Artifice

by Sharon Cameron

A dramatic story of duplicity and resistance, betrayal and loyalty, set against the backdrop of World War II, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light in Hidden Places.



Isa de Smit grew up in the glittering, color-filled world of art in her eccentric father’s small gallery, mingling with artists and collectors, until the Nazis invaded her city of Amsterdam. With her beloved city firmly in their grip, the Nazis have removed everyone and everything Isa holds dear; her best friend, Truus, and her boyfriend, Willem, have fled to join the shadowy Dutch resistance; and masterpiece by masterpiece, the Nazis are buying and stealing her country’s heritage, feeding the Third Reich’s ravenous appetite for culture and art.



With the gallery’s artwork confiscated by the Nazis and the taxes due, Isa decides to sell her first fake--a Rembrandt copy drawn years ago by her father--and is shocked to learn that the buyer is the Fuhrer himself. Then on the way to the auction, she discovers that Truus and Willem are smuggling Jewish babies out of Amsterdam into hiding.



The sale of the Rembrandt goes without a hitch, despite the sharp eye of the young German soldier registering the art. For Isa, selling a forgery to the Nazis feels less like a crime and more like an act of vengeance on behalf of her country.



But Truus and Willem cannot save more children without money. A lot of money. And Isa thinks she knows how to get it. If she can create one more forgery, a copy of an exquisite Vermeer masterpiece, she is certain that the Nazis will pay a fortune to own it.



Isa is up against a ticking clock, as the Nazis plan to deport the last of Amsterdam's Jews to the concentration camps in just a few days’ time. But someone is on to Isa’s plan. With everything on the line, and stakes as high as they possibly could be, Isa wonders, will she be arrested as a forger­­, or outed as a collaborator, and the children shipped to their deaths?



Award-winning author Sharon Cameron weaves a gorgeously evocative thriller, simmering with twists and tension, where worth is not always seen from the surface, and a fake can be difficult to spot.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, World War II, Fiction, Art, Audiobook

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 7, 2023

About the author

Sharon Cameron was awarded the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for her debut novel, The Dark Unwinding. When not writing Sharon can be found thumbing dusty tomes, shooting her longbow, or indulging in her lifelong search for secret passages.

Reviews

[Ava ✿ (ia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐

“You shall love beauty, which is the shadow of God over the universe.”

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

જ⁀➴ alexa, play i know places by taylor swift
just grab my hand and don't ever drop it, my love

➻ overall thoughts :
Sharon Cameron is one of my fav WW2 authors & she delivered once again!! this is so good- practically flawless. don't ask me why I rated in four stars it jus felt like a four star read ok You can really tell how carefully she researches & how much time she puts into her books! Her writing is one of the best I've ever read. The plot was so unique, and I loved all the characters! Did this book just get me back into historical fiction? It might've 😋

➻ plot :
so unique and thrilling! If you don't think historical fiction is thrilling, you've haven't been reading the right books. There are so many different sides & stories of WW2, I will never tire learning about them. Did you know that Dutch artists forged copies of famous paintings and sold them to Hitler for millions of dollars? I didn't either. And the parts about smuggling Jewish babies made me so emotional 🥺 the Dutch Resistance were true heroes. all in all, the plot kept me on my toes. It did pick up slightly in the second half. I could never guess what was going to happen omg.

➻ characters :
I wish I was as smart as Sharon Cameron's fmcs!! Isa was amazing. I loved how she saw the world from an artistic perspective! The artistic metaphors were chefs kiss. Michel: hehehehehe historical fiction love interests are a whole new level of hot fsr. He was actually perfect. I also liked Truus & Hildy <3

➻ romance :
Michel & Isa are literally soulmates. but my poor heart ❤️‍🩹 the epilogue was actually the cutest thing ever tho!

➻ go read this plz :
this is so underhyped ya'll it only has like 120 reviews! 😭 I can't recommend it enough! Also, Sharon also WW2 historical fiction books Bluebird & The Light in Hidden Places (my all time fav!!!)

bye! ily! happy reading! <3

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

quotes I loved :

༄ every eye follows when you walk like you have something to hide.

༄ art is imperfection.

༄ purple, Isa decided, was the color of uncertainty.

༄ why did artists have to be so fascinated with a woman holding a severed head? Probably because they were mostly men.

༄ beauty shall not be an opiate that puts you to sleep but a strong wine that fires you to action...

༄ paintings, Isa thought, were not the only thing in the world that could be faked.

༄ blue was the color of regret.

[lydia ‧ ia · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎨 ~ pre read
started 12/06/24

hellooo my girlies!! this is a prereview but im also using it for a general update because glitchreads wouldn't let me post one.

i have been EXTREMELY inactive over the past week or so, and i wanted to apologize for that!! imu all sm <3 however, it has been really good for me to be taking a break because goodreads had been stressing me out a lot and messing with my mental health. I will come back eventually but im continuing my hiatus for the time being! I adore you all sm, happy late december😘🫂💗💌🫶

🎨 ~ post read
finished 12/12/24

that was so good!! sharon cameron is a master at her craft. rtc at some point in 10 years <3

[ellie જ⁀➴ · Rating 2 out of 5]

➳ 2.75 ☆! 🧣 spoiler free + mini review
⤷ don't be fooled by the rating, i DID like this book, ive js read better!

“beauty is not a thing one sees. Beauty is a thing to be felt. . .”

₊‧꒰my thoughts꒱ ‧₊
⤷ the main things i loved about this book was how unique it was! i haven't read any other ww2 book like this so it was nice to get something new. the idea of paintings being incorporated was really interesting. same with learning about the dutch resistance !! I just think the pacing was a bit off for me and i wasn't super invested! this did seem right up my alley though! if i read this quicker/maybe at a different time i would've rated it higher! but even tho my rating seems low it was still a decent book <3 it got a bit emotional and touching by the end so 💗 im exciting to see what his fic book i read next !!

-------

🧣 | ₊‧꒰preview!!꒱ ‧₊
⤷ YAY ITS TIME! this has been on my mind since i saw it last year and bestie ava giving it a good rating!! i love ww2 his fic, and you will be seeing me read a few more before the year ends hehe, i hope to give this a high rating as well! also HAPPY HALLOWEEN 💋

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Oh, my heart.
I don’t think my review will do justice to this story. Such an unputdownable novel about the bravery and sheer cunning of the Dutch Resistance movement in Amsterdam during WW2, the choices they had to unhesitatingly make, and the Jewish children that they managed to smuggle out to safety. And unfortunately, the ones that had to be left behind…
This time last week, my husband and I were in Amsterdam, seeing many of the places mentioned in this book. We stood in front of the theater that was used to house Jews before deportation, and looked across the street at the building that housed their waiting children. And my tears flowed, thinking of the little ones who watched from the windows as their parents were taken away, and of the heart-broken grownups as they left…
A must-read for any lover of historical fiction.

[Des · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful book dealing with the corrupt underpinnings and exploitation during Nazi Germany’s occupation of Amsterdam.
The storyline and plot follow a complex story of art fraud and duplicity.
I did find that at times I was rather lost and had difficulties understanding where the ultimate loyalties of the protagonists lay.
A key part of the story is the relationship between Isa de Smit and Michel Lange, a German soldier with a hidden past and unclear loyalties. The relationship drove the mystery of the evolving story and provided energy to help us understand the tension and danger as it unfolded.
Cameron presents her readers with larger questions about loyalty, truth confronting tragedy, betrayal, brutality and the beauty of art.
The novel has so much more, international art fraud, wartime resistance, antisemitism, collaboration and the effects of Nazism occupation on the Dutch.
The book is complicated but satisfying as the author cleverly presents resolution and closure that is powerful and celebrates the achievements of the lives that she has shared with the reader.
Sharon Cameron presents her readers with questions about love, truth, sacrifice, confronting tragedy, betrayal and loss.
This is excellent historical fiction, well-researched and engaging.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

1943 The Netherlands

What a difficult time to live in. Not knowing who to trust. Not knowing if you would have enough money to buy or heat food.

Isa grew up in her parents' gallery. She knows and appreciates art. When she realizes there is a way to make money from paintings by selling to Nazis to fund the escape of Jewish babies, she is all in. The suspense was thick at times. The references to color to explain moods was a nice tie-in to the artistic focus of the novel.

[megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as A Light in Hidden Places. The last third was stressfully good, but doesn’t make up for the first two thirds.

[Melissa’s Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Sharon Cameron’s books! I’ve long been a fan and appreciate her beautiful prose and attention to detail. Artifice was a well crafted story exploring the Dutch Resistance during WWII. Based on actual people and events, she captures what it was like to live under German rule during WWII with suspicions running high and not knowing whom you could trust. This particular story explores Hitler’s and his minions’ thirst for art and the Dutch painters who fooled them with forged paintings of Vermeer and Rembrandt. Through her characters, she also delivers a powerful story of the brave men and women who saved hundreds of Jewish babies and children.

Isa de Smit was raised in an art gallery with a talented father who could flawlessly recreate Dutch masterpieces. When the Nazis invaded, the gallery was looted and priceless works of art confiscated. Facing the loss of the gallery and her home due to unpaid taxes, Isa embarks on a daring plan to sell one of her father’s forged paintings to none other than Hitler himself. But, she’s noticed by Michel Lange. an old friend who is now a German soldier. He attempts to bribe her not for money, but for a means to escape to Switzerland. Can she trust him?

When she witnesses her friend Truus kill a German soldier, Isa and Michel, her frenemy German soldier concoct a scheme to sell more forged art with the money going to save Jewish children and help Michel escape. Isa finds herself caught between the Germans who would kill her if they discover she sold them a fake and the Dutch resistance who would kill her as a collaborator.

Art lovers will enjoy the rich descriptions through Isa’s eyes. I also enjoyed the fascinating look at the world of forgers and their techniques. The relationship between Isa and Michel is complicated and I was never quite sure if he could be trusted. The romantic tension was high with that element of danger mixed in.

The story itself was interesting and at times very suspenseful. I found the last third of the book extremely compelling as the danger exponentially increases. The first two thirds of the book was slow at times and some of the descriptions may be lost on YA readers. It took awhile for me to get into, and at first I had a hard time connecting to Isa. But, as I kept reading I became more engaged and ended up enjoying the story. I found myself on pins and needles as they were trying to smuggle the children out. Each encounter with the Nazis had me holding my breath especially when Isa’s trying to sell the forged art.

There is a gay character and mentions of prostitution as well as drug addiction and overdose. All of these were based on actual people and events. I found the author’s note at the end to be a must read as she explains the history behind the story. It’s fascinating in itself and made me want to learn more about the Dutch Resistance. All in all a compelling read for historical fiction fans and older YA readers. I received an advanced complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own and voluntarily provided. 31/2 stars raised to 4.

[Elevetha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had me going.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the prose, not so much because of the choppiness but more all the allusions/references to paint and color. I get it, she's an artist from a family of artists but it was a little overdone and didn't always make sense to me. Unless she has synesthesia, in which case it would make more sense, all the linking emotions to colors. But somehow I don't think that's the case. Sadly, were it not for the aforementioned, I think this would be 5 stars for me.

The first third of the book was good, but nothing compared to the last two-thirds. So well-written and dramatic, without being overdone. The nursery scene had me crying, no surprise there. And the amount of back and forth Isa I did about who was good, who was trustworthy, who was betraying them all made for some seriously compelling reading.

As always, there's a fascinating part of history being told here, and prompted some further research. Though I must say, I personally think the main art piece that played a major role in the story was rather ugly.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant, beautiful book. Artifice has it all: art forgery, the Dutch Resistance, hidden paintings, double-crossing, messy family dynamics, and a will-they-won’t-they for the ages.

As always, I am inspired by Sharon Cameron’s gorgeous prose, realistic characters, and heart-pounding action. The way she writes is engaging and lyrical, drawing you deeper into an already entrancing narrative. Cameron’s artistic metaphors are stunning. I highlighted so many passages to come back to later.

Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so suspenseful! How do you live in a world where you are constantly unsure about who you can trust? I loved the Amsterdam setting and the descriptions of artworks.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s rare to me to find an author whose books are consistently good but all three of Sharon Cameron’s last three historical thrillers have been 5 stars. All three have been unputdownable. Anyone who likes Ruta Sepetys’ books would likely also enjoy Cameron’s. I feel like she is also a good crossover YA/adult historical fiction author.

I found the art aspect of this one particularly fascinating but the storyline about the children was heartbreaking. The level of bravery demonstrated by these people who risked their lives and found ways to save people never ceases to amaze me. World War 2 novels are a dime a dozen but this one stands out to me.

[Kimaroo32 Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege to obtain an early copy of Artiface the at a book fair in Nashville the other week.

This book…WOW! One of Sharon Cameron’s strongest books yet!
I don’t know how she does it. Her writing is beautiful! The way she uses colors and imagery to help the reader understand the point of view of the world and the war through the eyes an artist is incredible and creative!

Sometimes finding beauty isn’t found on the outside, but what is on the inside.

[Debbie Wentworth Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Amsterdam, in September 1943, Isa De Smit takes her father's replica of a Rembrandt painting to sell to the Nazis so that she can pay the taxes her father's art gallery. Only the purchaser of the forged painting is Hitler's procurer for art who pays much more that she expected. From the look on his face, the young Nazi keeping the books recognizes that the Rembrandt is a forgery. As Isa returns home, she sees her childhood best friend, Truus, who is a loyal member of the Resistance, shoot a Nazi who was going to shoot on the street a family hiding Jews. Truus escapes with a Jewish baby in a bag. Soon, the young Nazi from the art procurement department and the local Resistance leader show up at the gallery at the same time, and Isa's father is acting out of it all of the time. Then there's the real Vermeer hidden in the wall, the Dutch artist who sold a forged Vermeer to Hitler, and the high price required to bribe some people to help rescue Jewish babies.

Sharon Cameron's Artifice is packed with tension and suspense from the first sentence. Although a YA novel, adults who like suspense will enjoy this wild ride. Cameron has combined several real people from the time period to create an outstanding story. "The girl with the red hair" was a Resistance fighter who terrified the Germans because she specialized in taking the soldiers on dates from which they never returned. Hitler's and Goering's art procurers were in competition for the best art pieces for their bosses, and the artist who forged a Vermeer that was sold to Hitler for over a million pounds was real.

Against these real characters, Cameron painted developing characters. Isa is an artist who feels in color. Her father may have dementia and requires her care. When she starts to see red, she acts impulsively.

Michel is a Nazi who recognizes her father's forgery because his father did business with Isa's father years before. At first, he's determined to escape the Nazis, but later his motivations change.

Willem, the local leader of the resistance, hates collaborators and is dedicated to driving the Nazis out of Holland. Although he's Truus's boyfriend, something seems off about him. Isa fears that if he finds out that she's selling paintings to the Nazis, he will kill her.

Truus's gritty compassion for the Jews leads her to risk her life repeatedly to save Jewish babies. She protects those she loves. Her views broaden as the four young people risk their lives for the babies, the cause, and each other.

This book contains some triggers--violence, addiction, homosexuality, betrayal, mild language, oppression, and sex outside marriage, but it also offers real heroes (and fictional ones) in truly traumatic, life and death situations. It shows what life was and can be like under oppressive regimes, and the cost of courage.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had grown tired of novels about WWII. It seems everyone wants to write about this war. Artifice by Sharon Cameron is a story that changed my feelings. Based on real characters, some heroes, and some cads, it is a book that kept my interest for the entire 400-plus pages. Johan van Hulst, an astounding man who rescued at least 600 Jewish babies and toddlers from the Nazis after they invaded the Netherlands, was a primary influence for the novel.
Isa is struggling to keep her father and herself alive during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. Her father is a talented painter as well as a talented art forger. Isa sells a forged Rembrandt to provide money to pay taxes. She likes the idea of the Nazis unknowingly paying to keep a roof over her head. Isa discovers Her friend Truus is involved with the Resistance, smuggling Jewish babies and toddlers to safety. The book contains many characters and plot twists and turns to keep the excitement level high. I enjoyed the way Isa thought of her emotions in terms of colors. It was an intriguing bit of writing. Amsterdam was described in detail, including the canals which wound their way through the city. It felt authentic, and the tension of living under the occupation and not knowing who to trust and who was watching was palpable.
This novel would be an excellent teaching source for middle and upper grades. The verity of the storyline would make a quality addition to the facts of classroom history books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for the ARC of this book.

[B.D · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75🌟
I loved this way more than I expected to. I feel like Sharon Cameron’s writing has improved so much since Bluebird(not that it wasn’t good then) and I loved this so much more. I loved how our MC described people’s emotions as what she would name them if they were a painting, I thought was really cool and it made the book more unique. I flew through this, there wasn’t a moment I was bored and I spent five hours of today finishing it. All the plot twists in this book I never once suspected and I loved all the characters(except for the ones we don’t like a.k.a the villains). Onto the romance, it’s definitely one of my favourites. It was really slow burn and every scene with them I was thinking KISS ALREADY! I really liked the guy and he is so sweet. Next, I liked the ending more than I thought I would. I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to end it and I was so grateful for the epilogue. I loved knowing what happened to all the characters and I feel like authors need to do that more. The only small thing I disliked about this book(this didn’t really affect my rating) was the LGBTQ character. As I’ve said in other reviews, I’m Christian and I don’t really support LGBTQ characters but this wasn’t too heavy on it so I wasn’t that bothered. Lastly, I think everyone should read this. It’s super underrated and definitely recommended, especially for people who have read other books by this author so far. For ages 13/14 and up.

[Emily Embers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wish the author would use other phrases than the same tired one. She used “Damn the Nazis. Damn the … “ like over ten times. Damn him , damn this , damn that. Get a new phrase !!!!!!

Interesting topic but poorly written. She thinks she’s being creative with all of the imagery about painting and colors … again she repeats herself ad nauseam. Vermillion was very much over used . Ugh!

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story that will keep you enthralled long past your bedtime. Much like she did in Bluebird, Sharon Cameron has seamlessly blended fact and fiction, masterfully crafting a story equal parts thrilling, heart wrenching, and hopeful. ***I received an ARC for my honest review.

[Courtney Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful, creative, thrilling, and heart breaking. It showcases heroic acts to undermine and foil occupying Nazis during a dangerous time. It’s a fictional story that is beautifully interwoven with real events and people and has sent me on a mission to learn more about these people. It amazes me the courage and kindness people posses in one of the most dangerous times in history.

I especially love the perspective of the narration. It’s third person, but because the main character is an artist and grew up in a world of colors and galleries, the descriptions and narrations are vivid, bright, and colorful.

[C.D. Storiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A riveting WWII historical fiction that kept me on the edge of my seat. The amount of research and the attention to detailed facts makes this book unforgettable and well worth it. Being thrown into the world of art, art forgery and the saving of Jewish babies had me staying up late to read another page. Well written prose kept me entranced and transported to another time. As a former teacher, I would love to see this on class reading lists for both literature and history classes. It was an important time in history that we must never forget. And never again allow to happen.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, but I just liked it. I do not think I will find myself still thinking about it a week from now like I did with A Light in Hidden Places and Bluebird (I loved both of these). Artifice just did not evoke the level of feeling that I expected from a Sharon Cameron novel.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredible novel by Sharon Cameron! I loved this one just as much as I loved the light in hidden places. Highly recommend!!

[Juliana VanPopta · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a masterclass on how to write gripping historical fiction, this is it. I thought about this book for days after reading it - the characters were vivid, their conflicts compelling, the twists of the plot gloriously unexpected, and the romance, well, absolutely swoon-worthy. The themes of complexity, of the layers that humans have, of how we know we can trust people, were beautifully rendered. Hence, there was a lot to think about. I love when I struggle to put down a book because I MUST know what happens next, and this novel certainly delivered on that front! Many passages and sentences made my heart stop with suspense, or made me pause to savour the word choice and eloquent writing. Additionally, Cameron clearly did her research, and the author's note at the end provided an even richer look at the real history behind the story - art forgery and fraud during World War II - fascinating stuff! Long story short, if you love a good story, look no further :)

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 1940s teenage girl with a bicycle in one hand, what appears to be a painting wrapped in paper under her other arm, looks out over a canal in Amsterdam—so many personal passions of mine represented right there on the cover of this remarkable novel. The perfect gift for our family’s “Jolabokaflod” Icelandic Book Flood Christmas Eve tradition. Sharon Cameron masterfully brings together WWII Amsterdam, fierce Dutch Resistance fighters, art intrigue, serene canals, bicyclists, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Centraal Station, forgeries, bumpy trains, intricate details of historic interiors, ration books, crowded trams, Nazi collaborators, the Museumplein, Dutch cafes, architecture, art galleries, even an author attempting to incorporate elements of painting into her prose (the primary focus of my Master’s thesis many, many, many years ago) to create the perfect novel, just for me, not to mention her beautiful writing, fully developed characters, and compelling, unpredictable plot. I couldn’t love this book more. One of my all-time favorites. Okay, maybe it wasn’t written just for me, you might like it, too.

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings

Period-typical antisemitism & homophobia
Child sexual assault (groping) & mentions of underage sex work
Alcohol consumption & drug use
Secondary character with a substance addition (morphine)
Death of a parent
Death of a friend & child at the hands of Nazis
Torture
Murder by gun violence
World War Two (theme), including depiction of the Holocaust & mentions of concentration camps

[Andrea McNeill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this while on vacation this week, and I didn’t want to put it down. I really enjoyed the style of writing from this author, and the storyline was a nice change from other WWII settings I’ve read before. 4 stars because I did feel like the beginning dragged a bit, even though I was interested enough to keep going.

[Jennifer Abella · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art forgery aspect of this book drew me in.

[Ava · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge Cameron fan. Her books are absolutely incredible. This one was so well done...the only problem is that I don't actually enjoy reading about art. That is definitely a "me" problem. It doesn't really matter though because this book was still so great. I loved the characters and I learned history I didn't know about. Although the audiobook narrator is one of my favorites, I don't know that I'd recommend the audio simply because the German and Dutch names got really confusing, along with all of the art mentioned. I found myself going back multiple times to clarify things for myself. It wasn't my favorite Cameron book but the bar was set pretty dang high so that's not a negative thing in any way!

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t enjoy it as much as her Forgetting series.