The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

"On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art, today worth over $500 million, were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there's more to this crime than meets the eye. 

Making a living reproducing famous artworks for a popular online retailer and desperate to improve her situation, Claire is lured into a Faustian bargain with Aiden Markel, a powerful gallery owner. She agrees to forge a painting a Degas masterpiece stolen from the Gardner Museum — in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But when that very same long-missing Degas painting is delivered to Claire's studio, she begins to suspect that it may itself be a forgery." (Goodreads.com)

I found this novel really interesting because it trying to answer the question of what happened to the works that were taken and never recovered from the Isabella Stewart Gardner. Having read Master Thieves, which is a compilation of theories, it was enjoyable to get a fresh perspective on what may have happened. The way Shapiro wrote about the painting techniques makes it clear that she did her research for the novel as well. If you are an artist or someone who appreciates art I would recommend this book to you.

Kelsey Fitzgerald
Library Assistant

Available at the Langley Adams Library