Hot Paint: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novels) [Hardcover]

Robert S. Levinson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novels | Publication Date: August 24, 2002

This non-stop, pulse-jangling thrill ride has more heart-pounding twists and turns than an out-of-control roller coaster, as L.A. newspaper columnist Neil Gulliver and his ex-wife, Stevie Marriner, chase after priceless art masterpieces stolen almost seventy years ago and believed lost forever.

In fact, these treasures have never been lost, only hidden in the secret galleries and vaults of greedy art dealers and wealthy private collectors. They are an ugly breed prepared to pay any sum to acquire more great works by the masters. When power and wealth fail them, violence is readily available.

The gift of a suite of Andy Warhol silkscreens plunges Neil and Stevie into this nasty, dangerous underworld. They escape more than one brush with death as they decipher the secret of each print and try to keep one step ahead of paid killers, among them Clegg, a terrifying, tormented man who has his private reasons for the murders he commits.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When L.A. newspaper columnist Neil Gulliver and his ex-wife, actress Stevie Marriner, are gifted with a suite of very limited Andy Warhol silkscreen portraits, they have no idea how desperately a mysterious collector wants them, or the steps he'll take to get them--up to and including murder. The Warhol portraits contain important clues to the whereabouts of priceless paintings looted by the Nazis during the war--paintings that were "liberated" by Allied soldiers but never returned to their owners who survived the war or the descendants of those who didn't. Smartly plotted and expertly paced, this somewhat overwritten mystery drops a few too many names and relies on more stereotypes than necessary, but it's fast, funny, and engaging, as well as highly informative; the author's acquaintance with Warhol in the Factory's heyday and his knowledge of printmaking and lithography add verisimilitude to an imaginative scenario. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

More than paint is hot in this ambitious and showbizzy return (after 2001s The John Lennon Affair) of divorced Hollywood amateur sleuths, long-running columnist Neil Gulliver and popular actress Stevie Marriner. When underworld boss and benefactor Aaron Lodger gives Stevie a collection of 11 Andy Warhol silk screens, she and Neil find themselves in ever-darker territory as they try to learn the value of this treasure. Neils sources, gallery entrepreneur Kip Lingle, retired crime reporter Augie Fowler and other experts, turn up nothing. A call from someone saying he is Theodore Rosenstock, an art dealer, brings an impressive offer that shoots even higher as Neil hesitates, sensing something is not right. Augie enlists the shadowy Ari and Zev, lawyers and self-styled righters of wrongs. In pursuit of identification and discovery they expose Neil and Stevie to grave danger, tangling them with an avaricious underground network of collectors willing to kill for illegally gotten artwork and confronting them with items confiscated by the Nazis from Jewish collectors. Identities are constantly in question, since most of the characters have dual personas and others have private as well as public faces, like the frightening Clegg, a killer-for-hire dispatched to terminate anyone who gets in his bosss way. There's almost too much going on here, making the plot difficult to follow at times, but Levinson, a veteran art columnist and critic, reveals plenty of substance under the glitz. Current individual romantic pursuits aside, Neil and Stevie are still very emotionally connected, which adds to the heat and guarantees them another appearance. Advertising in mystery publications.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (August 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765302314
• ISBN-13: 978-0765302311
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,434,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting crime thriller, August 8, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hot Paint: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novels) (Hardcover)

Newspaper columnist Neil Gulliver and soap opera queen and theatre actress Stevie Marriner were once married. Now that they are divorced they have a much better relationship in every sense of the word. A retired mobster gives Neil and Stevie a suite of eleven Andy Warhol prints, each one containing a painting and the artist who owns it.

Shortly after, the couple is asked to meet an old friend and two of his guests who turn out to be Mossad agents. They tell Stevie and Neil that the Nazis confiscated the paintings from Jews who rightfully owned them. They're also informed that there was supposed to be a twelfth print but it has gone missing. Some of the people in the paintings are dead and the paintings have disappeared. Neil smells a big story and Stevie wants to be a part of the investigation since she owns half the prints. As usual Neil and Stevie are going against some very dangerous characters who have killed before and have no compunction against killing again.

HOT PAINT, the latest episode in the Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner mystery series, is an exciting crime thriller that plays out on many levels. The protagonists steal the show with their offbeat yet genuine relationship and the way they work as a team when the chips are down making this reviewer think there is hope for a reconciliation. Robert R. Levinson has written a strong story that links present day crimes to those committed during World War II.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pop Art, Fraud, Thieves, Murderous Collectors and the Mossad, April 2, 2005

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Hot Paint: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the fourth novel in the comic crime novel series featuring Neil Gulliver, newspaper columnist and reporter, and his ex-wife, Stephanie (Stevie) Marriner, the gorgeous actress. Although many people acclaim The Elvis and Marilyn Affair as the best book in the series, Hot Paint seemed to me to be a far superior offering.

When Stevie divorced Neil for treating her like a trophy, he never stopped loving her. Although she has had relationships with many men since then, Neil is her main man when she really needs a friend. In Hot Paint, it becomes clear that her emotional dependence is actually based on love. That love is tested as Neil begins dating a beautiful younger woman.

The book opens with a crime boss giving Neil and Stevie a suite of Andy Warhol silkscreens that were done in a very small edition. Elsewhere, a compulsive collector decides that he must have this suite. That puts Neil and Stevie on a collision path with the collector's murderous minions.

Soon, two Israeli spies arrive to seek Neil and Stevie's help. The silkscreens depict collectors and their prize paintings . . . several of which seem to have been looted by the Nazis and never returned to their rightful owners after World War II.

The book is done with a large tongue-in-cheek attitude. As a result, you will find some delightful comic writing. The sequences where Neil meets and becomes acquainted with his new girlfriend are extremely well done. You'll remember those scenes long after you've forgotten the book itself. The various criminals in the book conduct themselves more like Laurel and Hardy than any international crooks you've read about before. The ironies are delicious and only slightly overplayed.

That's the book's weakness. Mr. Levinson loves to draw out his plot and scenes with intricate reversals of fortune. It's like watching a fencing match with constant attacks and counterattacks. If he could learn to pare back these plots, the stories would move forward more rapidly and be more appealing. As it is, this story sometimes resembles a frustration dream more than a comic crime plot. The trip to London near the book's end is a good example of something that could have been skipped.

For those who enjoy art, the book is a delight because it is built on facts about the art world that make the book more relevant and interesting than most comic crimes novels are. In the author's notes at the end, Mr. Levinson provides the background for the parts of the story that are based on his own experiences. Very nice touch, that!