An Engaging New Thriller from New York Times Bestselling Author Michael Gruber

The Forgery of Venus

Over the course of the past few weeks, I had the honor of getting and reading an advance reader’s edition of Michael Gruber’s new book The Forgery of Venus.As many readers may remember, Michael Gruber is the author of New York Time’s bestselling The The Book of Air and Shadows.I’m pretty sure Gruber’s new book will also be a New York Time’s bestseller.

Taking place in New York and Europe, the book follows the intriguing life of Chaz Wilmot, a remarkably gifted artists who has the ability to paint with the same techniques and style of the classic masters – especially Velasquez. But this is not just a tale of a modern artist painting in the style of the classical masters – that would be too staid of a story for Gruber. Rather, through an engrossing tale of art, history, psychology, the mafia, and drugs the reader is taken on a thrilling ride of suspense and intrigue. Is Chaz Wilmot a remarkable painter capable of reproducing works as great as the classic masters, or is he one of those masters himself?

Engaging, entertaining, and remarkably fresh, The Forgery of Venuscatapults the reader on an adventure involving high end art forgeries, the little known psychoactive plant Salvia, and an artist desperately trying to make a living.

A high end art dealer who has known, and been watching Chaz's work, offers Chaz the chance to restore an ancient Venetian palazzo. However, it is not simply a one time job – as Chaz soon finds out – for more work is offered as Chaz begins to work on other pieces by the masters. At the same time, Chaz continues to deal with his depression and revolving drug habit, going in and out of periods of drug induced productivity. This combination of drugs and art leads Chaz down a road of confusing identities, as he begins to think that he is not really recreating or restoring works by Velasquez and other masters, but that he is Velasquez.

I don’t want to give away too much of the story, no one likes a spoiler. Let’s just say that Gruber held me captivated from beginning to end. Bending the line between real and fake, internal and external, The Forgery of Venusis a dazzling suspense story that I couldn’t put down. Rarely does one get to read a book that combines history, psychology, and art with such skill and intrigue. I’ve already recommended this book to a couple of my close friends, and I’m sure you will agree, Gurber has done it again. The Forgery of Venusis as good as it gets.

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