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readinggrrl's review
4.0
If you have a day to yourself you could probably breeze through this book. It was intriguing and moved at a slightly slower pace than many American mysteries but still kept you interested. I liked that it slowly unraveled Marion's fathers life, and wound down different corners of intrigue. By the end I thought the mystery of the statues was revealed but an epilogue left you with more to ponder.
Very well researched and detailed the book brings you into the world of high priced art and the collectors who buy it. What lengths are people willing to go to, in order to achieve their prize and what happens when winning isn't enough. In the end you are left wondering about some of the characters. What will happen to them after all they went through, was all the death and deceit worth it to Marion in the end? She may think so now but will it turn out to really be that way in the end? Does money bring happiness or does it bring its own perils. Did she burn too many bridges along the way? I believe this is the start to a new series so it will be interesting to see where the author goes with it.
My biggest criticism of the book was near the end when it seemed that the Detective who didn't seem to know too much all of a sudden had more answers than anyone else. We never really learn how all of a sudden he not only caught up with what was happening but how he jumped ahead of the game and new everyone's role in it. Maybe we learn more about that as this series moves on but that was my disappointment with this book.
Very well researched and detailed the book brings you into the world of high priced art and the collectors who buy it. What lengths are people willing to go to, in order to achieve their prize and what happens when winning isn't enough. In the end you are left wondering about some of the characters. What will happen to them after all they went through, was all the death and deceit worth it to Marion in the end? She may think so now but will it turn out to really be that way in the end? Does money bring happiness or does it bring its own perils. Did she burn too many bridges along the way? I believe this is the start to a new series so it will be interesting to see where the author goes with it.
My biggest criticism of the book was near the end when it seemed that the Detective who didn't seem to know too much all of a sudden had more answers than anyone else. We never really learn how all of a sudden he not only caught up with what was happening but how he jumped ahead of the game and new everyone's role in it. Maybe we learn more about that as this series moves on but that was my disappointment with this book.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
3.0
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
What do you do when you inherit a fortune from your father, a man who thought had been dead before?
Oh, and you need to find some art because your father is the collector in the title. That is the problem that Marion faces in this novel. To say that Marion is surprised by the terms of her father’s will is an understatement and part of the novel’s selling point is Marion coming to terms with her father’s memory.
When the novel is told from Marion’s viewpoint it flies. It doesn’t move as quickly when the viewpoint shifts to someone else. Perhaps this is because such shifts come late in the novel and the new narrators are ones that the reader has no vested interest in. I do also wish that there were more supporting female characters, for most of the other characters are male. The only two women of note outside of Marion are regulated to women she has problematic relationships with, and both are de facto superior figures.
Marion is a well drawn character who is not a Mary Sue and who is believable in how her reactions to the strange situation she finds herself in. She does not come across as too prefect, and unlike many female leads, she does not seem to have any mental health issues (at least no more than the average person). She is who she is.
Enjoyable.
What do you do when you inherit a fortune from your father, a man who thought had been dead before?
Oh, and you need to find some art because your father is the collector in the title. That is the problem that Marion faces in this novel. To say that Marion is surprised by the terms of her father’s will is an understatement and part of the novel’s selling point is Marion coming to terms with her father’s memory.
When the novel is told from Marion’s viewpoint it flies. It doesn’t move as quickly when the viewpoint shifts to someone else. Perhaps this is because such shifts come late in the novel and the new narrators are ones that the reader has no vested interest in. I do also wish that there were more supporting female characters, for most of the other characters are male. The only two women of note outside of Marion are regulated to women she has problematic relationships with, and both are de facto superior figures.
Marion is a well drawn character who is not a Mary Sue and who is believable in how her reactions to the strange situation she finds herself in. She does not come across as too prefect, and unlike many female leads, she does not seem to have any mental health issues (at least no more than the average person). She is who she is.
Enjoyable.
fictionophile's review
3.0
“Collecting is a form of lust. There’s a burning desire. It’s not something you can explain in so many words.”
Marion Spicer is very ‘at home’ in the art world of Paris. She works tracing the provenance of art, and her record is very impressive.
When still a child, Marion’s mother told her that her father was dead. Now, she learns that he is dead – again. It turns out that he hadn’t died all those years ago. He was an eccentric, reclusive art collector. And he has left his vast, multi-million euro fortune to Marion. Only there is a condition to her inheritance. She must somehow acquire three Peruvian sculptures (that her father once owned but had sold), and add them to his collection once again.
Her father, Edmond Magni, has a mansion in the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris – filled to the brim with art treasures. Gaudin lives in his house and is caretaker of his priceless art collection. Gaudin will inherit everything if Marion cannot fulfill the stipulations of her father’s will.
Marion enlists the aid of a few of her friends in the art world to help her discover the whereabouts of the missing sculptures. Meanwhile, she is being following and her life is threatened on more than one occasion. Just what lengths had her father gone to to amass his collection? Could he have been in league with notorious tomb raiders in South America?
The Collector is the first in a series of mysteries featuring Marion Spicer. I quite enjoyed her character and the Paris setting. The story however, didn’t really capture my imagination and I found myself skimming (something I hardly ever do). I found myself thinking that I didn’t really care if she ever found her missing sculptures. All in all, the novel left me feeling…. apathetic. I cannot imagine I will be following this series any further.
The author is an expert in the art world herself, so anyone who has an intense interest in that elite field of study would no doubt enjoy this novel immensely.
2.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads
I received a digital copy of this novel from the publisher, Le French Book (Ingram Publisher Services), via Edelweiss.
Marion Spicer is very ‘at home’ in the art world of Paris. She works tracing the provenance of art, and her record is very impressive.
When still a child, Marion’s mother told her that her father was dead. Now, she learns that he is dead – again. It turns out that he hadn’t died all those years ago. He was an eccentric, reclusive art collector. And he has left his vast, multi-million euro fortune to Marion. Only there is a condition to her inheritance. She must somehow acquire three Peruvian sculptures (that her father once owned but had sold), and add them to his collection once again.
Her father, Edmond Magni, has a mansion in the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris – filled to the brim with art treasures. Gaudin lives in his house and is caretaker of his priceless art collection. Gaudin will inherit everything if Marion cannot fulfill the stipulations of her father’s will.
Marion enlists the aid of a few of her friends in the art world to help her discover the whereabouts of the missing sculptures. Meanwhile, she is being following and her life is threatened on more than one occasion. Just what lengths had her father gone to to amass his collection? Could he have been in league with notorious tomb raiders in South America?
The Collector is the first in a series of mysteries featuring Marion Spicer. I quite enjoyed her character and the Paris setting. The story however, didn’t really capture my imagination and I found myself skimming (something I hardly ever do). I found myself thinking that I didn’t really care if she ever found her missing sculptures. All in all, the novel left me feeling…. apathetic. I cannot imagine I will be following this series any further.
The author is an expert in the art world herself, so anyone who has an intense interest in that elite field of study would no doubt enjoy this novel immensely.
2.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads
I received a digital copy of this novel from the publisher, Le French Book (Ingram Publisher Services), via Edelweiss.
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