A Deceptive Clarity

A Chris Norgren Mystery

De: Aaron Elkins

Narrado por: Corey Snow

Chris Norgren, museum curator and Renaissance art expert, heads to Berlin to assist in mounting a sensational exhibit: The Plundered Past - twenty priceless Old Masters looted by the Nazis, thought for decades to be lost forever, and only recently rediscovered. But things quickly get out of hand when Chris's patrician, fastidious boss, after smelling a forgery in the lot, turns up dead the very next day - on the steps of a dismal Frankfurt brothel, of all places.

Now Chris faces two daunting tasks: finding a fake painting among the masterpieces, and a real killer whose sights are now set on him.

©1987 Aaron Elkins (P)2013 Audible Inc.

So much art info. I was overwhelmed.

The plot is great the caricatures and its very descriptive, I just got lost in the art disruptions very overwhelming all the art disruptions.

Pretty good

I enjoyed the author's knowledge of art and the plot was good too. The only drawback for me was the narrator. It's not that he mispronounced words or any other annoying sounds readers sometimes make. Corey Snow's voice just does not suit the character at all. Snow's voice sounds very boyish and NPR-ish, like a reporter. A book about art and crime - - the main character ought to have more character in his voice -- probably older or more sophisticated, refined or intellectual. For me, Snow's voice was so out of character it almost ruined the book for me. Nothing against Snow. He should do NPR or children's books, is all.

A good story done in by a poor narrator

I would recommend this as a good read: easy and even a bit informative about how things may work in the world of fine art investigators and exhibitions. The story even has a bit of a sense of humor to it, but you wouldn't know it by listening to the narrator. He sounds as if he was performing in front of a junior high assembly.

Entertaining

This is a light, quick and entertaining read. The interesting facts about art only make the story more authentic. I look forward to the next book.

How great this art!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, particularly one who likes art and art history.

What did you like best about this story?

The narrator was terrific. But I thoroughly enjoyed the attention to detail in the history of the art works. Aaron Elkins did his homework on this one. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the different cities, felt as though I was right there with the protagonist. And of course, I loved the artwork descriptions and the provenance that went with each work of art. This book had me from the outset. Elkins provided enough mystery to keep me listening and re-listening to certain aspects of conversations looking for clues. This was a great read.

Have you listened to any of Corey Snow’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I have not, but will in the future.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Too Good to Be True

Any additional comments?

I will purchase other Elkins' novels with Chris Norgren as the protagonist and also with Corey Snow narrating.

Foul language??? The narrator, on the other hand…

I can’t express it any better than Nancy Boespflug when she reviewed the author’s ‘Old Scores’ novel.

Typical foul language filler

It seemed to be an interesting book but then the foul language progressively increased. So glad I did not have to buy this book to just have to return it. Does not take an author or rocket scientist to write a bunch of vulgarity.