Customer Reviews

Murder at the National Gallery

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is one in a long series of Capitol murder mysteries penned by Washington insider and presidential daughter Margaret Truman. Murder at the National Gallery is the first of Ms. Truman's works that I have read and I found it interesting, true to DC ( I am a Washingtonian also), clever, but a bit difficult to follow and rambling.

A long-time Gallery curator Luther Mason finally gets his day in the sun, when he organizes a Caraveggio exhibition and "discovers" a lost work. Actually he buys it from an Italian underworld figure with the help of corrupt Italian government employee and a defrocked priest. Mason's plan is to sell the work to another gangster and stick the Italians with a clever forgery, done by a drunk Parisian. This premise is a bit thin; I think modern art historian tools would uncover this ruse quickly.

Anyway the story develops nicely. Mason is a hero for putting together the show, but then the root of all evil surfaces. Everyone involved (and there are way too many for this episode to work) wants more money. Of course, they are all murdered to save money and tie up loose ends. Like Austin Powers, our hero has agreed to sell the painting probably worth $40 MM for $1 MM and needs to split that many ways.

Mason also goes to his just rewards and we proceed to the very clever finale. Mason's friend Pims, host of a cable TV show, stage manages all the characters to a scenic spot in Italy. Here in a comic and tragic scene, it unfolds that no one really knows who has original or forgery and who are the buyers and sellers.

I am going to read another of Ms. Truman's works in this series, but this one is not at the level of our great mystery writers.

In Murder at the National Gallery, Margaret Truman examines the character flaws that can make a relatively mild-mannered, relatively good man, Luther Mason, turn to crime. We get to meet his cold mother, his ambitious ex-wife, his controlling girlfriend, his spoiled son, and also the delightful Annabel Reed-Smith, commissioned by the Vice-President's wife to work with Luther on the National Gallery's prestigious exhibit of the tempestuous Italian painter Carivaggio's work.

It's Annabel that helps to solve the mystery. We get to experience her joys and trials as an art gallery owner. We travel with her to Italy and learn about the amazing collections of magnificent art that exist in that country. We also hold our breath when Annabel gets mixed up in Luther Mason's crazy schemes and comes close to losing her life.

In my opinion, Murder at the National Gallery started slow. However, I felt happy that I stayed with the story because it heated up nicely as it progressed until I felt very grateful for the wide range of characters, an insider's look into the world of fine art forgeries, behind the scenes at the Capital, the Italian mob's connection with fine art, and a suspenseful mystery.

Synopsis:

Part of the series that features a murder in many prominent Washington, D.C. buildings, Murder at the National Gallery is all about the intrigues surrounding the opening of an art show featuring Renaissance artist Caravaggio and a "lost" piece of art that was found just in time for the show. Will the murderer be satisfied with just the murder of a member of the Italian diplomatic corps who had a reputation for stealing Italian masterpieces and selling them to foreign buyers? Are the rumors of forged paintings true? Did someone steal a priceless piece of art?

My Review:

Mrs. Truman knows her stuff when it comes to the Washington, D.C. social scene because yes, she is the daughter of Harry Truman.

This is really a decent book. I've read others in this series and found them of varying quality. However, I found the topic interesting and I was introduced to the concept of 'Art Police.' Washington, D.C. has its very own squad to investigate art fraud and robbery.

There are characters that were introduced in other books.

The end of the book was a little...strange. But, overall I give this book '4 stars.'

If you are a Washingtonian who hangs around galleries, etc. then you'll recognize a lot of names in this book, and that may make it fun. But most of the time the story really drags and it takes some prodigious leaps to actually swallow some of the scenes described. The worst is the ending, which is a very deflating experience. Definately not one of her best.

Luther Mason, respected senior curator at the National Gallery, hatches a complicated plan to "discover" a long lost Caravaggio painting in Italy, brings it to Washington to be a part of a Caravaggio exhibit and has 2 forgeries made, one of which will be sold and passed off as the original to a San Francisco mobster thug/art connoisseur who happens to be bankrolling Luther's activities to get the painting in the first place. Whew. . . It's an interesting story at times, but there are a lot of characters to keep track of. The last third of the book is where most of the mystery and action occurs. I would not recommend this book if you want something fast-paced and suspenseful.

I'm a fan of Margaret Truman, but I found it laborious to get through this one. I found most of the characters shallow and totally unlikeable. The ending was absurd. Even Annabelle and Mac can't make this one worthwhile!

It is impossible to read just one Margaret Truman mystery book. It is like eating just one potato chip. Her skill in plotting, characterization and dialogue is such that the reader is compelled to read each one in the series. This book takes the reader into the world of art forgery and provides information that is not known to most people. Thus, it is a compelling tale of intrique as well as a good read.