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Rosa Thorn Thriller #2
The Art of Dying
In London, Rosa Thorn is slowly getting her life back together.
Following the tragic death of her artist husband, Rob, in a hit and run accident, and the subsequent terrorising of her family, she is at last moving on.
So it is particularly poignant for Rosa to attend a retrospective of her late husband’s paintings, held at a cutting-edge London gallery.
The great and the good of the London art world are there, along with Rosa’s close friends and associates.
It appears to be a warm and fitting tribute to a much-admired artist, husband and father.
Yet all is not as it seems at this high art, high class event.
For beneath the sophisticated artistic veneer, a maelstrom of emotion is seething. Some of it even spills over at the show, but most of it remains hidden – for now.
Ultimately, however, years of hidden feelings will have their expression – with fatal consequences.
Meanwhile, Rosa begins to find that all is not well in her world. Somebody is following her, cracks are beginning to appear in long-term friendships and her new friends – well, they seem to have secrets all of their own.
And some of those secrets are deadly.
As her children move on with their lives, Rosa is left alone to unravel the mysteries that connect a dead artist, a fascinating but enigmatic aspiring journalist, a globe-trotting millionaire and a host of movers and shakers in London’s art world.
Blending wit and excitement in a compelling story, The Art of Dying takes Rosa from her cosy London home into the jaws of a grisly, hideous danger that seems set to destroy her. Will she be able to save herself – and her dearest friends – from evil, or will she finally meet her end?
Following the tragic death of her artist husband, Rob, in a hit and run accident, and the subsequent terrorising of her family, she is at last moving on.
So it is particularly poignant for Rosa to attend a retrospective of her late husband’s paintings, held at a cutting-edge London gallery.
The great and the good of the London art world are there, along with Rosa’s close friends and associates.
It appears to be a warm and fitting tribute to a much-admired artist, husband and father.
Yet all is not as it seems at this high art, high class event.
For beneath the sophisticated artistic veneer, a maelstrom of emotion is seething. Some of it even spills over at the show, but most of it remains hidden – for now.
Ultimately, however, years of hidden feelings will have their expression – with fatal consequences.
Meanwhile, Rosa begins to find that all is not well in her world. Somebody is following her, cracks are beginning to appear in long-term friendships and her new friends – well, they seem to have secrets all of their own.
And some of those secrets are deadly.
As her children move on with their lives, Rosa is left alone to unravel the mysteries that connect a dead artist, a fascinating but enigmatic aspiring journalist, a globe-trotting millionaire and a host of movers and shakers in London’s art world.
Blending wit and excitement in a compelling story, The Art of Dying takes Rosa from her cosy London home into the jaws of a grisly, hideous danger that seems set to destroy her. Will she be able to save herself – and her dearest friends – from evil, or will she finally meet her end?
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
16 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Vena Cork
16 books26 followersVena studied at Homerton College, Cambridge, and was one of the first female members of the Cambridge Footlights. She was an actress, playwright and teacher before becoming a full-time writer and producing the Thorn trilogy.
Thorn, the first in the trilogy, was hailed by the Guardian as ‘a compelling, dark-hued psychological thriller’, by Time Out as ‘an outstanding debut’, and by The Times as ‘one of those rare and energetic books you can’t put down and don’t want to end.’ It was followed by The Art of Dying and Green Eye, both also highly praised. The trilogy is now available from Endeavour Press.
Her new standalone novel, The Lost Ones was published in May 2016 and her fifth novel, Toxic will be published later in 2016, also by Endeavour Press.
Vena lives in London with her husband, the art critic Richard Cork. She has two sons and two daughters.
Thorn, the first in the trilogy, was hailed by the Guardian as ‘a compelling, dark-hued psychological thriller’, by Time Out as ‘an outstanding debut’, and by The Times as ‘one of those rare and energetic books you can’t put down and don’t want to end.’ It was followed by The Art of Dying and Green Eye, both also highly praised. The trilogy is now available from Endeavour Press.
Her new standalone novel, The Lost Ones was published in May 2016 and her fifth novel, Toxic will be published later in 2016, also by Endeavour Press.
Vena lives in London with her husband, the art critic Richard Cork. She has two sons and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 11, 2019
This is a book I have no idea or memory of picking it up (I sure hope I haven't paid for it...). I didn't like it from start to finish, quick read, low average thriller.
February 26, 2016
This is the second book in a trilogy featuring Rosa Thorn. It would work as a standalone, but I would suggest starting off with Thorn to get a better picture of the main character, and also because the first book was actually better than this. This starts off a few months after the events in book 1 as Rosa is preparing for the art exhibition in memory of her husband. The entire plot centers around the art scene. In book 1, I really enjoyed Rosa's interactions with her children. Here, they don't play a role at all, as they are conveniently away on vacation. The focus here is Rosa's past and present friendships. Just as in book 1, there is a very long build-up, which is usually something that puts me off, but in this trilogy, I'm quite happy with it. I enjoy reading Rosa's first person perspective and her dry humor. The first book was a lot more creepy and dark though which was missing here. It never really got suspenseful at all, and to be honest, the revelations towards the end became just a tad too far-fetched. Still strangely enjoyable, though. 3.5 stars
January 11, 2016
This was my second book by Vena Cork and it was as good as the first. After her husband's death she is still trying to put her life back together and by having a memorial show of her husbands painting she hopes to do just that. Then she discovers her husband had a brother he never knew about. She welcomes him into her life because she knew that was what her husband would have wanted but after awhile she begins to have reservations. Her brother in law has cut his hair like her husband, is wearing his clothes and is talking in the same manner as her husband all of which she is beginning to find a little disconcerting. To top it off her two best friends in the world have begun acting strangely. Great read. I would love to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
December 10, 2022
Loved it!
I bought this immediately after finishing the first book in the series, and it didn't let me down :)
It's as.great old as.the first book, full of unexpected twists and surprises. Really enjoyed reading this.
I bought this immediately after finishing the first book in the series, and it didn't let me down :)
It's as.great old as.the first book, full of unexpected twists and surprises. Really enjoyed reading this.
September 30, 2018
Takes a little while to get into this story but once you are in it is very hard to put down.
July 6, 2021
Twists and Turnd
Enjoyed the twists and turns in this book.
You think you have it figured out, then find out it's not the character you thought it was.
Read it in a day !
Enjoyed the twists and turns in this book.
You think you have it figured out, then find out it's not the character you thought it was.
Read it in a day !
October 12, 2009
It was okay, in a way. I can easily see why people enjoy it. It has a strong family bond, a strong friendship bond, it has a mystery, a crime, and heaps of art. Unfortunately, Cork doesn't seem to know when it's time to stop the convoluted subplots.
Nothing particularly happens until the second half of the book. Rosa seems like a smart woman. She knows she's being dragged into Joshua's tale, and knows she's possibly being conned. But she does it anyway. She knows she's not really the person for the job in establishing a park monument. But she does it anyway. She's never spent a night alone, she's moved on quite easily after her daughter's kidnapping, she doesn't seem to have a job yet it somehow well off.
There are plenty of plot holes in this book, and furthermore, nothing is really finished. How can everything be covered up so neatly? It's all a bit too convenient.
The book isn't horrible, but there's a dozen subplots being run around, and it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Nothing happens with Gillian and Leni, Steve's plot is all over the place, the DVD Steve made just sort of disappears, and Caroline goes from being head over her heels to hating her dead fiancee. Meanwhile, I'm left sitting confused and unsure whether I enjoyed it or not.
Nothing particularly happens until the second half of the book. Rosa seems like a smart woman. She knows she's being dragged into Joshua's tale, and knows she's possibly being conned. But she does it anyway. She knows she's not really the person for the job in establishing a park monument. But she does it anyway. She's never spent a night alone, she's moved on quite easily after her daughter's kidnapping, she doesn't seem to have a job yet it somehow well off.
There are plenty of plot holes in this book, and furthermore, nothing is really finished. How can everything be covered up so neatly? It's all a bit too convenient.
The book isn't horrible, but there's a dozen subplots being run around, and it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Nothing happens with Gillian and Leni, Steve's plot is all over the place, the DVD Steve made just sort of disappears, and Caroline goes from being head over her heels to hating her dead fiancee. Meanwhile, I'm left sitting confused and unsure whether I enjoyed it or not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2010
This is a very well constructed mystery. There is enough not knowing to keep the reader intrigued and enough knowing to keep you interested.
The threads of the book are interwoven in a rather clever way; even the narrator is not in the know so as reader I felt part of the discovery process.
Rosa Thorn tells the events of two weeks as they unfold. Her dead husband's art exhibition is the starting point for the collusion of many lives, many hopes and a fair bit of pain. There are lots of stories goingon at the same time, kind of like happens in real life. Rosa has to deal with all of them until, in some ways, they all arrive at the same place and time, the climax of the book.
I was sucked in and read the book in two days.
I will be looking for more of her work in the future.
The threads of the book are interwoven in a rather clever way; even the narrator is not in the know so as reader I felt part of the discovery process.
Rosa Thorn tells the events of two weeks as they unfold. Her dead husband's art exhibition is the starting point for the collusion of many lives, many hopes and a fair bit of pain. There are lots of stories goingon at the same time, kind of like happens in real life. Rosa has to deal with all of them until, in some ways, they all arrive at the same place and time, the climax of the book.
I was sucked in and read the book in two days.
I will be looking for more of her work in the future.
May 20, 2012
This book picks up where ‘Thorn’ ended. It is a rather convoluted tale with many characters who, in the end, all have a meaningful place in the story. The wry humour that was so enjoyable in ‘Thorn’ is much less this time, and I found the first part of the book is a bit slow. The main mystery is whether Joshua, a newcomer in Rosa’s life, is who and what he claims to be, or is he out to harm Rosa and her family in some way. Echoes from her student days prove that old friendships are not always as she believed, causing more confusion for Rosa. When an artist is murdered it brings more fear and uncertainty into her life, and the resolution at the end is quite bizarre. Vena handles all the twists and turns skillfully. I didn’t find this as enjoyable as ‘Thorn’ but I will still read the next in the series to see what happens to Rosa next.
March 30, 2016
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this novel.
I was very excited to read the second book in the Rosa Thorn series and it lived up to my expectations in every way.
I was captivated by the mystery surrounding Rosa’s stalker and I was truly shocked by his identity.
In this novel, the events are mainly centred around Rosa’s late husband’s art exhibition and, as we are introduced to some fairly unsavoury characters along the way, there is no shortage of suspects when someone turns up dead.
This is a great sequel to the first book and although the conclusion could be said to be bordering on unrealistic it still works and it left me horrified and thrilled in equal measure.
I was very excited to read the second book in the Rosa Thorn series and it lived up to my expectations in every way.
I was captivated by the mystery surrounding Rosa’s stalker and I was truly shocked by his identity.
In this novel, the events are mainly centred around Rosa’s late husband’s art exhibition and, as we are introduced to some fairly unsavoury characters along the way, there is no shortage of suspects when someone turns up dead.
This is a great sequel to the first book and although the conclusion could be said to be bordering on unrealistic it still works and it left me horrified and thrilled in equal measure.
April 17, 2015
Fast paced - good rhythm with well described settings and people. The characters were hodgepodge, irritating and somewhat poorly developed. The story developed very slowly that had a lackluster and complex climax.
Nice prose interchanged with some suitable dialogue. Although, I found the protagonist irritating - running around psychoanalysing everyones' reactions.In addition, too many side characters and events as well.
Nice prose interchanged with some suitable dialogue. Although, I found the protagonist irritating - running around psychoanalysing everyones' reactions.In addition, too many side characters and events as well.
January 28, 2016
Very confused sometimes trite example of crime writing though strangely still quite enjoyable. I can't help but sense the effects of reading too many Jilly Coopers in the sensationalism towards the end, which was SO busy trying to piece all the ends together the writing was sloppy.
Having said that, my comparison to Ms Cooper should possibly be taken with all respect due as though far fetched and glamorised piffle, they always entertain!
Having said that, my comparison to Ms Cooper should possibly be taken with all respect due as though far fetched and glamorised piffle, they always entertain!
July 29, 2016
I didn't enjoy this as much as the first in the series but nevertheless, it's well written and absorbing again. I found the parts about Rosa's dead husband's unknown brother Josh suddenly appearing rather eerie, especially when he seems determined to 'become' Rosa's husband by taking on his identity. The ending (long) section is weird and really requires suspension of disbelief, but certainly inventive! Recommended but I think you need to read the first novel (Thorn) first.
June 5, 2008
My Friend Fiona lent me this book, and to be honest I expected it to dislike it, not being a murder/thriller reader. Suprisingly was readable, probably forgettable but wasn't overly bad. Still dislike its emo sounding title though.
December 5, 2009
I bought this almost two years ago and never got around to reading it. I've put it up on eBay for quick auction. After re-reading the blurb, it just doesn't interest me anymore, hence I've given up on it.
If anyone wants to convince me otherwise, feel free.
If anyone wants to convince me otherwise, feel free.
June 20, 2016
I was unconvinced by the characters in this book; a most unlikely set of dysfunctional and unbelievable characters. The 'reveal' left me snorting with incredulity.
So, it was readable, but unsatisfying. The book equivalent of a supermarket ready-sliced loaf.
So, it was readable, but unsatisfying. The book equivalent of a supermarket ready-sliced loaf.
January 5, 2008
A fabulous follow-up to Thorn. I still think Thorn was a bit better, but this one was shocking and quite good as well.
July 7, 2011
Did not like this very much, too predictable.
May 25, 2012
A dissapointing book after such a strong debut.
April 6, 2016
I should have enjoyed it more. I wanted to enjoy it morharacters. The killer wasn't obvious. But like her first novel, the plot eventually become too convoluted and lost patience/interest.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews