From Library Journal
By the age of 56, the Marquis Eduardo de Valfierno has perfected his con-man persona to the point that he, too, believes he is nobly born. In this novel, based on real-life events, the clever Valfierno plans and executes one of the most notorious art robberies of the 20th century?the theft of the "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre. Employing a cadre of international cohorts, including a superb artist named Yves Chaudron, the barber Ramon, an Egyptian carpenter by the name of Farid, and the crippled lad Miguel Acerdo, Valfierno carefully spins his web of deceit. It is fascinating to see the expert team in action as they move from Mexico City to Paris and then to New York and Newport. What is most intriguing is that the details of the robbery did not come out until the early 1930s, about 20 years after the actual heist occurred. Noah (All The Right Answers, 1988. o.p.) successfully develops in detail the personas and motivations of the singular players in this tale of intrigue and duplicity. Recommended for public libraries.?Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
A lightweight tale with its roots and outlines in both the actual theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911 and the revelation of the intricate plot surrounding that theft in 1932. No one is who he or she seems in this story, where flattery, charm, and deception are much more vivid characters than the colorful, shallow folk who inhabit it. Central is a man whose calling card reads the Marquis de Valfierno and who opens the book in Mexico City. But the plot takes us, sometimes dizzyingly, to Paris, to Madrid, and to New York and Newport; characters appear under different names and in different guises, and we watch the plot coalesce almost without effort under the marquis' duplicitous gaze. Absolutely crying out to be made into a movie. GraceAnne A. DeCandido
