What do You think about Murder At The National Gallery (1997)?
This was definitely a good read. I did enjoy reading about all of the attempts to steal that one elusive and recently discovered Caravaggio painting. I felt there were some quite tragic endings for those characters that were involved with the theft of such an exquisite work of art. Margaret Truman helped reinforce why I do enjoy reading thrilling Murder mysteries...that is, when I am in the mood to read them. Even though, I do believe her novels are mostly considered Crime novels, I consider Murder mysteries and Crime novels to be related to one another in genre.
—Taffey Champion
This book from Margaret Truman's "Capital Crimes" series set in Washington D.C. takes readers into the National Gallery and the nuances of international art theft. The central event involves _Grottesca_, a painting by the Renaissance master Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio, and Luther Mason, a curator and Caravaggio expert working at the National Gallery. Mason's obsession with the painting leads to his untimely death and an adventure for Annabel Reed-Smith assisted by her lawyer husband Mac, both of whom figure prominently in many of the books in Truman's series.
—Peggy Huey
What a relief after the horribly written and worse read Murder at the Opera. But we had miles to drive on our trip home and little else to listen to, so we started MatNG and it was a good move. This is another Mac and Annabel caper, although they are minor characters this time. Luther Mason, curator of the National Gallery and preeminent Caravaggio expert, can't resist taking a long-lost masterpiece for himself and returning a forgery to Italy plus selling a second copy to an unscrupulous are collector. But nothing is that neat or simple in this saga.
—Jan
