Customer Reviews

Caravaggio's Angel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Brandon is a new name to me, but having read the first Reggie Lee mystery, "Caravaggio's Angel" I will be back for more. It's especially nice to read an 'amateur sleuth' mystery in which the sleuthing believably derives from the main character's work and there is no copper involved.

The book has a brisk, no nonsense quality yet the telling is flavored with the human qualities that make a story worth reading - career, politics, sex, human misbehavior, and in this series' case, art-ful crime. The settings are sophisticated, the atmosphere intelligent, the writing fluid, and the plot fast-moving. I was surprised several times and liked the structure of the ending.

This is one of the finest mysteries, or book in any genre, that I've read in a long, long time. Characters are well developed, engaging and intelligent as well as clever and the plot is not only believable but intricate and carefully worked out. I read British mysteries almost non stop and predict that Ruth Brandon will shortly achieve a place right up there with the best writers (maybe even the golden era stars such as Dorothy Sayers, Michael Innes, and Edmund Crispin) of today -- the likes of PD James, Robert Barnard, Peter Lovesey . I particularly liked this because it is edgy without being noir and doesn't involve some grisly topic like serial killers/child molesters/burned out squats/masochistic drug dealers and similar.

The Director of the London National Gallery approves art historian Reggie Lee's concept to display three "original" works of artist Caravaggio, who created in 1605 the altarpiece St. Cecilia and the Angel and subsequently made two copies. She knows that the Getty and the Louvre each have one and assumes it should prove no problem to find the third.

Shockingly, Louvre Italian masterpiece administrator Antoine Rigaut refuses to loan the museum's copy. Since lending is a normal practice, Reggie goes to Paris to plead her case in person with Rigaut. However, he avoids her like she has the plague until he is found dead, an apparent suicide. Reggie is further stunned when a seemingly fourth copy surfaces. This makes her believe one of the originals is a fake; perhaps created in 1937 when the Louvre copy was recovered after being stolen. When the English expert meets Rigaut's mother, she begins to learn the true early twentieth century history of St. Cecilia and the Angel.

CARAVAGGIO'S ANGEL is an excellent art mystery starring a likable protagonist who goes from art historian to amateur sleuth in her efforts to learn the truth. The story line is fast-paced with the historical aspects adding a terrific taste of the early seventeenth century art world and the not so rare museum thefts of the early twentieth century from a modern perspective. Ruth Brandon provides a wonderful thriller that hopefully will lead to more blending of masterpieces with mysteries.

Harriet Klausner

Ruth Brandon's CARAVAGGIO'S ANGEL is the first in a series featuring Reggie (Regina) Lee, a curator at the National Gallery in London. Reggie is new to the National Gallery and she wants to make her mark by organizing an exhibition of the three paintings of "St. Cecilia and the Angel" by Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio from the town in which he was born. One of the paintings is owned by the Louvre and another is at the Getty Museum. Reggie believes she can locate the third, believed to be held privately. Reggie's planned exhibition is, at first, met with cooperation and enthusiasm. The Louvre and the Getty agree to loan their paintings until, suddenly and without explanation, the directors of the Louvre withdraw their permission. Reggie travels to Paris, determined that the exhibit will go on. Complications include events during the occupation of France during WWII, a suicide, a present-day political campaign, a few murders, and a fourth painting that signals that one of the known paintings is a fake. The author has provided a considerable amount of information about the techniques used by art historians which I found very interesting. The conclusion is unexpected. The details of "St Cecilia and the Angel" seem to refer to a painting attributed to Carlo Saracini, a contemporary of Caravaggio.

Why is it always a Caravaggio in art mysteries? Or so it seems. The protagonist in this book is a curator at the National Gallery in London. We know little about her and what we do learn throughout the book doesn't reflect all that well on her character. As stated in other reviews, the curator is putting together a small show of 3 of Caravaggio's paintings with angels in them but permission on the one from the Louvre is suddenly reversed so she goes to Paris to investigate. There she meets more poorly drawn characters. Her behavior throughout the book is not convincing or believable. Neither is the behavior of most of the other characters. About 90% of the text is descriptions of scenery in the countryside. 90% may be too low an estimate. There is next to no art historical information. The ending is disappointing and the descriptions of the inner workings of the National Gallery and the Louvre and of exhibition planning don't reflect reality. If you're looking for excellent mystery books involving art or museums, I strongly recommend the Nicholas Kilmer series which is set in Boston and Aaron Elkins' excellent 3 mysteries involving art museums (as well as some of his forensic anthropology mysteries that involve museums). And, of course, the Iain Pears series. These not only will provide you with much more believable mysteries and better writing but you will also learn a lot. I can give no explanation for the glowing reviews on this book other than the possibility of loyal friends.

CARAVAGGIO'S ANGEL (Ama. Sleuth-Dr. Reggie Lee-England/France- Cont) - Okay
Brandon, Ruth - 1st in series
Soho/Constable, 2008, US Hardcover - ISBN: 9781569475195

First Sentence: It wasn't even my school fête.

National Gallery curator Dr. Reggie Lee is working on putting together a small exhibit of the three Caravaggio paintings "St. Cecilia and the Angel." Although the Getty has agreed to lend their copy, the Louvre is now stalling and she cannot reach her contact there. While in France, she unexpectedly comes across the third painting. The owner grants permission for it to be shown but her son, a French Interior Minister, refuses.

Two sudden deaths and the appearance of a fourth copy of the painting make Reggie even more determined to uncover the truth both of the painting and of the deaths.

This book really is for the art lover. I appreciate art, but not enough to be entranced by this story. The mystery really is about the paintings and their history.

The characters, other than Juliette, the elderly lady, never came to life and I am so tired of characters, both male and female, being sexually attracted to each person they meet.

Sense of place was there, but so much more could have been done to make it real. The murder mystery is rather weak. The resolution was given but while the outcome for the person responsible was speculated, it was not actually realized.

For me, this was only an okay read and it's unlikely I'll read the next in the series.