The Last Mona Lisa

Fabulous! I loved this book. It led me through the streets of Paris, viewing the stunning architecture, galleries and restaurants in Florence ( definitely inspired me to plan a return visit to sample again with a refreshed insight!). Who can beat such a well written mystery; history woven with suspense and romance driven by vivid characters?

Did you know that the Mona Lisa was once stolen? I didn’t. It happened in 1911 and though the painting later found its way back to the Louvre Museum there are some that believe the picture now in place to be something other than the Leonardo da Vinci original. A tall story? Perhaps, but here writer and artist Jonathan Santlofer weaves a tale, a mixture of fact and the meanderings of his own imagination, that seeks to explore what happened in the two year period the painting was missing.We meet Luke Perrone the great grandson of the art thief who is hell bent on unearthing the true story of his ancestor’s life. He has a few clues and has received a communication which sends him off on a trip to Florence in search of a journal that might just provide the answers he seeks. As well as tracking Luke’s adventure we also become aware of an a man working for INTERPOL who is taking an active interest in Luke’s movements and an criminal art collector in New York who has a stash of stolen paintings in a hidden room in his house.In this mix of fact and fiction we learn how Vincent Perrugia stole the painting, meet some of the people he came into contact with and gain an understanding of why he may have committed such an act. Vincent’s story alternates with present day events to form a helter-skelter romp that never lets up. Luke, an art professor, is reminiscent of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon and though this tale is somewhat less frantic it does have something of the Davinci Code’s relentless motion about.It’s great fun and though it’s hard to take it all too seriously the background story of the original theft does add a soupçon of credibility to proceedings. It’s a nice mix: an old fashioned mystery and a modern thriller all in one package. A terrific book to fire up your imagination and to unwind to.I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review.