Patrice McDonough is a former educator who taught history for more than three decades. A member of the Historical Writers of America, the Mystery Writers of America, and the Historical Novel Society, she splits her time between New Jersey and the Florida Gulf Coast.
McDonough's new novel, A Slash of Emerald, is her second Dr. Julia Lewis mystery.
At CrimeReads the author tagged nine titles featuring "dastardly deeds in rarified settings." One title on the list:
Art Finkel, The Art ThiefRead about another entry on the list.
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel is a terrific true crime story that reads like a novel. Stéphane Breitwieser and Anne-Catherine Kleinklauss, a pair of twenty-something lovers, stole 239 artworks from European castles, museums, andgalleries. That’s about one theft every two weeks in a streak that stretched from 1994 to 2001. The accumulated hoard totaled an estimated two billion dollars.
Their technique was surprisingly simple. To look the part of well-heeled art lovers, they sourced designer clothing from second-hand shops. The thieves preyed on small collections with unsophisticated security. Often, Breitweiser simply reached into a case and tucked a treasure into his pocket or waistband. The reader knows that the Bonnie and Clyde of fine art thievery are nabbed in the end. The mystery Finkel unpacks is motivation. The French thieves hadn’t a centime between them, yet they never sold a single piece.
--Marshal Zeringue
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