Review Roundup

Praise centers on Charney’s insider knowledge of art and art crime, with reviewers appreciating how the novel teaches while weaving its many threads into an intriguing mystery. Several also found it enjoyable and refreshingly less violent than typical crime fiction. Criticism focuses on execution: the plot can become convoluted and difficult to follow, characterization sometimes feels formulaic, and the humor can seem forced. Other reviewers found the extensive art-history lectures intrusive, arguing that they slow the story’s pace.