Author: Aaron Elkins
Title: A Long Time Coming
First line: "My name is Val Caruso and I'm a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have been having one hell of a day, and I don't mean in a good way."
It was the cover of this one that first caught my eye. Then, when I saw that the story involved a Holocaust survivor, two Renoir paintings, looted art, a trip to Italy, mystery and murder, I knew I had to check it out. And I'm glad I did. I enjoyed the way this story unfolded from Caruso agreeing to do a favor for a friend, to Sol Bezzecca's story of his great grandfather's two Renoir paintings and how they were stolen during World War II, to the quirky characters Caruso meets in Milan as he tries to get one of the paintings back for Sol. Throw a little art theft and murder into the mix and the story gets even more interesting. This book is a well-plotted and entertaining mystery. I especially liked all the art history bits. And Caruso, or Tino as he's called in Italy, is a very likeable character. This was another serendipitous library find. I'm so glad I found it. Aaron Elkins is an author I'd definitely read again.
Happy Reading!
