Burnt Sienna [Mass Market Paperback]

David Morrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

Famous artist, and ex-Marine, Chase Malone is hired by wealthy arms dealer Derek Bellasar to paint a portrait of his wife, Sienna. Malone learns Bellasar has married a string of beauties--all of whom have died after their portrait was painted. Now working for the CIA to keep a biological arms deal from going down, Chase must save Sienna--and his own life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like his last novel, Double Image, Morrell's robust latest dips into gothic territory as an obsession with beauty leads to lethal extremes. The new novel, however, incorporates more of the uber-thriller elements for which Morrell is known, depicting one decent man's fight against a black-market arms dealer equipped with unlimited funds, political access and a private army. Ex-marine hero Chase Malone has made it big in the art world as a painter, so arms dealer Derek Bellasar asks him to paint a portrait of Bellasar's wife. Malone won't do commission work but Bellasar won't take no for an answer. Soon Malone finds his life in turmoil: his land in Mexico has been sold, his house is scheduled for bulldozing, his favorite restaurant closes and his New York gallery has been bought--by Bellasar. Malone's old Marine buddy, now in the CIA, is after Bellasar for myriad international crimes and begs Malone to spy on the arms dealer. Jeb adds that Bellasar has had three beautiful wives, each of whom died right after having their portrait painted. Malone agrees and is flown to an extravagant mansion and arms-testing range in Nice, where he falls in love with Bellasar's wife, Sienna. The feeling is mutual and the pair plan their escape when Sienna discovers the portraits of previous wives and an even more terrifying secret. Morrell delivers hairpin plot-curves as the lovers make their way to a CIA safe house, only to have Sienna recaptured and Malone left for dead. The mayhem concludes in a pyrotechnic ending with a twist that Morrell's fans will love in spite of the accompanying romantic schmaltz. Foreign agent, Danny Baror. Film rights to Irish Dreamtime Productions; author tour. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Morrell's latest thriller is a vast improvement over his disappointing last book, Double Image. Ex-Marine Chase Malone has become a well-respected artist known for his beautiful landscape paintings. Derek Bellasar, a ruthless arms dealer, tries to force Malone to paint a portrait of his wife, Sienna. At first, Malone refuses, but when Jeb Wainwright, a Marine buddy who now works for the CIA, shows up asking for help, Malone relents. It seems that Bellasar commissioned paintings of each of his three wives before they died in mysterious accidents. Can Malone prevent Sienna from following in their footsteps? The characters are interesting, the plot is relentless, and no one excels at writing action scenes like Morrell. Thrillers don't get any better than this. Recommended for public libraries.
-Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Vision (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446609609
• ISBN-13: 978-0446609609
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,203,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent thriller, April 3, 2000

By 

Aaron Steel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burnt Sienna (Hardcover)

Morrell has long been a favorite author of mine, and although he slipped a little with his last book, he has delivered another winner in Burnt Sienna. Interesting characters, tons of suspense, and fast paced action make for a great read that you will finish before you know it. Some of the events are predictable, but the with the intrigue and intense action you won't care. Morrell's writing is much better than most other books in the genre. If you are a Morrell fan or just a thriller fan in general, pick this one up.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure action adventure, March 5, 2000

By 

John A. Hammett (Tallahassee,Fl.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burnt Sienna (Hardcover)

Now I know why David Morrell is one of my favorite writer.Burnt Sienna starts with a bang and does not stop until the explosive ending.This book will make you read it in two days.Mr. Morrell,please do not wait so long to write another.If you liked the fast pace action of "Extreme Denial" and the love story of "Double Image" than this book is for you.David Morrell's books keep getting better and better.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A heavy-handed and predictable novel., March 12, 2000

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Burnt Sienna (Hardcover)

I have read a number of books by Morrell in the past because he has the ability to write extremely exciting action sequences. Unfortunately, in "Burnt Sienna," even the action sequences are not particularly exciting. In fact, this book is weak in a number of ways. The lead character, Chase Malone, a Marine who becomes a world-famous painter, is a macho man with a sensitive soul. Sienna Bellasar, the beautiful heroine, is a somewhat clueless beauty who seems to be oblivious to the fact that she is married to a psychopath. Do beautiful women have to be so dumb? Sienna's husband, Derek, is a "by the numbers" character. He's filthy rich from selling armaments to rogue regimes, and he will do anything for money. Bellasar also discards women who pass the age of thirty, because their beauty starts to fade. When I say "discards," I mean it literally--he has them killed. Our hero, Chase, is sent by the CIA to save Sienna and to stop Derek from his nefarious activities. None of these characters ever comes to life. The action sequences are not particularly exciting. The only part of the book that moved me was the last page, which was somewhat poignant. Overall, I had the feeling that Morrell wrote this book mechanically; "Burnt Sienna" is not his best work.