Loot (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "SO FAR, SO GOOD. BOSTON TWO, SEATtle one. But with the Mariners due up in the ninth with the meat of their order-Rodriguez, Griffey, and..." (more)
Key Phrases: lost truck, Count Stetten, World War, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The gifted writer Aaron Elkins takes a break from his series about forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver (Twenty Blue Devils was the outing prior to Loot's appearance) to introduce a new sleuth, Boston art expert Ben Revere. Revere is a retired curator who helps the police when he's not supporting lost causes like the Red Sox. The shapely and exciting story begins in April 1945, when a German soldier steals a truckload of already stolen paintings and is killed by the Russians before he can trade them to the Americans for his freedom.

Fifty years later, a Valezquez painting from this bundle of loot arrives at a Boston pawnshop run by a friend of Revere's. A murder during an attempted robbery and a guilty conscience send Revere off on a chase across Europe, where a rich old Viennese count, a Hungarian swindler, and the ubiquitous Russian mafia all offer clues and/or threats regarding the remaining paintings. Revere shares with the best of the fictional world of art detectives (such as Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy and Nicholas Kilmer's Fred Taylor) an obvious love for and knowledge of what they seek. Here's Elkins on Revere's first impressions of the Velazquez:

You knew at once that, despite the quaintness of costume, or trappings, or pose, this was a real person you were looking at--or rather, was looking at you--and you couldn't help feeling that if you could only look at him long enough, or in the right way, you might make a connection, an actual human connection, over all those years.

That's why we look at pictures--and read books. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

April 1945: the German war machine is collapsing, and the Nazis are frantically crowding their stolen art treasures into a secret salt mine in Altaussee, Austria. In the chaos, a truck from one of the convoys disappears. The driver has deserted, hoping to negotiate asylum with the advancing American forces. But a blizzard sets him off course, and he and his loot are captured by a brutal Russian patrol instead. Boston, 50 years later: a gorgeous painting by the Spanish master Velazquez turns up in the pawnshop ("CA$H IN A FLA$H") of the surprisingly prim Simeon Pawlovsky. Suspicious of the thug who brought it in ("a big scar here, half an ear missing, a busted nose"), Simeon calls his friend Ben Revere, a retired art historian and curator who likes baseball and occasionally moonlights for the police. The next day, Simeon is murdered during an attempt to steal the painting. Motivated by guilt and encouraged by Simeon's fiery niece, Revere goes on a whirlwind search for the provenance of the Velazquez and the whereabouts of the rest of the art aboard the missing truck. In the process, Revere is hired by a wealthy, aging count in Vienna, implicated in the murder of an underworld figure in Budapest and chased by a Russian mafia assassin all over Europe. Revere's combination of high intellect and low pretense makes him an engaging sleuth, and Elkin's (Twenty Blue Devils, etc.) cultural and historical details add savor to this engaging, fast-paced novel. Rights: Karpfinger Agency.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380731622
• ISBN-13: 978-0380731626
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #258,333 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Insightful Read, January 26, 2000

By	Jason Birkby (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews

I have always been drawn toward novels with some sort of historical theme. Aaron Elkins' "Loot" which is about missing paintings, that were looted during World War II. The book starts with a quick history lesson then jumps to present day were one of the missing paintings shows up in a Boston pawnshop. A series of murders send main character Ben Revere, an art expert on a chase to find the killers plus the rightful owners of the precious works.

Revere ends up running all over Europe, and Elkins descriptions of cities like Vienna and St. Petersburg make you feel like you have been there. The story is paced well and all of the characters are well rounded, almost too well rounded in the case of Revere. Revere is a true fence sitter, and at times his wishy-washy attitude was a little over the top.

In total Elkins does deliver a fine job keeping the reader engaged with a fine mix of action and informative data. Elkins invokes some thought provoking questions. Is looting works of art during wartime a necessary evil, to keep the works from being destroyed? Overall a very well done and enjoyable read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a departure for Elkins, despite different marketing, July 16, 2000

By	Daniel H. Bigelow (Cathlamet, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Aaron Elkins has always been an uneasy fit in the mystery genre where his books about "Bone Detective" Gideon Oliver have been pigeonholed. His books are more adventures than mysteries, and the mystery elements tend to seem like plot twists rather than clues. Loot, starring new Elkins protagonist Ben Revere, is marketed as a thriller, which I suppose makes as much sense as mystery does for the kind of book Elkins writes. But make no mistake - despite the change in marketing strategy, this is a vintage Elkins work, much of a piece with his Chris Norgren art "mysteries."

When I say that Loot is much like Elkins's other work, that is a recommendation. Elkins's writing style is wonderful: knowing without being jaded, cynical without being downbeat, and full of amusing and telling details. When I read his Gideon Oliver mysteries, I end up wishing I were an anthropologist; when I read his Chris Norgren mysteries, I end up wishing I were a curator in a fine arts museum. Finishing Loot, I found myself caught up in the hero's quest to repatriate art stolen during World War II. I keep hoping that he will one day spawn a host of Elkins imitators I can read, but until then, you can only get the Elkins style from Elkins.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It Works For Me, June 7, 2000

By	AntiochAndy "antiochandy" (Antioch, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I liked this book. Several things about it appealed to me. First, I have come to recognize Elkins as a writer of intelligent and entertaining mysteries, and this one doesn't disappoint on that score. It keeps you wondering what's really going on right up to the end. The story revolves around a truckload of art stolen by the Nazis during the War and headed for storage in the Austrian Alps. The truck disappears from the convoy it is in, but a painting known to have been on it shows up in a Boston pawn shop fifty years later. Murder and mayhem ensue.

Second, at a time when there are pseudo-intellectuals trying to white-wash Adolph Hitler and arguing that the holocaust was a hoax, Elkins presents examples of the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis on the rest of humanity. The legacy of WW II isn't something to be taken lightly. Such barbarism is all too common, on a smaller scale, even today. Witness Milosevic.

Finally, I enjoy the quirky characterers Elkins creates. This book introduces Dr. Benjamin Revere, an art historian and occaissional investigator. Mysteries aren't characterised by an emphasis on character development -- the plot is the thing. But, as Sherlock Holmes, Maud Silver, Gideon Oliver, Perry Mason and many others have demonstated, a good main mystery character can take on a life of his/her own over the course of a career. Ben Revere is off to a good start.