The Cezanne Chase (Inspector Jack Oxby Novels) (Paperback)

by Thomas Swan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Imagine if Tom Clancy used high art as a plot vehicle instead of advanced technology; if instead of tracking rogue Russian submarines, Jack Ryan were on the trail of international art thieves. This is the twist Thomas Swan provides in The Cézanne Chase, a novel set in an art world where the stakes are just as high, and the operatives just as ruthless, as in the more familiar crime-fiction universe of espionage and nuclear weapons.

The Cézanne of the title refers to two self-portraits by that painter that are destroyed in an attempt to manipulate the black market in art. In addition to the usual collection of good guys and bad guys, exotic locations and tricky double-crosses, The Cézanne Chase also offers some pretty nifty insights into the nitty-gritty of buying, selling, preserving--and destroying--great works of art. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
Swan's hardcover debut features a fiendish plot by clever manipulators of the international art market: someone has begun destroying Cezanne's 26 known self-portraits. The first incident occurs at the National Gallery in London, so New Scotland Yard's Jack Oxby takes charge. As the scene shifts from London and Reigate to St. Petersburg, Boston, and Provence, the villains and their carefully woven web of deceptions slowly emerge. Although the international scope leaves little time for character development and the plot becomes increasingly transparent, readers will be drawn into the intrigue as Oxby nears his target. Steady action, looming suspense, and an appealing subject recommend this for most collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Onyx (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451409833
• ISBN-13: 978-0451409836
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,931,648 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where is the mystery?, November 22, 1999

By	Philip W. Larsen "larsende" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cezanne Chase (Hardcover)

I really wanted to like this book, but I found it hard to get through. The villains are identified early in the book, so the mystery element disappears. The characters are all so serious that there is no humor. I realize it is not a comedy, but a light moment here or there would make the characters seem human. What an unbelievably dreary collection of people. The technical elements seem to be correct if that is what you are looking for.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent art related crime drama, November 10, 2004

By	Cory D. Slipman (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Cezanne Chase (Hardcover)

Thomas Swan's "The Cezanne Chase" was an average offering of intrigue surrounding the acid mutilation of four priceless self portraits rendered by the French impressionist Paul Cezanne.

The novel, in part, focuses on Edwin Llewellyn a wealthy New York bon vivant who serves as a trustee on museum boards. Llewellyn owns one of Cezanne's self portraits courtesy of an inheritance from his granfather who purchase the work from the artist's agent. He is shocked as well as all of those in the art world to learn of the destruction of 2 of Cezanne's paintings in London's National Gallery and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

These crimes are being perpetrated by story heavy, the Norwegian born, football player statured Peder Aukrust. Aukrust a psychopath with extensive backgrounds in both pharmacology and chemistry is acting at the behest of a wealthy purveyor of the arts. Using potions and solutions to dispatch both paintings and people standing in his way, Aukrust is acting to ostensibly drive up the value of the remaining works of Cezanne. Aukrust's cohort and sometimes lover, an attractive platinum blonde with a drug habit Astrid Haraldsen is gaining the trust of Llewellyn posing as an interior decorator. They have designs on Llewellyn's self portrait.

When a third Cezanne is destroyed at a wealthy private collector Alan Pinkster's gallery Scotland Yard's Art and Antiques Detective Chief Inspector Jack Oxby is summoned to investigate the crime wave. Along with the acid destruction of the Cezanne piece, the director of the gallery has been murdered, poisoned by the fumes of a rare noxious chemical solution.

The novel progresses with the further destruction of art work and attempts to steal other works against the backdrop of an unprecedented Cezanne exhibition scheduled for Aix-en-Provence, France.

Swan's effort lacks any major suspense as we figure that Oxby will prevail against the devious plan authored by Aukrust. The identity of the benefactor of Aukrust's plan is fairly obvious. Swan's conclusion to the tale is both abrupt and unsatisfying