Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr

“Art is not what you see, but how it makes you feel.”

I'm happy to report that I'm both finished and totally impressed with Woman on Fire (out March, 2022, thank you Harpercollins for this gifted review copy). This book is EVERYTHING I look for in a thriller and all around great read.

I'm VERY picky with thrillers, but I will always reach for one that centers around art. Here we have art, history, international intrigue, strong female leads, family and love relationships PLUS, an edge of your seat nail biting ending.

I was so excited to receive this early copy and once I started it, I knew I was in the hands of a gifted author. Barr's former life as a journalist adds a depth to this story of two women in search of the same painting, stolen by the Nazi's 75 years prior. One woman's intention is to right a wrong for an elderly client and the other woman is a devious art collector and gallerist; it's the classic good vs. evil. The way Barr pins these two women against one another is so well done and we travel from NYC, back in time to Paris, Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam -- the adventure is absolutely fantastic.

I grew up in metropolitan Boston and frequented The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, home to one of (if not the) most notorious art heists in history. Since that day in 1990, I've been fascinated with thrillers that have art as backdrop and Barr doesn't spare that part of the story. We are treated to museums, forgeries, auctions and the high stakes world that is art collecting. I just ate it up.

I know many readers loved Barr's other novels and I see why. She expertly crafts suspense and she's also one of the nicest authors I've encountered.