The last Mona Lisa : a novel. [book discussion kit]

Format:

Kit

Title:

The last Mona Lisa : a novel. [book discussion kit]

Other title(s):

Book discussion kit : Last Mona Lisa

Author:

Santlofer, Jonathan, 1946- author

ISBN:

9781728240763

9781728243986

Publication:

[Newberg, Oregon : CCRLS, 2022]

Physical Description:

10 books (376 pages ; 24 cm), 1 discussion guide ; in container.

General Note:

Includes reading group guide and a conversation with the author (pages 371-376).

Plastic tote containing ten copies of the title.

Edition of book used: Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks, 2021

Summary:

"August, 1911: The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincent Peruggia. Exactly what happens in the two years before its recovery is a mystery. Many replicas of the Mona Lisa exist, and more than one historian has wondered if the painting now in the Louvre is a fake, switched in 1911. Present day: art professor Luke Perrone digs for the truth behind his most famous ancestor: Peruggia. His search attracts an Interpol detective with something to prove and an unfamiliar but curiously helpful woman. Soon, Luke tumbles deep into the world of art and forgery, a land of obsession and danger. A gripping novel exploring the 1911 theft and the present underbelly of the art world, The Last Mona Lisa is a suspenseful tale, tapping into our universal fascination with da Vinci's enigma, why people are driven to possess certain works of art, and our fascination with the authentic and the fake"-- Provided by publisher.

Local Note:

For use by CCRLS libraries only. Not available for inter-library loan.

Personal Subject:

Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519. Mona Lisa-Fiction.

Peruggia, Vincenzo-Fiction.

Peruggia, Vincenzo. (OCoLC)fst00347695

Title Subject:

Mona Lisa (Leonardo, da Vinci) (OCoLC)fst01356780

Subject(s):

Art thefts -- France -- Paris -- Fiction.

Art -- Forgeries -- Fiction.

College teachers -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Newberg Public Library	BOOK KIT SANTLOFER	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

ONE OF PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER!

"Unstoppable what-happens-next momentum."--Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"A deliciously tense read."--Ruth Ware, #1 New York Times bestselling author

From award-winning crime writer and celebrated artist Jonathan Santlofer comes an enthralling tale about the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre, the forgeries that appeared in its wake, and the present-day underbelly of the art world.

August, 1911: The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincent Peruggia. Exactly what happens in the two years before its recovery is a mystery. Many replicas of the Mona Lisa exist, and more than one historian has wondered if the painting now returned to the Louvre is a fake, switched in 1911.

Present day: Art professor Luke Perrone digs for the truth behind his most famous ancestor: Peruggia. His search attracts an Interpol detective with something to prove and an unfamiliar but curiously helpful woman. Soon, Luke tumbles deep into the world of art and forgery, a land of obsession and danger.

The Last Mona Lisa is a suspenseful and seductive tale, perfect for fans of the Netflix documentaries This Is A Robbery and Made You Look and readers obsessed with the world of art heists and forgeries.

Author Notes

JONATHAN SANTLOFER is a writer and artist. His debut novel, THE DEATH ARTIST, was an international bestseller and his novel, ANATOMY OF FEAR, won the Nero Award for best crime novel of 2009. Jonathan created the Crime Fiction Academy as The Center for Fiction. As an artist, Jonathan has made replications of famous paintings for more than 20 years.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The real-life theft of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa from the Louvre on Aug. 21, 1911, by workman Vincenzo Peruggia provides the backdrop for this outstanding caper from Nero Award winner Santlofer (Anatomy of Fear). In 2019, Luke Perrone, a nontenured university professor of art history and Vincenzo's descendant, searches the Laurentian library in Florence, Italy, for his great-grandfather's journal in the hope of determining whether the stolen Mona Lisa was replaced by a forgery before its recovery in 1913, and thus ensuring his academic position. John Washington Smith, an ambitious analyst from Interpol's Art Theft Division, and the mysterious Alexandra Greene join Luke in his effort, and the trio are soon contending with nefarious scholars, forgers, stalkers, a Franciscan monk, and a Russian hit man as the bodies pile up. Details of Florence, Paris, and New York City enhance the twisty plot, as does the insider view of the underground world of art collectors driven by deception, ego, and greed. Santlofer, himself an artist, should win more awards with this one. Agent: Jane von Mehren, Aevitas Creative Management. (Aug.)

Kirkus Review

What might have happened to the Mona Lisa when it was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and stayed missing for two years? Art historian Luke Perrone has been obsessed with the history of the Mona Lisa ever since learning that his great-grandfather Vincenzo Peruggia was the man who stole it from the Louvre. When he's contacted by an Italian professor who claims to know the location of Vincenzo's journal, Luke immediately drops everything and flies to Florence. There, he becomes drawn into two mysteries: one from the past (why did Peruggia steal the painting?) and one from the present (why has everyone who's recently encountered the journal died?). As he unravels the story of the first, he becomes more deeply embroiled in the second and begins to fear for his own safety--especially when he finds out he's being watched. With the help of a beautiful American woman; an INTERPOL agent; and a famous art forger he meets in Paris, Luke begins to wonder whether the painting hanging in the Louvre, returned after the theft, is even the true Mona Lisa. Someone clearly cares enough about the answer to keep killing those who know about the journal, so Luke must rush to find the answers before he's next. Through Vincenzo's story as well as occasional chapters that share background on supporting characters, Santlofer crafts a layered and absorbing art mystery, complete with exciting action scenes and beautiful descriptions of the city of Florence and its art as well as Paris and Nice. It's the human story at the heart of it, though, that really elevates the novel. Vincenzo's motives for art theft are both pure and heart-rending, and Luke, flawed and struggling, seems to innately grasp what the person behind the recent violent deaths cannot: A work of art, no matter how precious, cannot be worth more than a human life. A must for fans of Dan Brown and Arturo Perez-Reverte. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Luke Perrone is a former New Jersey bad boy, a recovering alcoholic, a painter, and an art history professor. Frustrated with the slow pace of his career, he decides to risk all and fully pursue his obsession with his great-grandfather, Vincent Peruggia, the starving Italian immigrant artist who stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. That historic theft is the accelerant for Nero Award-winning Santlofer's provocative art thriller featuring murdered booksellers and art historians, forgeries of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, and Luke's discovery of Vincent's diary in a Florence library, where he meets lovely and enigmatic Alexandra. Luke senses danger, but he has no idea just how dire his predicament is. Whom should he fear most? A diabolical New York art collector? An American INTERPOL research analyst as aggravated with his stalled career as Luke is with his? Alexandra? As the story switches between Luke's increasingly bloody investigation and Vincent's heart-wrenching story, Santlofer brings unique expertise to this vigorously detailed story: his work as an artist who creates "replications of famous paintings for private collectors." Suspenseful, lush with Florence's glorious art and architecture, sexy, and emotionally complex, Santlofer's multifaceted tale of how a passion for art can turn criminal contrasts the genuine with the fake and asks if beauty and love can truly be transcendent.