Thursday, April 7, 2011

April Side Book - The Painter's Gift by Penelope J. Holt

The month of April's theme was religion:

Let us if you read and share your review with us here on the blog.

A new Gospel will emerge early in the third millennium. Christ s message will remain unchanged, but the medium will be different. Three paintings will combine to soften and heal the heart of modern man. Claire Lucas is a young widow and an oil painter of middling ability. Plagued for weeks by a sad dream of Benares, India, she funnels the pivotal image into a work of transcendent majesty. The painting actually radiates heat, requiring a dedicated security guard at the Vetch gallery in Soho, as people yearn to touch it. Viewers are rapt and go away possessed of an overwhelming calm. The painter sells her painting for a life-altering million-five, but suffers a paroxysm of regret and tries to cancel the transaction.

 She meets and becomes fast allies with the forcefully capable Father Karl Brandt, a priest on the trail of the three foretold masterpieces mentioned in The Angel Scroll, and also Richard Markson, an introverted widower. Someone else wants the paintings enough to kill for them, enough to invade homes in both darkness and daylight. Claire and her champions have quite a bit of ground to make up. The story carries from New York to Jerusalem, Glastonbury Tor to Siena in Italy, with the author conveying a flair for descriptive detail, and a good sense of when to shift backdrops

256 pages
paperback & e-books

1 comment:

Leenie said...

Given that this book was the writer’s first novel I have to give her credit it reads easy and has multiple sub plots going on. If you’ve read any of Dan Browns books I would skip it, the whole DE Vinci Code, Angels and Demons thing is all over this book.

I think because I did read the Dan brown books I didn’t find The Painter’s Gift a page turner, I found myself board at times. Mr. Brown has spoiled me for other religious artifact mystery books.

On the other hand if you haven’t read any of Mr. Brown’s books and are interested modern Indian Jones type books go for it. There are bits of mystery, romance and twist all mixed in this short easy to follow novel.