Adrian Mathews

Set in Amsterdam, the story involves 'a looted painting, a secret code, a deadly pursuit....'. The 17th century painting which exerts such a hold over the two principal protagonists, a young art researcher Ruth, and Lydia, an extremely elderly claimant of the picture, turns out to have a value beyond its qualities as a somewhat mediocre painting, and so a racy mystery story unfolds.

Lydia is not the only one to want the painting. We time-travel from 17th century Amsterdam, through the Nazi-occupied town, to the modern city as the plot develops. Often complicated, sometimes baffling, the plot was less important to me than the evocations of Amsterdam itself in its various guises. I enjoyed the descriptions of the city and those who lived there and contributed to the story: Ruth and Lydia in particular, but also some of the 'bit parts' - Ruth's colleague Myles, her father, even the cat, Principessa. The plotting at the end of the story seems somewhat sensationalist and rushed, but I was happy to keep reading for the pleasure of continuing to get to know Amsterdam itself. The book was in any case, quite a page-turner.… (més)

It takes him a couple of chapters to get into gear but once he does there are some funny scenes, like the one with the calvados, or the one where his Englishness makes it impossible for him to use a French queue. I had a laugh at the bit where Kovacs calls Babalu a deus ex machina, because of course that's exactly what he is: he has to exist because of the plot. I wasn't too sure abou the wife popping up like a deus ex machina though. I don't know if he was making some sort of artistic point but I had been enjoying the mystery plot and would have liked there to have been something interesting behind the mystery. Really, the only complaint I have is his heavy use of adjectives, but as this was his first novel I shall blame his editor.… (més)

Sauumary from Amazon: When an old woman storms into the Rijks Museum demanding the return of her painting, archivist Ruth Braams cannot quell her curiosity. Together with Myles, her gay confidant, Ruth delves into the history of the piece of looted Nazi art and discovers an enigmatic picture with a disturbing wartime provenance. It also appears that the elderly Lydia is not the only claimant and, against strict bureau regulations, Ruth endeavours to help strengthen her case. Days later, Ruth begins to receive sinister anonymous threats, warning her to stay away from Lydia and the painting. When the door of her home, a houseboat on the Bloemgracht canal, is covered in graffiti and her gas supply tampered with, Ruth is convinced these are deterrents from the rival claimant. Our irrepressible and emotionally troubled heroine refuses to take them at face value and continues to strike up a friendship with the lonely old lady. But as the threats escalate, Ruth realises that there must be far more to the painting's popularity, and she enters into a series of increasingly lethal adventures as she investigates the painting's secret symbolism.… (més)