Bradford Morrow

* My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book. *

With an opening sentence like "They never found his hands", you can expect that you're in for a serious crime story. The Forgers does not deliver the gruesomeness that that opening suggests, but it is still a twisty murder mystery with a likeable protagonist.

The corpse in question is that of Adam Diehl, brother-in-law of notorious forger Will. Will has entertained suspicions that Adam might also have been a forger, but has kept those suspicions to himself. However the murder brings his own past back under the microscope, and he finds he needs to defend himself from his wife's suspicions, without exposing Adam. Just when he thinks that he has succeeded, he starts getting threatening letters that could only have been produced by a master forger, one at least as good as himself.

Will and his wife Meghan retreat to an Irish village while Will tries to go straight and leave his tarnished reputation in the rare book world behind him. Things are not so simple though, and trouble soon follows.

I liked the unusual milieu that this novel is set in, and the mounting tension that Will feels as his past closes in on him while he struggles to make a life beyond forgery and faking.… (més)

Historical fiction about a young woman’s search to recover the separated movements of a sonata. As a child living in Prague, Otylie inherits a musical score from her father, who was killed in WWI. She breaks the score into three parts to hide it from the Nazis during WWII. In 2000, an elderly woman entrusts one of the parts to Meta, a musicologist and former concert pianist. Meta feels compelled to put her current life on hold to pursue the missing pieces. Her search takes her to the city of Prague, where she meets a variety of colorful characters, some of whom prove helpful, while others attempt to sabotage her efforts.

The writing is beautifully descriptive, especially the details about life in Prague. The storyline encompasses many timeless themes, such as family relationships, friendship, the far-reaching impacts of war, love, sacrifice, betrayal, idealism vs. pragmatism, and music as a source of inspiration and motivation. The story spans multiple time lines, including WWI, WWII, 1989, and 2000, and tends to jump backward and forward frequently. It is extremely detailed in places and includes musical jargon that may not be familiar to all readers. The upside of this use of musically descriptive language is the author’s ability to present an almost audible quality to the work. In addition to being an entertaining reading experience, I thought the author skillfully conveyed a message about the importance of preserving art and music for the enjoyment of future generations.

Recommended to classical music lovers and those interested in Czech history or culture. I requested and received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for a candid review. It is scheduled to be released on 10/3/17.
… (més)

I was given a free ARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book. I am an ardent bibliophile, so I really enjoyed how much I learned about books from this book! I will say, however, that I was rather disappointed in the end. The beginning built quickly with intrigue and danger. The reader is almost immediately plunged into the world of forgeries and fences and hidden collections. The book had the sense of building frantically and then suddenly sputtering out at the end. The ending was swift, entirely predictable and, as such, unsatisfactory. In fact, I hated the ending. There were also a few details that were left unresolved, such as the brother’s mysterious murder, that left me wondering if it was a clumsy attempt at setting it up for a sequel.

There was some foul language and violence. Overall, I enjoyed this book but wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it. It was more Nancy Drew than Dupin in the end, and as much as I loved Nancy Drew when I was a child, I prefer Dupin, Holmes, Poirot, or evening Miss Anatole over this group. This one was just ok for me.… (més)