Novel Adventures Book Club April Selection Review

Overview:

Four years ago, what Matt Friedrich learned at work put him in prison. Yesterday, it earned him a job. Tomorrow, it may kill him.

Matt learned all the angles at his old Los Angeles gallery: how to sell stolen art, how to “enhance” a painting’s history, how to help buyers hide their purchases from their spouses or the IRS. He made a load of money doing it – money he poured into the lawyer who worked a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney. Matt’s out on parole and hopelessly in debt with no way out...until a shadowy woman from his past recruits him to find a cache of stolen art that could be worth millions.

Now Matt’s in Milan, impersonating a rich collector looking for deals. He has twenty days to track down something that may not exist for a boss who knows a lot more than she’s telling. He’s saddled with a tough-talking partner who may be out to screw him and up against a shady gallerist whom Matt tried to send to prison. His parole officer doesn’t know he’s left the U.S. Worse yet, what Matt’s looking for may belong to the local branch of the Calabrian mafia.

Matt’s always been good at being bad. If he’s good enough now, he gets a big payday with the promise of more to come. But one slip in his cover, one wrong word from any of the sketchy characters surrounding him, could hand Matt a return trip to jail...or a long sleep in a shallow grave.

My Review:

For the month of April, our book club chose The Collection by Lance Charnes which is the first in a new series.  In this book, we are introduced to Matt who hasn't been long out of prison where he spent time for trafficking in stolen art and is trying to rebuild his life.  His roommate convinces him to call Allyson, a chick he hooked up with four years ago, to see if he can get a job with her.  She reluctantly hires him on a probationary period to steal a piece of art that is being held somewhere in Italy, most likely by a member of the Italian mob.  He gets paired with Carson who is a hard, no-nonsense, no sense of humor girl who just wants to get the job over with.

I thought the premise of this book was different, but in a good way.  Technically, the characters are criminals but in a George Clooney version of Ocean's 11 kind of way if that makes sense.  Matt and Carson are hired to steal a piece of art that was actually stolen from someone else who wants it back but can't get it through legal means.  It's a little complicated but fun.

I liked the characters, though I thought Matt was a little too weak.  I understand it is because he is afraid of going back to prison so he is doing everything he can to be a model citizen but I would like to see him get a backbone.

Carson is tough-as-nails and that can be grating but we do get to see small glimpses here and there of a softer side which works to make her more human.  I still find it hard to like her, though.  She is too bitter and we don't even really know why - at least not to any great extent.

We know almost nothing of Allyson so it's hard to decide whether or not I like her so I will reserve judgement for now.  We also know nothing at all about her agency.  I know in this book the client hired her team to steal back a painting which belongs to them and there are references to other types of jobs that she does for people but we don't know anything else.  I do know her clients are not always on the right side of the law which makes the premise unique and quite interesting.

My favorite character is Olivia which is strange because we are told absolutely nothing about her.  She is just a voice on the other end of the line who arranges things for Matt and Carson like hotel reservations, car rentals, and relaying messages to Allyson.  She reminds me of Charlie of Charlie's Angels - you never saw him but knew he was the force behind the whole organization and I picture Olivia to be the same.  I am not sure why I liked her best - maybe because of the mystery surrounding her and because she has a very dry sense of humor.

I thought the pacing was a bit slow for a heist and there was too much time spent on description. Having been to Italy myself, I appreciated the obvious love Matt had for the place but it made for too much of a slow down in the story.  I also wish there had been  a bit more back story for him.  He talks a little about his mom but we don't know whether she's even alive or dead and he didn't mention his dad at all.  There's a reference to the case that ended up sending him to prison but not much in detail which I would like to have known.

The characters have potential, as does the series but they are a bit too one-dimensional at the moment and the pacing needs to pick up a bit more.  

Overall,  I liked the book enough that I've already read the second one (review up Thursday) and a lot more is explained in that installment.  

Have you read this book?  Join in the discussion in the comments!

May Pick:  Circe by Madeline Miller