Veridian Sterling Fakes It
Jennifer Gooch Hummer
252 pages/8 Hours 14 minutes
Lake Union Publishing/Brilliance Publishing
published July 1, 2024
This is written in a lighthearted whimsical style and reminded me just a little of Stephanie Plum and the likes. And the quote to start the book sums it up perfectly. “Exaggerate the essential, leave the obvious vague.” – Vincent Van Gogh I am not sure this is in the vain of a highly researched art world heist book, but it is a fun fictional slice of it.
I loved the New York City setting for a book centered around art. I was also intrigued by the art world both the legit and the shady side of it. I went back and forth on what I thought of Veridian. At times her choices drove me a little nuts, but her quirky and free spirited ways fit the humor in the story.
There are some unexpected surprises as Veridian works to solve not only her problems but track down the missing painting.
Emily Lawrence did a great job of picking up the tone and vibe of the book. The humor, the suspense, the more serious parts. She made it an even more fun escape.
It’s a little bit of a mystery, a little bit of a romance, a little bit of finding yourself and quite entertaining.
In this colorful and humorous tale, a hopeful young painter finds herself embroiled in the world of art heists…and possibly responsible for the counterfeits needed to cover them up.
Freshly graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, Veridian Sterling is ready to hang her work in any of the countless New York galleries that are sure to give her a show. The problem is only one will, and they’re not interested in her art so much as her personal assistant skills.
No glitz, no glam, and definitely none of the money she needs to help her struggling mother finally realize her dream of starting her own business after having sacrificed everything for Veri to go to art school. So when she overhears her new boss discussing the impressive finder’s fee for a lost van Gogh, Veri takes matters into her own hands. Maybe her own artwork isn’t celebrated, but she knows how to copy what is, and maybe those skills can help lead to a discovery.
But when a famous art dealer takes her under his wing (and his charming driver takes her interest), Veri realizes she’s in deeper than she expected, and quite possibly with the wrong people. With her mother’s dreams and her own future at stake, Veri will have to pull out every trick she can think of to wipe her canvas clean and erase the mess she’s created before she goes down for someone else’s crimes.
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