Blog Tour: THE CASE OF THE FORGOTTEN FRAGONARD by Marilyn Baron

THE CASE OF THE FORGOTTEN FRAGONARD

by Marilyn Baron

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GENRE:  Cozy Mystery

 

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BLURB:

 

Hadley Evans Ferrari, art detective in Florence, Italy, is on the scent of a forgotten Fragonard painting at a villa in Rome when she stumbles across a treasure trove of stolen Nazi artwork—from Hermann Göring’s personal World War II stash. When she and the palazzo’s interior decorator are held hostage by the head of a secret Nazi organization and required, in a race against time, to appraise all the artwork in the house for private sale, she fears they will never escape with their lives. Can her sexy carabinieri husband Luca Ferrari and the police department’s Art Squad get there in time to come storming in and “save the day” before the villa’s evil Count “ties up loose ends”?

 

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Excerpt One:

 

“How do you know me?”

 

“Who in Italy doesn’t know the famous and beautiful Signora Ferrari of Massimo Domingo Art

Detective Agency?”

 

“I wasn’t aware anyone knew my name. My boss is the premier art expert.”

 

“Signora, you’re too modest. Your reputation precedes you, as does the highly questionable and fading reputation of your boss. And your particular expertise will be put to very good use here, I assure you. It’s a special job that requires your particular skills.”

 

“What exactly are we doing here?” Hadley demanded, acting more courageous than she felt.

 

“Okay, let’s dispense with the niceties, if we must. I have inherited a number of paintings, and I’m in need of your talent in authenticating and tracking the provenance of what I believe are masterworks.”

 

“You mean stolen Nazi art.”

 

The man straightened. “Certainly not. I have the records that maintain these paintings were legally sold to the buyers and that I now own Palazzo Allegretti and all of its contents.”

 

“But I understood that Herr Muller had purchased the palazzo.”

 

“Herr Muller works for us. He’s what you could call an anonymous third party. We’ve been waiting a long time to release these paintings onto the open market. I simply need your assistance in verifying their authenticity, perhaps giving us an idea of their current value, which has undoubtedly risen since they were…”

 

“Confiscated?” Hadley posed. “Is that the word you were looking for?”

 

 

 

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Review: The narrative was nice n’ easy, even though some of the Italian and French artists and landmarks were a tad confusing. The story takes a while to get going as it’s busy laying out the groundwork with the history and the masterpieces, which gave the story authenticity but was also very drawn-out and technical. Story really takes the reader deep into Art History, which, for the most part, was fascinating, but some of the details might get lost on some. 

For me, the mystery didn’t quite progress that finely or quickly. I’d still call this a smart mystery and those that like to put on their thinking cap might enjoy this. For me, this was a fair read. 

Rating: 3 stars

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Marilyn Baron writes in a variety of genres from women’s fiction to historical romantic thrillers and romantic suspense to paranormal/fantasy and cozy mysteries. She’s received writing awards in Single Title, Suspense Romance, Novel with Strong Romantic Elements and Paranormal/Fantasy Romance. She was also The Finalist in the 2017 Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA) in the Romance Category for her novel, Stumble Stones, and The Finalist for the 2018 GAYA Awards in the Romance category for her novel, The Alibi. Her latest novel, which was released March 22, 2023, her 29th work of fiction, is The Case of the Forgotten Fragonard. A public relations consultant in Atlanta, Marilyn is past chair and current member of Roswell Reads and serves on the Atlanta Authors Series Committee. To find out more about what Marilyn writes, visit her website at: www.marilynbaron.com/

 

Preferred Website: www.marilynbaron.com

Email: Marilynbaroncom@gmail.com

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Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Baron/e/B008PJFQPC

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marilyn-baron   

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https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Fragonard-Massimo-Domingo-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0BS5N3C7M/

 

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GIVEAWAY 

 

The author will award a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.  Please use the following code in your post.

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