104. The English Masterpiece. Katherine Reay. 2025. 302 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, adult fiction, general fiction, art appreciation]
First sentence: After sliding my boss's note into my top desk drawer, I walk down the corridor and top on Diana's door and, as usual, pause for a second or two before I open it.
Premise/plot: The English Masterpiece has two narrators--Lily and Diana. Lily's boss is Diana. Both work at an art museum, the Tate--Diana in a much higher place of prestige. Picasso has just died and the museum is planning an exhibit. At the opening of that exhibit, Lily notices that one of the paintings--newly acquired and on loan--is a forgery. Her comment does not go unnoticed. It causes great turmoil that will take the remaining of the book to settle down. If the painting is a fraud, a forgery, WHO is responsible for painting it, who forged the provenance papers, who authenticated that it was real, and WHO is profiting from this crime? Just to name a few questions...Lily and Diana both have some mystery to them. But only one is a criminal.
My thoughts: I did not like this one as much as I'd hoped. I was hoping that my previous enjoyment of Reay's novels would help counter my lack of interest in all things art. (I do like picture books about art, art appreciation, etc. But a whole novel set in the art world was apparently not for me.) It was pleasant enough. I didn't dislike it. I just didn't actively like it.
© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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