Murder At the National Gallery [Paperback]

Margaret Truman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 553 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett Crest; 1st Large Print Ed edition (1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0783816871
• ISBN-13: 978-0783816876
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,298,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overlong unless You're a Caravaggio cultie, April 8, 2000

By 

richard_t "richard_t" (Overseas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder at the National Gallery (Capital Crime Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Truman knows Washington, and she's done her homework on the National Gallery and the life of sixteenth century painter Caravaggio. The plot turns on a blockbuster Caravaggio exhibition at the National and bounces from Italy to Washington and the underground world of stolen masterpieces. Truman's series of crime novels set in Washington ring true to anyone who has spent time there. She knows the neighborhoods, the restaurants, the atmosphere, and the attitude. But the novel is only average. The pages keep turning, the characters are thinly-drawn, and the plot is adequate. The story is overlong. The final third of the book builds toward a predictable denouement that is fun to read but would have benefited from judicious cutting. Thirty pages less would have been much more.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tired and Trite... Overweight Readers Beware!, July 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder At the National Gallery (Paperback)

I have enjoyed Truman's mysteries in the past, but found this one contrived, mildly entertaining, and significantly irritating. The characterizations seemed melodramatic and/or stereotypical. Not a total loss, but you can do much better for your book-buying buck.

What I really found offensive in this book was the consistent characterization of every overweight character as disgusting, repellent, absurd, etc. Apparently, in Truman's mind fat equals bad and thin equals good. How sad for the overweight reader who picks up this book to escape from the unkindness of the world he/she inhabits, only to be bashed by Truman's obvious prejudice. Shame on you, Margaret.

1.0 out of 5 stars what a disappointment!, August 19, 2007

By 

Lexi Andreas (Danville, Pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder at the National Gallery (Hardcover)

Having read and enjoyed other Truman books in the Capital Crimes series years ago, I was extremely disappointed in this rather sophomoric story. The plot is completely predictable, way too long and dragged down with unnecessary details which do nothing to advance plot, characterization or setting. The characters are either thoroughly unlikable or cliched stereotypes. (Sometimes both.) The toast on the last page which lauds the Mason, senior curator, as "a good and decent man who made one mistake" is exceptionally nauseating. Finally, the relationship between Annabel and her husband, Mac, is so corny, it makes the marriages depicted on "The Donna Reed Show" or "Father Knows Best" look noir. I bought this book because I was going to be spending a few days in Washington, DC and wanted to read something "on site." Any other Washington book would have been preferable.