Steve Leshin’s The Art Thief grabs the reader right from its evocative opening and takes him on a thrill-ride through roaring twenties New York City, where scams, deceptions, and beautiful, manipulative people keep Private Eye Joshua Oates on his toes. Leshin’s early Twentieth Century detective series hits a new gear in this one; the intrigue and twists are relentless, even as the assured pacing and crisp writing keep the reader deeply engaged and invested. Yes, some of Oates’s famous old friends are back, like gunslinger Bat Masterson and fabled newsman Damon Runyon, but it is the cast of sharply drawn new characters that enliven Josh’s interactions, from the elegant and wily Lady Pasley to the crisply officious Mr. Wallace to the hulking, brutal McDermott brothers. Layer by layer, the scams are exposed, yet no matter what is revealed, the novel’s villains sink to lower levels of turpitude. The shenanigans surrounding a shady art gallery are by turns brilliant and amusing.
What a delightful read with one climax delivering after another