Artifice

Alan Cleverden is an art expert with a secret. A well-educated, well-travelled and very well-informed individual, he fits easily into the worlds of art, history, writing, television, travel and crime. Not bad for a young man who speaks as though he is still living in a bygone age, probably between the wars. Despite his stilted vocabulary and harking back to the days when the police were the respected face of authority and equally respectful to well-heeled inhabitants of stately homes, this is supposed to be contemporary fiction. Which is surprising when you add into the mix the faithful family retainer, a sort of John Brown to Alan's mother's Queen Victoria and a so-called private investigator who dons disguises, Sherlock Holmes style, in a manner that would have the Mission Impossible team sobbing into their high tech equipment. All of which was a great pity because the actual plot is very well-constructed, if somewhat over-the-top and convoluted. It all went on far too long and despite the twists and turns, there was just too much thrown into the mix. Although I did finish the book, by the end it had all got too fantastic and unrealistic. Once governments get involved, negotiations go beyond basic police investigations. The TV and newspaper items were so dated, some of the twists totally predictable and a lot of the plot was just far-fetched and fanciful. This author really knows a lot about art and also knows his way around the UK and the Continent. His grammar is good, if horribly dated (who says "vouchsafe" nowadays?) and he understands the purpose of the apostrophe (hooray!). However, even he got caught out by, "you and I". A quick lesson - "Mother and I offered him tea", "He had tea with Mother and me". Delete the word "Mother" and the sentence will still make sense. Easy! It trips authors up all the time but when as in this case, the grammar is so formal, then it really hits you between the eyes. Sorry, not a series for me.

This revolves around stolen works of art. I'd suggest that it would suit two sorts of reader: Those who have a big interest in art history, including its criminal side and in the technicalities of TV documentary productions; and those who are willing to skip large chunks of those things to follow the plot.I fell into the latter camp hence only 3 stars. I felt that the slightly dated, avuncular style reminded me of Roger Moore's "The Saint" character as did the rather fantastical plot. Probably not my sort of book but I did finish it!

This a well plotted and paced thriller. The story deals with the art world and is full of interesting facts, not reading like a dull text book but making the artists and where they live come to life. The main character is very likeable and believable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next instalment

Although the idea behind this piqued my interest, and the art described was worth a look, I lost the plot! Murder, mayhem, and stolen art and antiquities. How can a somewhat naive art critic and an unconventional private investigator overcome all the obstacles and gain the upper hand? Sorry, I couldn't be bothered to find out. This book is as interesting as a still life, dead duck, perhaps.

Lacked pace for my taste. Villains were too villainous and plod were, well plodding. The fancy dress antics of one of the characters felt like a visual plot device to be a recurring theme for a TV series.

Plenty of twists and turnsKept the interest all throughKnowledge of art and London tunnelsA bit of a different read I enjoyed itLyn

This is the first Gooch I’ve read and I found it a passable read. Enjoyable characters.

Great book