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Karl Hagedorn (1889-1969)

Paul Liss

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Originating from Berlin Hagedorn moved to Manchester in 1905 to train in textile production. Having...

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Rembrandt Secret in Books

Nov 25, 2019

The Rembrandt Secret

Alex Connor | 2011 | Art, Photography & Fashion, Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller

8.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

The Rembrandt Secret is a thriller set in the closed and secretive art world. Set during a recession when many dealers and galleries are struggling, the gruesome murder of respected gallery owner Owen Ziegler threatens to reveal a secret that could rock the art world to its foundations.

As a thriller this book works really well; the secret itself (unsurprisingly involving the Dutch Old Master Rembrandt) is revealed fairly early on which means the book can concentrate on what it does best - instilling a sense of paranoia in both the hero (Owen's son Marshall) and the reader trying to work out who the murderer is.

The world of art is also a good choice for this kind of taut thriller; since everyone is trying to find that one previously unacknowledged masterpiece worth millions before their neighbour does nobody trusts anyone else. Marshill did not follow his father into the world of art and so is viewed with even more distrust.

A whole cast of eccentric characters appear, some of which could have a motive, most of them hiding some sort of underhand connection to the victim. As Marshal tries to make sense not only of his father's death but of the strange circles he moved in the secrets come to light one by one - and the body count rises. Someone is eliminating everyone who knows the Rembrandt Secret, including Marshall.

Although I know next to nothing about how the art world works (and I am assuming the portrayal is broadly accurate) it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book. The plot is not filled with action by any means but instead is driven by the characters, every conversation feeling like the participants are carefully navigating their way thought it trying to gain advantage from the other. I did guess the 'who' in the whodunnit around half way through but it was more of an educated guess than anything concrete so was still fairly suprised when I was proved correct.

There is a lot of conversation about art which didn't interest me much but did add flavour and texture to the book, but it did get a little frustrating sometimes when it didn't have any bearing on moving the plot forward.

Overall I enjoyed this a lot and if I see another of Connor's books I will pick it up and no doubt enjoy reading that too.