Art Kills [SIGNED COPY, FIRST PRINTING]

Lustbader, Eric Van, and van Lustbader, Eric

ISBN 10: 0786708891 / ISBN 13: 9780786708895

Published by Carrol & Graf, New York, NY, 2001

About this Item

New in new dust jacket. SIGNED by the author on the title page (signature only). Stated 1st edition, no number line (1st printing). New, unread copy with dust jacket in a protective mylar sleeve. Glued binding. With dust jacket. 87 p. Audience: General/trade. By the author of the Testament Novels and the Jack McClure / Alli Carson series. Rare signed. Where possible, all books come with dust jacket in a clear protective plastic sleeve, sealed in a ziplock bag, wrapped in bubble wrap, shipped in a box.

Seller Inventory # Alibris.0011623

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Art Kills [SIGNED COPY, FIRST PRINTING]
• Publisher: Carrol & Graf, New York, NY
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786708891
• ISBN 13: 9780786708895
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: New
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

Tess Chase investigates the circumstances surrounding a lost Rembrandt stolen from a hit-and-run victim's briefcase.

Reviews

Tess Chase is into the arts fine and martial as the heroine of this slender, mildly diverting thriller, in which the allegedly genteel milieu of art dealing intersects with the sleazy world of a notorious New York crime family. When a car deliberately hits and kills Howard Lenz, "a dodgy little art dealer," on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue across from the (fictitious) Empire State Museum of Art, art consultant Tess witnesses the crime. She follows the man who steals Lenz's blood-stained briefcase and discovers it contains a Raphael that was only rumored to exist. The priceless painting is being fought over by warring factions of the Bravanno crime family, one led by the urbane, ruthless Richard Sanborne (who married Jacqueline Bravanno, a Mafia daughter), the other by Antony Bravanno, Jacqueline's estranged brother. Tess finds herself in the middle of a plot that's too complex to unfold seamlessly in a mere 80 pages. She's a great concept for a heroine an intelligent, sophisticated woman who's not afraid of violent confrontation but she remains a concept. Lustbader's attempts to render her humanity seem contrived (as does Tess's short, bittersweet romance with Jacqueline). Similarly, most of the minor characters, such as the Mafiosi lieutenants, are crude, familiar caricatures of their type. Though the prose is at times vivid, nothing is as fully developed as it should be, and the ending feels forced. The book reads as if it were a treatment for a movie, lacking the dramatic unity that would make it a truly satisfying short work. (Jan. 4)Forecast: With rights sold to Britain, France, Germany and Japan, as well as Lustbader's high name recognition, expect initial strong sales, but be prepared for a sudden falling off once readers realize this isn't up to the level of other titles in this quality novella series.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.