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Summer Reading Challenge: The Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe (Chrissy’s review)
The Curse of Van Gogh
written by Paul Hoppe
published by SparkPress
find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Goodreads
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Did I enjoy this book: Sure. It was a fast, exciting read for the most part.
I finished The Curse of Van Gogh in an afternoon; however, I skimmed over a lot of the preparation details for the heist. It got to be too much for me and a bit too repetitive. This book reminded me a bit (tiny bit) of the Ocean’s Eleven etc movies and of Entrapment. It wasn’t a big reminder, but those movies were brought to mind.
I was expecting more history about the curse, more intrigue. But it was mentioned briefly, just not focused on. The proposition of Tyler by Imasu set the tone for the book. It had me interested. The heist was exciting and had me on the edge of my seat to see if Tyler would pull it off. The event at the end made the book worthwhile to me.
That ending is what make me give this book 3 stars instead of 2.
Would I recommend it: Sure.
About the book: Tyler slides into a simple life of bartending in New York City, living his life day to day. And then at the hottest art opening of the season he meets Kommate Imasu, a Japanese billionaire and famed art collector, who seems to know more about Tyler than his own mother does. With serious threats against his family and friends, Tyler has to decide how much risk he’ll take to protect them. He quickly learns that gambling against a billionaire is never a good idea. Tyler plunges headfirst into a world of art forgers, hit-men, Yakuza, a femme fatal named Chanel No. 5, and the legendary curse of Van Gogh, in order to pull off the greatest art heist in history.
About the author: Paul Hoppe worked as a lobbyist in Washington DC, a stockbroker on Wall Street, and a screenwriter in Hollywood before writing his first novel. He has lived on four different continents and currently splits his time between the High Sierras and the beaches of Australia.
