Spenser's latest case has him playing bodyguard to a Dr. Ashton Prince, respected art lecturer and teacher, and doing a ransom payment for the safe return of a one of a kind painting, "Lady With a Finch" by Frans Hermenszoon, a Low Country painter during the time of Rembrandt. It was supposed to be simple: go to the location, exchange the money for the painting, and call it a day......until the painting, soon after receiving it, exploded, taking the painting (and Dr. Prince) with it!Determined to get justice, Spenser gets caught up in art, fraud, deception, the Holocaust, and, if he's not careful, his life!Good pacing, great storyline, but I could have trimmed it a *tiny* bit, but since this was written in 2010, I think it's a good testiment to Mr. Parker. Enjoy! Spenser had been hired to be a bodyguard to an art professor, Ashton Prince, when a rare painting had been stolen and a ransom demanded. Prince had been approached to be a go between and take the ransom to the thieves and collect the painting. Spenser stayed put in the car, as instructed, and saw Ashton Prince conclude the deal and head back to the car with the painting.But he never made it as the package Prince was carrying blew up scattering remnants of the painting and the professor far and wide. Spenser thought he had failed in his job, he didn’t protect Ashton Prince and so set out to find out who had booby-trapped the painting in advance and had taken so much trouble in doing and of course why.So starts a quest to find out that has Spenser narrowly escaping death, twice himself and delving into the horrifying past of the Holocaust. Jews, Dutch and American’s are all mixed up in Spenser’s investigations. But one constant is the wit in the writing and the banter Spenser has with his police companions and the love of his life Susan Silverman, a Jewess. Even Pearl their dog has her moments in the story, another good read from Robert B Parker.
What do You think about Trügerisches Bild (2011)?
Spartan writing with occasional flashes of brilliance. Nice plot.Loved the dog.
—Mike
