Customer Reviews

The Death Artist

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The premise is enticing: a string of murders, each meticulously staged to represent a famous work of art (such as the late-eighteenth-century painting "The Death of Marat" featured on the book's cover).

Good ideas that are executed well -- particularly in first novels -- are rare, so it was with cautious optimism that I picked up The Death Artist by long-time painter and first-time author Jonathan Santlofer.

Certainly, it's perfect subject matter for an artist to explore, yet I wasn't sure how gracefully the visual would translate into words. As it turns out, it's the painter's eye that gives the book its power: the attention to tiny visual details that evoke a scene; the imagination; and the way the author uses words like brushstrokes, layering them onto the page until, slowly, images take on shape and meaning.

The Death Artist succeeds as a mystery, with effective plot twists and frightening psychological drama, but it's more than a novel of suspense. The subtle extras -- realistic characters, insightful glimpses into art history, caricatures of New York's art scene -- set it apart from others of that genre.

With some suspense novels, it seems writers exhaust their inspiration in developing the threads of plot, only to race through the denouement, tying up loose ends in a haphazard bundle. But in The Death Artist, the resolution was as carefully crafted as the rest: compelling, terrifying and surprising.

The book is edgy, darkly funny and very scary. The pacing is perfect, too: engaging from the first pages, increasingly taut as the story unfolds. I couldn't put the book down till I finished after 3:00 in the morning. I'd recommend it not only to lovers of suspense, but to anyone who enjoys intelligent, lively, insightful storytelling.

Within just a few pages I was sucked into the world of Kate McKinnon, ex-cop, and present day art-historian-celebrity. I was prepared for a murder mystery. What I did not expect was to be so intimately propelled into the world of the contemporary New York City art scene together with crash course in art history.

As I was reading this incredibly engrossing book I quickly rummaged through my old art history books to look up the "death artist paintings" and visually follow along. Peering at each painting through my magnifying glass, I imagined myself as Kate trying to search for clues.

While contemporary in its setting and complexity, Jonathon Santlofer's first book, is also an homage to 1950's mystery novels, with words and rhythm of dialgue echoing the tone of that genre.

Be prepared to be educated, intrigued, scared and thoroughly entertained.

THE DEATH ARTIST (aptly subtitled "A Novel of Suspense") is a taut, riveting thriller set in the New York art world. Jonathan Santlofer, the author, brings to the book a lifetime in the creative and exclusive circle of buyers, curators, experts, and artists. He is the winner of two National Endowment for the Arts painting grants, several Visiting Artist residencies at The Vermont Studio Center, and a variety of other honors. Santlofer knows art --- the classic and the contemporary --- and he puts this knowledge to good use in his first novel, at once educating and entertaining us. Like his paintings, Santlofer's DEATH ARTIST concerns itself with reality versus illusion.

The reality is this: Kate McKinnon, a renowned art expert and television luminary of sorts, finds herself drawn into a series of ritualistic murders by someone who seems to have specifically targeted her, her celebrity, and her past. A former detective with the NYPD, Kate is more than familiar with the type of criminal who seems to be pursuing her and taunting her, first with the brutal murder of a young girl she had personally mentored for many years, and then with a string of murders fashioned to give the illusion of paintings by the masters, with victims connected to the city's art scene. It is Kate's job to take the clues the egotistical murderer sends her, weed through the possible suspects (curators, artists, and relations alike) and try to stop the Death Artist before he completes his next piece and, ultimately, before he shares with her his masterpiece. As if the murders themselves were not intriguing enough, Santlofer further tantalizes us with underlying stories of an amateur pornography ring, illegal art dealings, and unimaginable relationships.

Remarkably, this is Santlofer's first piece of fiction. Why remarkable? Because Santlofer writes with the flair and technique of a seasoned thriller author. His plot is tight, his characters engaging and likable (or dislikable, if that's his intention), his murders and ensuing mystery unique, his diversions convincingly distracting, and his climax surprising --- and satisfying. This is a whodunit of the highest caliber. THE DEATH ARTIST has all of the elements of some of the best classic thrillers and bodes well for a long career in storytelling. Here's hoping Santlofer will give the pen and the paintbrush equal time in the future.

--- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara

Jonathan Santlofer, a painter and artist, decided to take his knowledge of the art world and transfer it to the page in this nifty little thriller that is filled with twists and surprises. Not that the book is highly original. It's a very basic cop-after-killer story. What makes it stand out so much is the world Santlofer brings us into, and his heroine, who you will both love and hate.

Kate is an ex-cop turned art critic who is suddenly thrown in the middle of a murder case when her protege is savagely murdered. And the killer is far from done; he will kill many more victims, all of them members of the art world, all of them murdered in a way depicting a classical painting.Kate is quickly given a temporary PD license so that she can assist the police force in the investigation.

The book is filled with dozens of characters, all of them eccentric and original. You'll never have any problem differentiating them. Each and everyone becomes a suspect, even Kate's big-shot attorney husband. There are many characters you'll just love to hate. Even Kate, with her strong head but penchant for fashion and looks, isn't all that likeable at times.

It's evident that Santlofer knows the world he is writing about. The locations, the dialogue and the situations are all very vivid. And what the plot lacks in originality, it regains in characterization and pacing. The novel moves along at the speed of a bullet; there is never a dull moment in The Death Artist.

The Death Artist also gives us a very original killer. Short scenes from his point of view are scattered across the book, turning the narrative into a very chilling and engaging piece of suspense.

The Death Artist is a great debut by a talented painter and writer. I can't wait to read Santlofer's next book!

The Death Artist, by artist Jonathan Santlofer, is a page turner that's thrilling and conceptually brilliant. Every character is so vividly portrayed that each stands before the reader; suddenly we're deciding which actor will play each character when this remarkable novel becomes a movie. Jonathan Santlofer's novel has something for everyone. It takes the reader on an enthralling trip into the beautiful and pretentious, heartbreaking and horrifying realities of the art world and people in general. This is not just a mystery novel. This is literature!

This was an extremely enjoyable book that really had me guessing until the end. I am a huge fan of the thriller genre and it takes quite a lot to actually make me cringe, but the murder scenes did just that. I can't wait to see what Mr. Santlofer's next book is going to be.

The author has written two other books which i have read and liked quite a bit: Anatomy of Fear and The Murder Notebook. Both were written after this book and perhaps one can chalk it up to experience, but they're both quite good and this book is not.

One of the things I most liked about the other two books were their characters and the complex family forces going on between generations of them.

That's just there at all in this book. The characters are more cliched and some parts of their backgrounds border on unintentional fantasy. The protagonist is a brilliant and popular art critic who used to be a vice cop and is married to one of New York's uber-rich. Of course, she's blonde, beautiful, and 6' tall.

Right.

How the husband got to be uber-rich is even more fantastic. Essentially, he defends two corporate executives who are innocent in a high profile financial trial and gets them acquitted. That yields a "seven figure bonus" which is then plunged into property at just the right moment in NYC and quadruples in a short time. Then he finally smartens up and gives it to a money manager who makes him "...richer than most men ever dreamed possible."

So the characters are more like cliches; is the plot enough to carry the reader along (it worked to some degree for Robert Ludlum)? Sadly not. This is a pretty standard 'serial killer following a pattern' novel.

You can see some of the author's coming promise at times. The way the NYC police chief is introduced into the flow of the book is deftly done. But on the whole, there is a much better place to start with this author.

First and foremost, this is a hip, dark, slick, gritty, funny, roller coaster of a murder mystery. The humor is sufficiently tongue in cheek to delight art world insiders while at the same time allowing outsiders to laugh at some of the sillier art world conventions. It doesn't matter whether you're laughing with it or at it you're still connected to the action.

Santlofer, clearly has an ear for dialog but what is really unique is his artist's sense of the visual. It';s his eye for scenery, detail, and color that give the reader the visual information that makes this more than just a great read; it makes it a great visual as well.

From the Prologue to the last chapter The Death Artist leads the reader through many twists and turns with a classy backdrop of Art and the New York scene. The action comes as fast as the surprises. Kate McKinnon is a perfect heroine and I hope we see her again. Santlofer's apparent knowledge of art and the art world adds something to this suspense story that creates a new experience for the reader. One gets to know each of the characters well, although its not always clear who the good guys are! Santlofer has created a unique variation in the tradition of the great mystery thriller writers.

Kate McKinnon is an ex-cop socialite/art scholar/philanthopist lured back to her cop's lifestyle by a string of grisley murder's in New York's art scene. The plot sound a little trite? It could, but the author's superb skills as a novelist prevent this thriller from becoming trite. The main character of Kate is a very likable heroine, surrounded by a colourful cast of supporting character's with their own shadow's and demons making them feel very real at least to this reader. About two thirds of the way through I pondered if maybe Kate wasn't a little too perfect to maintain the gritty tone of the tale, yet Santofeler countered this potential pitfall nicely by upping Kate's paranoia to match the reader's reminding us that she could be a live person. This book does have some graphic description, yet it all is tied in with the plot as opposed to gratiutous voilence to sell copies. I was very much drawn into the art world, and explored the shadows and darkness along with Kate.
This thriller isn't perfekt but I challenge fellow reviewers to show me a perfekt thiller and I'll ask yes but can you show me a perfect one? It is close enough for me especially considering what a strong first effort it is by the author and I eagerly await some mover and shaker in Hollywood to buy the movie rights to this book as it seems almost too adaptable to the big screen, so I recommend you read this book, but careful to massage your knuckles once in a while to prevent whiteness as you peruse this page turner.