file'' from a medicated Andrew. In the bedside battle, the thug kills M.K.'s mother and flees, leaving the police to suspect Wil of her murder. By listening at keyholes, Wil figures out the mystery: Florida's Spanish-born gubernatorial candidate, Roberto Salgo, is a former Falangist from the Spanish Civil War, one of Franco's nasty young terrorists. After comatose Andrew wakes up, he confesses to Wil that, when he was a young schoolboy living in Spain, he went along with Roberto the night the gang torched a church and killed three nuns. It was his remorseful attempt to force Salgo to withdraw his candidacy by threatening to reveal his secret that has caused all the trouble. By now, of course, Salgo's men have kidnaped M.K., leaving Wil and Maj to track down and rescue her in a bloody gun battle. A flaccid pudding that mushes together serious issues with outtakes from Baywatch and Miami Vice, although the art history details and Palm Beach milieu ring true. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Wil Sumner is an out-of-luck art dealer, victim of a scam by his former partner, who left him holding the bag. He is asked to do an appraisal of a collection of drawings in Palm Beach, and since he needs the money, he goes there and is drawn into a plot involving a former war criminal from Franco's army now running for governor. It's a labyrinthine plot, and of course there is the beautiful daughter of the collector and various colorful Florida characters who give this book some of the flavor of an Elmore Leonard novel. Ramus (Thief of Light, HarperCollins, 1995) wrote part of this novel while in prison for the interstate transport of stolen art, and his best writing here is about the art works Sumner is supposed to appraise. But the plotting, setting, and dialog all work well; a very good second effort.ADavid Dodd, Capitola, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Former art dealer Ramus, whose experiences in that high-stakes realm have been on the seamy side, continues to parlay his insider's knowledge into sophisticated thrillers. The first, Thief of Light (1995), was a rough-and-tumble New York tale. His second is set in paradisaical Palm Beach, where Wil Sumner, an art dealer struggling to rebuild his sidetracked career and pay off massive debts, has been hired to assess a very private private collection. Wil is puzzled by Andrew Stevenson's decision to sell off his remarkable artworks clandestinely rather than offer them to museums, but before he can learn more, he is dragged into an escalating cycle of violence as members of a mysterious gang search for papers that link Stevenson and the man who may very well be Florida's next governor to atrocities committed during the Spanish civil war. Ramus' cast is pleasing, his pacing perfect, and his spiking of the plot with dashes of political and art history most alluring. Donna Seaman

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060187794
• ISBN 13: 9780060187798
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304