Mirror by
Joseph Geary
hbk out June 04
Published by Simon Schuster
at £12.99
A thriller based in the art world of New York, where the famous
Modern Art Museum has paid a record $23 million for a huge painting
by a long-dead artist, Franklin Koenig. The purchase was
recommended by Ellen Lindz, one of the curators, whilst her superior
was away. Huge controversy results, as on his return her boss suggests
it is a fake, but a document unearthed by Ellen in their archives
confirms its authenticity, until the document itself is discredited.
The artist was a drunken rebel until he died in the 'fifties, a suspect
under the 'un-American activities' pogroms of the McCarthy era.
Later in the book, it transpires that the US government had an
undercover plan to counteract the Soviet campaign to woo Europeans
with their cultural superiority, by commissioning widespread artistic
works - and Koenig was devastated to discover that his genius was
being bought, rather than earned. The picture had been sold by
Koenig's last mistress, Linda Carey, who seems to have vanished with
both the money and old secrets and Ellen joins the ranks of those who
are trying to find her.
The plot is complex but gradually turns to violence as the various
characters turn and twist to maintain their position, with Ellen Lindz
caught up in the middle. An excellent story, well-told and full of facts
about the post-war art world which have the ring of truth.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
Mirror by
Joseph Geary
