Murder in the National Gallery

Rating:
Summary: Tired and Trite... Overweight Readers Beware!
Review: I have enjoyed Truman's mysteries in the past, but found this one contrived, mildly entertaining, and significantly irritating. The characterizations seemed melodramatic and/or stereotypical. Not a total loss, but you can do much better for your book-buying buck. What I really found offensive in this book was the consistent characterization of every overweight character as disgusting, repellent, absurd, etc. Apparently, in Truman's mind fat equals bad and thin equals good. How sad for the overweight reader who picks up this book to escape from the unkindness of the world he/she inhabits, only to be bashed by Truman's obvious prejudice. Shame on you, Margaret.

Rating:
Summary: Prejudiced, unmitigated nonsense
Review: I wish Amazon had a more detailed rating in the negative: "one-star" is still mild for this book, that would deserve a "minus-6-stars-deluxe" one. I shall give this one star for the cost of the paper the book's printed on. I took it up, out of curiosity for the author's surname and background, during a temporary lack of reading material; then, I read the customer review of July 11, 1997 ("Tired and Trite... Overweight Readers Beware!")and I am adding my own. The only quality of this book is that reading bad literature makes you appreciate the good one you are used to. The writer babbles here of an all-Italian plot to steal in Italy masterpieces of Italian art and smuggle them into the United States; murder ensues. The plot is conventional, the use of the language is poor (despite the high-snub schools the writer was sent to), the characters are stale stereotypes. The author displays a visceral antagonism towards, and a biliously prejudiced opinion about, a foreign country and population she evidently knows nothing about. Surely, her ostentatious contempt cannot be based on any personal experience. Her prejudice and ignorance show through her berating of one of the best painters in Italian history, admired by everybody, on the puritanical ground that his lifestyle was less than orderly. Nobody, in this book, appears to be good guy, trustworthy and reliable unless he/she is a WASP, the bearer of an Anglo-Saxon name and the descendant of a sure-fire Anglo-Saxon ancestry. This is sheer prudery. Having an insider's knowledge of the Washington scene doth not automatically a good writer make. I am happy to have never heard you singing, Miss Truman: if your voice were on a par with your writing, it must have been torture on an attuned ear; and I think to remember that at least one fearless musical critic did give you such a review. I think the public bore with you just because of your birth certificate.

Rating:
Summary: Not Margaret Truman's best
Review: I'm a fan of Margaret Truman, but I found it laborious to get through this one. I found most of the characters shallow and totally unlikeable. The ending was absurd. Even Annabelle and Mac can't make this one worthwhile!

Rating:
Summary: Not Margaret Truman's best
Review: I'm a fan of Margaret Truman, but I found it laborious to get through this one. I found most of the characters shallow and totally unlikeable. The ending was absurd. Even Annabelle and Mac can't make this one worthwhile!

Rating:
Summary: The ending ruins it
Review: If you are a Washingtonian who hangs around galleries, etc. then you'll recognize a lot of names in this book, and that may make it fun. But most of the time the story really drags and it takes some prodigious leaps to actually swallow some of the scenes described. The worst is the ending, which is a very deflating experience. Definately not one of her best.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful skill in adding art forgery to mystery series a ma
Review: It is impossible to read just one Margaret Truman mystery book. It is like eating just one potato chip. Her skill in plotting, characterization and dialogue is such that the reader is compelled to read each one in the series. This book takes the reader into the world of art forgery and provides information that is not known to most people. Thus, it is a compelling tale of intrique as well as a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful skill in adding art forgery to mystery series a ma
Review: It is impossible to read just one Margaret Truman mystery book. It is like eating just one potato chip. Her skill in plotting, characterization and dialogue is such that the reader is compelled to read each one in the series. This book takes the reader into the world of art forgery and provides information that is not known to most people. Thus, it is a compelling tale of intrique as well as a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Long on story, short on mystery . . .
Review: Luther Mason, respected senior curator at the National Gallery, hatches a complicated plan to "discover" a long lost Caravaggio painting in Italy, brings it to Washington to be a part of a Caravaggio exhibit and has 2 forgeries made, one of which will be sold and passed off as the original to a San Francisco mobster thug/art connoisseur who happens to be bankrolling Luther's activities to get the painting in the first place. Whew. . . It's an interesting story at times, but there are a lot of characters to keep track of. The last third of the book is where most of the mystery and action occurs. I would not recommend this book if you want something fast-paced and suspenseful.

Rating:
Summary: Long on story, short on mystery . . .
Review: Luther Mason, respected senior curator at the National Gallery, hatches a complicated plan to "discover" a long lost Caravaggio painting in Italy, brings it to Washington to be a part of a Caravaggio exhibit and has 2 forgeries made, one of which will be sold and passed off as the original to a San Francisco mobster thug/art connoisseur who happens to be bankrolling Luther's activities to get the painting in the first place. Whew. . . It's an interesting story at times, but there are a lot of characters to keep track of. The last third of the book is where most of the mystery and action occurs. I would not recommend this book if you want something fast-paced and suspenseful.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty decent story - lots about Caravaggio
Review: Synopsis:

Part of the series that features a murder in many prominent Washington, D.C. buildings, Murder at the National Gallery is all about the intrigues surrounding the opening of an art show featuring Renaissance artist Caravaggio and a "lost" piece of art that was found just in time for the show. Will the murderer be satisfied with just the murder of a member of the Italian diplomatic corps who had a reputation for stealing Italian masterpieces and selling them to foreign buyers? Are the rumors of forged paintings true? Did someone steal a priceless piece of art?

My Review:

Mrs. Truman knows her stuff when it comes to the Washington, D.C. social scene because yes, she is the daughter of Harry Truman. (...)
This is really a decent book. I've read others in this series and found them of varying quality. However, I found the topic interesting and I was introduced to the concept of 'Art Police.' Washington, D.C. has its very own squad to investigate art fraud and robbery.

There are characters that were introduced in other books.

The end of the book was a little...strange. But, overall I give this book '4 stars.'