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Stealing Venus
In the captivating world of Cambridge's art scene, renowned painter Will Bentley finds peace within the walls of his studio. However, this tranquillity is shattered when the intriguing Lucy Wrackham, an art insurance expert, arrives on his doorstep. She is seeking Alfred Smith, a brilliant forger and Will's ex-prison friend. Yet Alfred proves curiously elusive, and someone seems to know their every move and is determined to thwart them. Will and Lucy decipher cryptic clues in forged paintings that lead them towards their quarry, but with each step they take, danger escalates and unknown adversaries will stop at nothing to halt their pursuit.The serene art world becomes a breeding ground for violence and mayhem, as a priceless Botticelli masterpiece is stolen from London's prestigious National Gallery. With the stakes higher than ever, Lucy at last uncovers the shocking truth but is betrayed, finding herself entangled in a web of deception.It's a race against time for Will Bentley as he embarks on a heart-pounding quest to find Lucy before it's too late. In this gripping crime novel, the art world's allure clashes with the dark underbelly of corruption fuelled by power and immense wealth. Journey into a world where creativity and deceit intertwine, and only the resilient will survive.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2011
1 person is currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Richard John Mitchell
2 books1 followerRichard John Mitchell was born in Sussex quite a few editions ago, and his curiosity for the world led him to pursue a degree in electronic engineering—a skillset that would shape his successful career as a global leader in information technology analysis. Throughout his professional life, Richard authored extensive works and reviewed the writings of analyst experts, while traversing the globe on various ventures. Recently, Richard embarked on a new chapter as he bid farewell to the corporate world and embraced his true passion of writing. Drawing on his affection for storytelling, he chose the realm of fiction to weave captivating narratives that engage readers' imaginations.
Beyond his literary endeavours, Richard finds solace and creativity in the world of art. He has painted pictures for over three decades, primarily working in oils but also dabbling in watercolours and acrylics. Having a profound admiration for the great artists of the past, he has made a detailed study of the Italian Renaissance, with a particular focus on Botticelli. Among his greatest joys in life are his loving family—four children and two stepchildren who have ventured into the world, and an increasing number of grandchildren. Richard lives in North Yorkshire, near the historically rich city of York, with his lovely wife and two dogs.
Beyond his literary endeavours, Richard finds solace and creativity in the world of art. He has painted pictures for over three decades, primarily working in oils but also dabbling in watercolours and acrylics. Having a profound admiration for the great artists of the past, he has made a detailed study of the Italian Renaissance, with a particular focus on Botticelli. Among his greatest joys in life are his loving family—four children and two stepchildren who have ventured into the world, and an increasing number of grandchildren. Richard lives in North Yorkshire, near the historically rich city of York, with his lovely wife and two dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 21, 2024
I liked the storytelling in this mystery. It was novel, fresh, and interesting. The author clearly knows the topic, has a passion for it, and writes very well. However, I wasn’t crazy about the two main characters—Will and Lucy. Both Lucy and Will were just so perfect it was annoying. Sure, Will served time in prison, but it wasn’t so bad and he met interesting characters who helped him and ultimately saved his life. Because I knew almost nothing about the world of art fraud, the very detailed descriptions of the mechanics were interesting and helped the story. But, when this same level of providing very detailed descriptions focused on how Lucy got dressed, did her hair, nails, and toenails for her dinner with the suave, (oh so charming, and of course, handsome) art dealer, and the actual food at dinner—it was just too much. That level of details did not advance the story, and made me like the characters a lot less. Despite that, the overall story and the mystery element was fascinating. I just wish it had different characters.
July 26, 2021
Mystery thriller set in the world of fine art, with a lot of detail about painting, which is quite interesting, but maybe too much detail about the characters' clothes, which is less so.
June 13, 2014
It’s an odd thing, reading. There you are, chugging along quite happily through a story, feeling perhaps that it’s not the most thrilling read ever but there’s something appealing about it, and then something trips you up and you just can’t stand it a moment longer. Here, it was the meal at Le Gavroche that brought me to a standstill. Now, the author has a wordy style, I understand that. Every setting is described in great detail, every character given a name, an appearance, a backstory, the food and drink lovingly listed. That’s OK, I don’t mind wordy.
But then we came to the female lead’s heavy date, and things went seriously overboard. It takes an entire chapter to describe how she showers and dresses for the evening (painting her toenails after putting on dress and shoes, apparently), her journey to the restaurant, what her date is wearing, a great deal about the restaurant, what they drank, what the waiters looked like, what the menu was like... The chapter ended with them only at the first course. And this is what the writing’s like:
The Maitre D’ arrived at their table and introduced himself. He was silver haired and spoke with a slight French accent. He was perfectly charming to them but Lucy imagined he would be formidable with tardy waiters. He chatted for a minute or two and remembered Rupert from his last visit, which she could see made Rupert rather pleased. They were asked if they would like to see the menus, but they chose to wait until they went downstairs. The Maitre D’ moved on to the next table, and the barman appeared with a bottle of Taittinger to see if they would like a refill. Lucy declined gracefully, remembering that she had drunk too much last time she had been with Rupert in Lindy’s gallery. They finished their glasses and were conducted downstairs to the dining room by a waiter in black jacket, waistcoat and bow tie. The dining room was long and narrow like that of a ship. It had seating for sixty and was about two-thirds full. The style was similar to the bar above, except that here the walls were green and framed in gold and wood.
Now, I’m sure there are multitudes of readers who love this sort of minute detail, and many more who aren’t bothered one way or the other, but for me, it was just a deal-breaker. I’m very pleased for the author that he’s quite obviously visited Le Gavroche, but personally, I’m more interested in other things. Like the characters. And the plot.
On the plus side, there’s a really interesting story buried under this snowstorm of words, involving art forgeries, ex cons, devious gallery owners, stately homes and some fascinating background on the art world. Here the author is quite awesome, and although I know nothing at all about art, it had a totally authentic ring to it, to my ears. The detail about forgery techniques and the lengths painters will go to achieve a convincing effect is amazing, plus the astonishing level of observation needed to catch them out (watch for the wormholes, apparently). The author tosses out the names of artists and works and styles with an understated command of his subject which I could only admire.
The characters are mildly interesting without being particularly unusual (apart from the young Goth, perhaps). Given the moneyed setting of fine art, inevitably most characters are wealthy middle class or upper class, very English, and the settings were appropriate to that: London, Cambridge and the south coast. I rather enjoyed the descriptions of these places, and it’s obvious the author has done his homework.
For anyone with an interest in art who’s less picky about writing style than me, or perhaps is riveted by the history, layout and menus of Le Gavroche, I can recommend this, but I gave up at the 30% mark. One star for a DNF.
But then we came to the female lead’s heavy date, and things went seriously overboard. It takes an entire chapter to describe how she showers and dresses for the evening (painting her toenails after putting on dress and shoes, apparently), her journey to the restaurant, what her date is wearing, a great deal about the restaurant, what they drank, what the waiters looked like, what the menu was like... The chapter ended with them only at the first course. And this is what the writing’s like:
The Maitre D’ arrived at their table and introduced himself. He was silver haired and spoke with a slight French accent. He was perfectly charming to them but Lucy imagined he would be formidable with tardy waiters. He chatted for a minute or two and remembered Rupert from his last visit, which she could see made Rupert rather pleased. They were asked if they would like to see the menus, but they chose to wait until they went downstairs. The Maitre D’ moved on to the next table, and the barman appeared with a bottle of Taittinger to see if they would like a refill. Lucy declined gracefully, remembering that she had drunk too much last time she had been with Rupert in Lindy’s gallery. They finished their glasses and were conducted downstairs to the dining room by a waiter in black jacket, waistcoat and bow tie. The dining room was long and narrow like that of a ship. It had seating for sixty and was about two-thirds full. The style was similar to the bar above, except that here the walls were green and framed in gold and wood.
Now, I’m sure there are multitudes of readers who love this sort of minute detail, and many more who aren’t bothered one way or the other, but for me, it was just a deal-breaker. I’m very pleased for the author that he’s quite obviously visited Le Gavroche, but personally, I’m more interested in other things. Like the characters. And the plot.
On the plus side, there’s a really interesting story buried under this snowstorm of words, involving art forgeries, ex cons, devious gallery owners, stately homes and some fascinating background on the art world. Here the author is quite awesome, and although I know nothing at all about art, it had a totally authentic ring to it, to my ears. The detail about forgery techniques and the lengths painters will go to achieve a convincing effect is amazing, plus the astonishing level of observation needed to catch them out (watch for the wormholes, apparently). The author tosses out the names of artists and works and styles with an understated command of his subject which I could only admire.
The characters are mildly interesting without being particularly unusual (apart from the young Goth, perhaps). Given the moneyed setting of fine art, inevitably most characters are wealthy middle class or upper class, very English, and the settings were appropriate to that: London, Cambridge and the south coast. I rather enjoyed the descriptions of these places, and it’s obvious the author has done his homework.
For anyone with an interest in art who’s less picky about writing style than me, or perhaps is riveted by the history, layout and menus of Le Gavroche, I can recommend this, but I gave up at the 30% mark. One star for a DNF.
October 25, 2015
Obsessively detailed about the most tedious things (another reviewer here has pointed out the amount of time given to describing a simple meal out) but I could have overlooked that if not for the idiotic behaviour of the heroine.
I can't say too much without giving away the plot, but an initial bit of forgivable carelessness on her part is then repeated again and again, culminating about three quarters of the way through in an act of breathtaking stupidity that causes the death of another character.
Having got that far I felt obliged to at least finish the book, but frankly by that point I was hoping the bad guys were going to win.
I can't say too much without giving away the plot, but an initial bit of forgivable carelessness on her part is then repeated again and again, culminating about three quarters of the way through in an act of breathtaking stupidity that causes the death of another character.
Having got that far I felt obliged to at least finish the book, but frankly by that point I was hoping the bad guys were going to win.
September 9, 2015
A quirky and interesting story with lively characters. There was a lot about this book that I really enjoyed. One point that stuck through reading was how much I was being "told" about a character, and that a lot of it seemed quite unnecessary. Pointing out, for example, that a character drives an expensive car, only wears tailored suits and dines in expensive restaurants and then being told that the character has expensive tastes and won't settle for anything less was more than a little irritating.
But if you can get beyond that, there's much more to Stealing Venus than you might expect.
But if you can get beyond that, there's much more to Stealing Venus than you might expect.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews