Book Review: The Collector

Book: The Collector (Marion Spicer Art Mysteries book #1) by Anne-Laure Thieblemont with translations by Sophie Weiner

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

In the merciless microcosm of Paris art auctions and galleries, some people collect art, while others collect trouble. Marion Spicer spends her days examining auction catalogues and searching for stolen works of art. She is a top-notch investigator when it comes to eighteenth-century art. But for her it's just a job and her life is well ordered. All this changes when she inherits a huge and very prestigious collection of pre-Columbian art from a father she never knew. There are conditions attached: she must first find three priceless statues. That is when her troubles begin. Her father’s death sparked much greed, and Marion finds herself facing sharks, schemes, fences, traps, scams, and attacks. Her quest draws her into a world where people will kill for a love of beauty.


Rating: 2 stars

Review:

I'm not sure I would necessarily categorize The Collector as a mystery, I found it to be more of a thriller which I see is on the cover. However, the series is called the Marion Spicer Art Mysteries.

The Collector which is set in Paris, France follows Marion Spicer an art appraiser who had no idea her father was still alive let alone was the enigmatic art connoisseur Edmond Magni. It wasn't until his death, that she had the chance to inherit his impressive artwork but before that could happen she needed to complete a task which was to acquire three statues. However, that is no easy task.

The story centers around the rather unpleasant side of the art world from dirty dealings, theft, murder and underhanded tactics. This wasn't a bad read but it certainly wasn't a mystery and I did have a few issues with it such as the characters and the story both could have benefited from more development. The story slowed down as it neared the end and became extremely boring.

I thought the writing was good but there was not enough depth and information provided. There were times when it seemed like the story didn't know where it was going or what it's purpose was. And not to mention an explicit sex scene was tossed in randomly. Not really sure why it was included? Perhaps to spice up the story which in my opinion wasn't necessary.

Character wise, I was disappointed the most with Marion because at the start of this story she was shown as this intelligent, interesting and honest person but instead was quickly shown to be very naïve but also very unscrupulous. Her personality completely changed and not for the better. Something I didn't understand, for a father who had abandoned her and her mother, why was Marion trying so hard as well as doing some rather unethical and illegal things all to complete the task? 

What annoyed me about this story was it revealed everything. If it was supposed to be a mystery it was a poorly crafted one. There was an investigation being conducted by the police but the reader wasn't privy to it except for a few brief scenes and snippets from Detective Didier Combes. However, at the end it was an overloading of information from finding about the type of person who Edmond Magni was to his reason for Marion inheriting his art collection to who was behind the murders and art theft.

The premise made this seem so interesting, why couldn't it have been? One thing I did like was that it gives the reader a different look into the art world because unfortunately there is a negative side to it.