MariReads: Review: The Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Review: The Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe

The Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe 344 pages, Paperback Published July 2014, SparksPress
Source: from publisher for review, BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge
About the Book

Tyler Sears, art thief, just released from a Federal prison, vows never again.

He slides into a simple life bartending in NYC until one day an invitation arrives to the hottest art event of the season, where Tyler meets Komate Imasu, famed art collector. Suddenly Tyler's vows of abstinence slip away as Imasu uses threats against Tyler's family. Tyler quickly learns that gambling against a ruthless billionaire is never a good idea.

Forgetting his own safety, Tyler plunges headfirst into a world of art forgers, hit men, Yakuza, a femme fatale named Chanel N°5, and the hideous curse of van Gogh, in order to pull off...the greatest art heist in history.

My Review
For some reason I thought this was going to be a historical fiction. The name through me off. Was I surprised to find this to be a thriller and a good one. It was full of intrigue, interesting characters and a ridiculously impossible art heist. This isn't the sleek and luxurious art world of The Thomas Crown Affair. It is a very real, dirty and dangerous world that Hoppe gives us and I really liked it. It is a very fast and entertaining read and I really enjoyed getting lost in it. The action is non stop from beginning to end. I was totally immersed and invested in seeing Ty and his family make it safely to the end of the book. And, I guess, I maybe could call it historical fiction. It takes place in 1999 in NYC leading up to the start of the new Millennium... Okay, maybe not.
About the Author

Paul Hoppe worked as a lobbyist in Washington DC, a stockbroker on Wall Street, and a screenwriter in Hollywood before writing his first novel. He has lived on four different continents and currently splits his time between the High Sierras and the beaches of Australia.