The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne: A Verlaque and Bonnet
Provencal Mystery. M. L. Longworth. Penguin
Mystery Original. September 2015. 320 pp. ISBN#: 9780143128076.
“He
couldn’t help walking. He loved it: it took him places where nature’s shapes
showed him what to put on the canvas.”
This, then, is the magic and inspiration that can be seen in every
painting by this artist who was early in his career jeered at, ignored and
rejected. Color always blended into the
objects and nature behind each scene, a technique that some saw as a kind of
Impressionistic style but which seemed to go far beyond that artistic
school. One painting that was rather
unusual color is the object of the mystery within this novel, a portrait of a
woman who lived in Aix, France and who seemed dynamically alive in color and
facial features in a way that was not evident in any of Cezanne’s other
paintings.
The
story begins with the relationships of our main characters, Antoine Verlaque, a
Magistrate Justice, and his girlfriend and friends. He loves his life in this small city of Aix,
the place where Cezanne worked and painted.
The residents appreciate art because of this connection and also have an
especial love for certain foods that are so well-described herein that one can
taste their delicious components and smell their delightful fragrance, such as
the “gallettes des rois.”
Now
a friend in Verlaque’s cigar club asks him to visit Rene Rouquet who seems
highly excited about a canvas that he has found rolled up in his apartment
which was once owned by Cezanne. When
Verlaque arrives, he finds a stranger art history professor standing over
Rene’s dead body and there is no canvas to be found. So begins the complex mystery that Verlaque
and his friend and investigator, Bonnet, pursue.
The
mystery involves the beautiful art history professor, a woman who looks like a
beautiful fashion model, who always seems to appear where she is least expected
and is always dressed in a style that defies her academic salary. It also concerns a former art auctioneer who
claims a Cezanne painting that is found is really a very good fake copy. A man reputed to be a mobster also has an
eclectic but very expensive art collection.
And finally there will be another death associated with the art of
Cezanne that is now worth millions of Euros.
Interspersed
within this mystery are chapters in which Cezanne meets a very special lady who
fully appreciates the forms and intentions in his paintings, a woman who makes
him relax and who truly understands his expression of beauty and form in nature
and all who blend into its presence.
The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne… is a fine read that never gets ahead of
its quest. Verlaque and Bonnet get along
and are more than highly capable of detecting clues that the average person
would miss but take time to connect motivations and connections that will
reveal the surprise discovery of who is really the guilty party! In the process our heroes will grow to
appreciate the loved ones in their own lives – an unexpected but delightful
addition to the central puzzle herein!
Fine
mystery reading that lovers of this genre will find intriguing and highly
enjoyable! Nicely done, M. L. Longworth!
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