The Fine Art of Lying

This was the Reese’s Book Club pick, and if they choose a thriller, I will order it without knowing anything about it. And that is what I did here. I was absolutely delighted when I realized it’s an art world thriller! I tore through it in just a couple of days; it is incredibly twisty and highly stressful (in a good way!) to read. Clare Best is feeling a little bit lost. She’s married into the wealthy Bast family and suddenly finds herself a stay-at-home mother, with an abandoned PhD. The one thing saving her is her husband Jed’s boss’s wife, Tasha: a well-connected socialite who sits on the board of the museum of contemporary art. Suddenly, Tasha is introducing her to curators and gallerists: the dream! Things take a turn when Clare starts up an affair with a handsome older art dealer. She feels herself coming alive again until (murderous music plays), she finds herself at the center of a horrible murder (and stolen masterpiece). A true “wrong place, wrong time” scenario, Clare must now rush to hide her affair, and figure out what happened . . . or risk becoming the police’s main suspect. What has she gotten herself into? This book made me extremely anxious . . . in a good way!