Book Review: THE ENGAGEMENT by Samantha Hayes

  

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THE ENGAGEMENT

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Samantha Hayes

Author: Samantha Hayes

Book: The Engagement   

Publication Day: 10 January 2023

You thought you had escaped him. Until he proposed to your daughter.

‘There’s someone I want you to meet,’ Belle says, as a man draws up to her side. He’s tall with dark hair and stubble on his square jaw. He’s not exactly smiling, but the corner of his mouth curls upwards as he slides his hand around my daughter’s waist.

I grab my husband’s arm to steady myself, as the room spins around me.

I stare into the man’s eyes – jet black. Nothing and everything hidden behind them.

Fear prickles my skin as I remember what he did.

How I only just escaped.

All the lies I’ve had to tell since.

‘I want you to meet Jack,’ Belle says, brimming with excitement. ‘He’s my fiancé.’ She rests her head on his shoulder. ‘Isn’t it exciting? We’re engaged!’

Fear hammers in my chest. I have to stop this.

My daughter’s life is in danger, and it’s all because of me…

A totally gripping psychological thriller from an Amazon No1. bestseller that will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and have you gasping at the twists. Fans of The Housemaid, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will be flipping pages all night long!

***

Buy Links

Amazon:    https://geni.us/B0BJL2RHJ2social

 Audio:

UK: zpr.io/qCsJHVvmsAWh

US: zpr.io/HhFvjPaSe73g

 Listen to a sample here:  https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/the-engagement-by-samantha-hayes-narrated-by-sarah-durham

My Thoughts

THE ENGAGEMENT by Samantha Hayes is the first thriller I’ve read this year, and it was a great way to start.

As soon as we meet Hannah Greene, we can sense her anxiousness. She’s the mother of two daughters, but her focus is definitely on her just-about-to-turn-18 daughter Belle. Belle’s been in France for several months and out of Hannah’s reach. She cannot keep her safe, and this is proved true when Belle returns home announcing she’s engaged to a man more than twice her age. More distressingly, it’s someone Hannah knows from her previous life – a life no one else knows about, and one she wants left firmly in the past.

The book does at times delve into human trafficking and sex work, but it’s done in a sympathetic and non-gratuitous manner.

I found the author to be skilled in her portrayal of her characters: an anxious and stressed Hannah, a know-it-all teen in Belle, and a whole host of people just trying to get by. Some succeed, while others are taken advantage of at vulnerable times.

The author succeeded in surprising me time and again. While the overall story does stretch the bounds of credibility – hey, it’s fiction - it’s told in a way that makes you want to believe it because the twists and turns in it are really good. And that ending! That really surprised me. Well played, Ms. Hayes.

Review copy courtesy of Netgalley and Bookouture

About the Author

Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.

When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.

 

https://www.samanthahayes.co.uk/ 

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Book Review: THE LONG GAME by Simon Rowell

 

Author: Simon Rowell

Book: The Long Game

Series: Detective Zoe Mayer (Book 1)

Publication Day: 03 August 2021

A summer of relentless heat. A local surfer named Ray Carlson is found dead in a house not far from Portsea back beach. There’s a kitchen knife deep in his chest, and blood everywhere.

Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer is scarcely back from extended leave, and still wrestling with her demons, but she is assigned the case—alongside her new service dog, Harry, whose instincts help her in unexpected ways.

There’s an obvious suspect for the murder, and Zoe makes an arrest. But it’s all too neat, and none of Zoe’s colleagues believes her theory that the whole thing is a stitch-up.

Except now someone is trying to hunt Zoe down.

***

My Thoughts

THE LONG GAME by Simon Rowell introduces us to Zoe Mayer, Detective Sergeant with the Victoria Police who has just come back to work after several months of enforced leave.

Her first case back, a murder, seems quite straight forward once the investigative work begins. Enquires are made, witnesses interviewed, evidence is gathered and it all points to one person who is adamant they are innocent. And yet, Zoe feels something is not quite right . . . it’s a bit too down pat for her to be satisfied.

I thought the plot was great. Although thwarted in the end, the ‘bad guys’ did a good job planning the crimes.  

There were two key aspects that didn’t quite work for me. First, for the first three quarters of the book nothing much happens. Second, many of the characters, especially Zoe’s colleagues, are predictable cookie-cutter types that offer little depth to the story.

The final quarter of the book is the best. The pacing increases significantly and there’s finally a sense of urgency to catch the killer(s) before they strike again. This last part also offers more twist, turns and revelations that moved the story along until its conclusion.

I liked this book enough to want to read the next Zoe Mayer book that is coming out in 2023. 

Review copy courtesy of Text Publishing & Netgalley.

Coming Soon . . . 

Wild Card (Detective Zoe Mayer, Book 2)

Publication date: 10 January 2023

Publisher: Text Publishing

***

About the Author

Simon Rowell has worked on outback oil rigs, managed nightclubs, been a tour guide and run marketing campaigns. He is the author of The Long Game and The Echo of Others, which was longlisted for the Ned Kelly Awards for Best First Crime in 2018. He lives with his wife, Karen, in rural Victoria on a farm full of rescued animals.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sirowell_author

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimonRowellAuthor

Book Review: MURDER IN THE LIBRARY by Katie Gayle

 

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MURDER IN THE LIBRARY

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Katie Gayle

Author: Katie Gayle

Book: Murder In The Library        

Series: Julia Bird (Book 2)

Publication Day: 07 September 2022 

Julia Bird’s picturesque Cotswolds life is everything she’d dreamed of. Until, that is, she discovers a dead body in the library…

Julia Bird had imagined the quiet of rural life would be soothing after years in the city, but she finds she can’t just sit still. Determined to throw herself into village activities, she joins the library just in time to attend a talk by celebrated local author Vincent Andrews.

Charming, devilishly handsome and talented, Vincent teases the crowd with a reading from his forthcoming novel. Set in a village bearing strange similarities to Berrywick, with characters the audience start to recognise, Vincent hints of dark secrets to be revealed, to gasps of outrage from the room. The meeting ends in uproar, and, just hours later, Vincent’s dead body is discovered behind the bookshelves…

As one of the last people to see him alive, Julia feels morally bound to help the police investigate. With her trusty Labrador, Jake, at her side, she decides to do her own sleuthing and quickly discovers that Vincent’s personal life is messy, his finances are in disarray and his book sales are declining. But most of all, remembering her neighbours’ faces at the book reading, Julia wonders if one of them could have lost the plot enough to kill…

As Julia interrogates the suspects, she walks straight into another scene of murder and mayhem, and realises Vincent’s manuscript is now missing. There’s someone out there who’s deadly serious about keeping their secrets unpublished. Will Julia be able to stop them, before anyone else gets hurt?

Brilliantly twisty, this completely thrilling cosy mystery is perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Helena Marchmont and Clare Chase.

***

My Thoughts

MURDER IN THE LIBRARY by Katie Gayle is the second in the Julia Bird cosy mystery books.

After a somewhat bumpy introduction to village life, Julia seems to have found her groove. Village life suits her, she is enjoying herself, enjoying life with her mischievous dog, Jake, and, there’s even a potential romance in the offing.

But life takes another strange turn when local-boy-come-famous-author VF Andrew’s body is found in the library. It’s murder alright but whodunnit?

The writing duo Katie Gayle have once again given us a group of interesting and quirky characters. This book is more serious in tone

than the first of the series, but what we get is still in keeping with the storyline and the series. I felt the book was plotted well. The pacing worked for me .  

I am still a huge fan of Julia, the main character. She is so down to earth and sensible . . . but she is certainly not boring.

I want to say I guessed who did the murderer is, but I failed on that score. Never mind. I thoroughly enjoyed my return visit to the fictitious village of Berrywick and I am eager to return.  

Snuggle into your favourite reading chair and get ready to be immersed in village life and murder.

Review copy courtesy of Netgalley and Bookouture

About the Authors

Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cosy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. Unlike their sleuth Epiphany Bloom, neither of them have ever stolen a cat from the vet.

https://www.facebook.com/KatieGayleWriter

https://twitter.com/KatieGayleBooks

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Book Review: AN ENGLISH GARDEN MURDER by Katie Gayle

  

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AN ENGLISH GARDEN MURDER

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Katie Gayle

Author: Katie Gayle

Book: An English Garden Murder

Series: Julia Bird (Book 1)

Publication Day: 05 May 2022 

Meet Julia Bird: recently single, reluctantly retired, and… an amateur sleuth?

Julia Bird has left London for a fresh start in a picturesque Cotswolds village, and the rustic charm and cosy fireplaces of her little cottage are everything she’d hoped for. But when she tears down the old garden shed to make way for a chicken coop, she unearths much more than she’d bargained for… the body of a young woman, apparently buried for decades, thrusting Julia into a baffling mystery.

With only one copper on the case in Berrywick, Julia decides to solve the who and whodunnit herself, taking her wayward puppy Jake along for the ride. And so begins a whirlwind tour of the village – from the dotty 90-year-old to the delightful doctor and the village gardener, it seems everyone has something to hide.

Soon, Julia is convinced she has discovered the killer’s identity, until Jake, a true Labrador, finds a new love of the local lake’s waterfowl and instead ends up catching her chief suspect… drowned. Back at square one, with potential culprits galore, Julia – newly nicknamed the Grim Reaper – despairs at ever solving the murders.

But as Julia ruffles feathers village-wide, the clock is ticking. There is someone in the village who has killed twice already. Will they be prepared to make it third time lucky to keep their secret safe?

This totally addictive page-turning cozy mystery is perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands.

Purchase

Amazon: https://geni.us/B09SQ8CD7Jsocial

UK Audio: zpr.io/6WBwQ4rZUzdE

US Audio : zpr.io/6PaCiZHfPWqL

***

My Thoughts

AN ENGLISH GARDEN MURDER by Katie Gayle is the first in the Julia Bird cosy mystery books. It’s a light and entertaining story that will keep you guessing whodunit while also laughing at the idiosyncrasies of village life.

When recently divorced retiree Julia Bird restarts her life in bucolic Berrywick, the last thing she expects is a village where dead bodies begin appearing within days of her arrival.  Even worse, Julia’s the one that keeps stumbling upon them!

I enjoyed getting to know Julia. Her life has taken some unexpected turns but equipped with her intrinsic no-nonsense attitude, Julia is making concerted efforts to create a new life for herself. She’s already been claimed by Jake, an exuberant puppy who failed his exam to become a seeing-eye dog – too many birds to chase, you know. She’s joined the book club and has been roped into doing a few shifts at the charity shop. The trouble is, someone is killing these people and evidence points to it being a local. Some people she’s met may be quirky, but could they also be the killer?

The story is paced well, the plot works, and Julia, our protagonist is great. She’s straightforward and down to earth - such a refreshing quality for a fictional character these days. Even with multiple murders, Katie Gayle have created a village I would love to live in and with characters I would love to know. 

 

Review copy courtesy of Netgalley and Bookouture

About the Authors

Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cosy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats. Unlike their sleuth Epiphany Bloom, neither of them have ever stolen a cat from the vet.

https://www.facebook.com/KatieGayleWriter

https://twitter.com/KatieGayleBooks

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Book Review: THE PILOT'S WIFE by Catherine Hokin

                  

THE PILOT'S WIFE

by

Catherine Hokin

Publication Date: 04 April, 2022

Publisher: Bookouture

About the Book

‘Smile, nod, and don’t breathe a word of what happens here. Or I’ll put you on the next train to Auschwitz myself.’

Four years later. Hanni Winter shivers in her thin coat as she hurries through the empty Berlin streets to her job. Despite the freezing winter and poverty all around, her cheeks flush when she meets the man she is photographing today, charismatic Tony Miller, the American pilot risking his life to bring food and provisions to the starving people of the city. But her rush of joy turns to ash as she sees the man behind him…

It’s been years since Hanni fled her terrible past, but seeing Reiner Foss now brings back harrowing memories of the man they called The Showman, and of the concentration camp he commanded. The last time she tried to expose him, Hanni almost died, can she dare to try again? Or should she seize the chance she sees in Tony’s sparkling eyes to leave the horrors of the war behind?

Hanni is no longer the frightened child she was when the Nazis devastated her life beyond repair. She vows to avenge every person who suffered at Reiner’s hands. But does her attraction to Tony leave her vulnerable? Can Hanni protect her loved ones from her past, or will the cost of fighting her demons ultimately prove more than she can pay?

*

Buy Link

Amazon: https://geni.us/B09QT63TQRsocial

***

My Thoughts

THE PILOT’S WIFE by Catherine Hokin is the second book in the Hanni Winter series. It can be read as a stand-alone, but if you can fit it into your reading time, I recommend the full experience of starting with book one.

It’s 1948 in a divided Berlin. We are introduced to the alluring (and fictitious) American pilot, Tony Miller. He is one of the many helping Berlin residents by flying in to the Western zones the much needed food and supplies that the city residents have been cut off from. Miller is definitely there to help but he also has his own personal reasons for wanting to be in Berlin.

Hanni Winter is a photographer with the police department. She also freelances, and it’s at a public relations event that she meets the charismatic Miller, and like many others is drawn into his captivating sphere. But a spate of seemingly unrelated murders finds Hanni again working closely with Detective Inspector Freddy Schlüssel. The same Freddy that Hanni has feelings for but knows she cannot be with because of past secrets.

Hokin deftly weaves into her story real historical events (the Berlin Blockade and the Berlin Airlift), a compelling mystery and an, albeit, unrequited (for now) romance. This is a book filled with secrets and a story about the lengths people will make to keep those secrets hidden. I enjoy these looks into post-WWII life in Germany that Hokin is giving us. I especially like that while every character is a singular being, their souls are not; they carry the weight of their family and ancestors, be they perpetrators or victims.  Such burdens can inspire great things in people, but they can also bring out the opposite. There is definitely no shortage of people willing to take advantage, especially when even the ‘good guys’ make choices in their own interests and not in the interest of victims.

The story is well paced and kept my interest from start to finish. Many loose ends are tied up but there are a few major ones that clearly form a larger story arc for the series. I am unsure how many books the author plans for this series, but there has got to be at least one more. Please tell me there’s at least one more!  And make sure to read the Acknowledgements. Hokin has listed several of the sources used in this book if you would like to read further about the historical events mentioned in The Pilot’s Wife.      

Review copy courtesy of Netgalley and Bookouture. 

***

About the Author

Catherine Hokin is the author of several World War Two inspired novels set in Berlin, her favourite city. Following a History degree at Manchester University she worked in teaching, marketing and politics, while waiting for a chance to do what she really wanted, which was to write full time. Her short stories have been published by iScot, Writers Forum and Myslexia magazines and she was the winner of the 2019 Fiction 500 Short Story Competition. She is a lover of strong female leads and a quest.

Catherine now lives in Glasgow with her American husband. She has two grown-up children – one of whom lives, very conveniently, in Berlin – and a lifelong addiction to very loud music.

 

https://www.catherinehokin.com/

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Book Review: FANCY MEETING YOU HERE by Ali Berg & Mchelle Kalus

     

FANCY MEETING YOU HERE

by

Ali Berg & Michelle Kalus

Publication Date: 30 November 2021

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

About the Book

Sometimes the man of your dreams is standing right in front of you... only ten years in the past. A charming and unconventional love story about trying to rewrite history.

Evie Berry is a thirty-year-old wannabe screenwriter who spends her days managing a London cinema bar and making the podcast Pasta La Vista with her best friend Ben. She's also obsessed with Hugo Hearst. Have you heard of him? Of course you have. He's only one of the most influential and not to mention swoon-worthy bestselling writers of his generation.

When Evie's not hooking up with her on-again, off-again booty call 'Ever-Ready Freddy' (and sometimes even when she is), she fantasises about what might have been if she'd met Hugo years ago, when he was just a struggling writer.

After Evie interviews a psychic to the stars on her podcast, her life is catapulted ten years into the past. But the grass isn't quite as green as she remembers . . .

Fancy Meeting You Here is a hilarious and heartwarming new book from the bestselling authors of the global hits The Book Ninja and While You Were Reading - a love story about reliving your early twenties and testing out that old saying: be careful what you wish for.

***

My Thoughts

FANCY MEETING YOU HERE by Ali Berg & Michelle Kalus is a light-hearted, yet cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for.

Thirty-year-old Evie Berry’s life isn’t bad but she’s definitely lamenting lost opportunities. An interview with a psychic for the podcast (Pasta La Vista) she co-hosts with best friend Ben results in some strange advice that Evie takes up . . . the next thing she knows, she’s travelled ten years back in time. Evie is twenty, living at home, studying film at university, and Ben is still her best friend.

Now Evie can rewrite history, including engineering a relationship with her long-term obsession, Hugo Hearst. It all starts off smoothly, yet the closer Evie gets to what she thinks she wanted, she starts to realise it isn’t what she thought it would be or what’s best for her.  

Fancy Meeting You Here is peppered with plenty of puns (both funny and groan-worthy) and movie references (I made a list). It’s an opportunity for a life re-do – something I think many of us would say yes to. It’s a fun and entertaining read. If you’re a Christina Lauren fan, check out Berg & Kalus. 

Review copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin.

***

About the Authors

Hi there! We're Ali and Michelle. Co-authors, founders of Books on the Rail, professional Book Ninjas and best friends since we ditched play time for writing club in primary school.

Our first two novels The Book Ninja (2018) and While You Were Reading (2019) have been published and enjoyed around the world, and The Book Ninja has been optioned to be made into a film. Our third novel Fancy Meeting You Here was released in December 2021.

When we’re not writing books, Ali is a copywriter and Michelle is a primary school teacher. We both live in Melbourne with our respective families and colour-coordinated bookshelves.

https://aliandmichelle.com/

Book Review: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus

    

LESSONS IN CHEMSTRY

by

Bonnie Garmus

Publication Date: 29 March 2022

Publisher: Penguin

About the Book

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with--of all things--her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth's unusual approach to cooking ("combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride") proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

***

My Thoughts

Without doubt LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus will be one of my 2022 top reads. It’s original and creative; a refreshing and delightful mix of quirky, humorous, and sincere.

It’s the early 1960s and having been effectively barred from a career in science, Elizabeth Zott (a woman and a single mother – gasp!) finds herself the reluctant host of a live TV cooking show. Elizabeth soon becomes the housewife’s superhero with not only her pragmatic and scientific approach to cooking, but her respect for them as intelligent women performing an unappreciated role.  

Things are a little more chaotic in her personal life. She is struggling with episodes of depression, her daughter is insatiably curious about the concept of family, her boss is forever pleading with her to be ‘normal’, and her neighbour is (at first) equal parts judgmental and jealous of Elizabeth.    

As the story progresses, Elizabeth and her motley crew - including a dog named six-thirty - become a family of sorts. They learn from each other, they lean on each other, and they help each other.

A captivating story from debut author Bonnie Garmus. I am eagerly waiting to see what she brings us next. 

Review copy courtesy of Better Reading (Australia) and the publisher.

***

About the Author

Bonnie Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who has worked widely in the fields of technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open-water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Born in California and most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.

https://www.bonniegarmus.com/

Book Review: THE STONING by Peter Papathanasiou

   

THE STONING

by

Peter Papathanasiou

Publication Date: 01 October 2021

Publisher: Transit Lounge

About the Book

A small town in outback Australia wakes to a crime of medieval savagery.

A local schoolteacher is found taped to a tree and stoned to death. Suspicion instantly falls on the refugees at the new detention centre on Cobb's northern outskirts. Tensions are high, between whites and the local indigenous community, between immigrants and the townies.

Still mourning the recent death of his father, Detective Sergeant George Manolis returns to his childhood hometown to investigate. Within minutes of his arrival, it's clear that Cobb is not the same place he left. Once it thrived, but now it's a poor and derelict dusthole, with the local police chief it deserves. And as Manolis negotiates his new colleagues' antagonism, and the simmering anger of a community destroyed by alcohol and drugs, the ghosts of his past begin to flicker to life.

Vivid, pacy and almost dangerously atmospheric, The Stoning is the first in a new series of outback noir featuring DS Manolis, himself an outsider, and a good man in a world gone to hell. 

***

My Thoughts

The STONING by Peter Papathanasiou is book one in the DS George Manolis series. Manolis is sent to Cobb, a fictitious rural town in outback Australia, to investigate the stoning death of a respected teacher.

Manolis spent his early childhood Cobb, but the few memories he has of the place are far removed from what it is today: a declining town verging on lawlessness, where drug and alcohol abuse is rampant. A town with a nearby refugee detention centre that incenses residents, promoted as a boost to the community, it only seems to have brought a transient workforce and the refugees, who, in the eyes of the residents are better treated than they are.

Reading some interviews and publicity material about the book, it’s clear that the author is well versed in the issues he writes in the book. As a reader, I felt this was both an advantage and disadvantage. The story premise is compelling – the first chapter definitely draws you in - and I was interested enough to continue reading. On the other side, I found the ever increasing agenda-pushing and at times fanciful language (‘wild refugee blood’ . . . ???) became a drawback.

My favourite character was Constable Andrew ‘Sparrow’ Smith. He’s young, Aboriginal, gay, and a police officer. In an insular town like Cobb where racism is widespread, homosexuality is condemned, and the police are despised, Sparrow has definitely got the deck stacked against him. And yet, he still picks himself up, time and again. I would have loved to learn more about him – he deserves his own book.   

This book firmly sits in the ‘outback noir’ genre, and I think fans of this genre will appreciate that the book brings something a little different with an unusual crime and the atypical setting of an insular town sitting alongside a refugee detention centre.  

Book borrowed from my library. I love libraries!

***

About the Author

Peter Papathanasiou was born in northern Greece in 1974 and adopted as a baby to an Australian family. His debut book, a memoir, was published in 2019. Peter’s writing has otherwise been published by The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, The Guardian UK, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Good Weekend, ABC and SBS. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from City, University of London; a Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences from The Australian National University (ANU); and a Bachelor of Laws from ANU specialising in criminal law.

Book review: THE GALLERIST by Michael Levitt

  

THE GALLERIST

by

Michael Levitt

Publication Date: February 2022

Publisher: Fremantle Press

About the Book

James Devlin is a celebrated artist whose past is as blank as an empty canvas. When Jan Bilowski brings a painting, which was a gift to her dead sister, into Mark Lewis’s gallery, she tells him it was created by a seventeen-year-old boy called Charlie. Why then does the work look exactly like a James Devlin—painted a whole decade before the artist’s career began on the other side of the country? 

***

My Thoughts

I do love a mystery that involves a work of art, even when it is fictional. In THE GALLERIST, Michael Levitt writes the story about a newly discovered painting that closely resembles the abstract style of James Devlin, a renowned (and fictitious) Australian artist. This find leads to many questions about the painting and it’s uncanny similarity to Devlin’s other works, especially given the painting is dated more than a decade before Devlin’s arrival on the art scene.

The mystery element is what initially appealed to me but it didn’t take long to realise the ‘who’ is obvious. It’s the ‘how’ and ‘why’ that drives the story.  My interest was maintained because the story poses a dilemma to Mark Lewis - art aficionado and gallery owner - the person who believes the newly unearthed painting is a work by Devlin. It’s not a straight-forward investigation given Lewis would potentially be seen to be ‘outing’ Devlin as some type of fraud. Yet what if he isn’t a fraud and there is a reasonable explanation? Lewis would be putting his own reputation and livelihood at risk pursuing any sort of inquiry, especially in the very small art world of Australia where he is minor player.

I am no expert, but Levitt seems to write with significant knowledge of Australian artists, and the book is peppered throughout with examples.

It did take me a while to get used to the writing. It’s measured and at times detached. There’s a formality that I felt obstructed my ability to jump into the story and simply go along for the ride. For me it was worth persisting until I got into the groove.

The conclusion to the mystery is clear-cut, yet the measures taken by characters to do what’s ‘best’ are a little murkier. I think this would make for a good book club conversation.

The book didn’t take me in the direction I expected, but I enjoyed the journey.  

Book borrowed from my library. I love libraries!

***

About the Author

Dr Michael Levitt MB BS, FRACS

Michael Levitt is a practising surgeon and health bureaucrat. He is also a sought-after public speaker who in 2003, was awarded the Centenary Medal (in Australia) for services to public education about colorectal cancer. Michael has been collecting art for many years, has been the invited speaker at the launch of art exhibitions and at the launch of books about art, and has written numerous articles about art and artworks for newspapers, magazines and art exhibition catalogues. An exhibition of selected works from his and his wife, Carolyn’s, personal collection was held at Ellenbrook Gallery in 2021.