One masterpiece painting is stolen violently, another arrives at a museum unexpectedly, UPS men are murdered senselessly, and an angst-ridden cop agonizes while solving crime. Thus begins "The Lost Van Gogh" by A.J. Zerries, a well-written, well-paced mystery/thriller that takes place in the high-stakes world of stolen and blackmarket Art.

Within the past few years, a great many art stories in the press have dealt with the return of stolen art, particularly those appropriated by the Nazis. These paintings were taken from Jews, artists and other "suspect" families and people in Germany itself. A good many other works were taken when the Germans occupied France, Belgium, Holland. At first, much of the artworks "confiscated" were thought to have been destroyed. Recently, it has become clear that many paintings and other works had simply made their way into the private possession of high-ranking Nazis and other officers, collaborators and business men, and were then sold after the War in order to finance new lives, or new identities. Galleries, collectors, and even museums purchased these paintings without questioning too closely their provenance or legitimate ownership. Sometimes the purchasers didn't care to know about what may have happened to the original owners, or how these paintings came to be for sale. Often, there was almost no way to investigate ownership simply because of the social turmoil in Europe after the War -- bombings, arrests, concentration camps, immigration, and destruction of records made it virtually impossible to trace anything clearly. And even when the legitimate owners and/or their descendents came forward with their claims, it sometimes took them many, many years and a good deal of money and pain to regain their possessions.

This state of affairs is the basic premise for the book. A Van Gogh painting arrives at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, delivered by UPS with a note begging forgiveness. The Museum immediately calls the police, and Detective Clayton Ryder of the NYPD Major Case Squad is called in to investigate the sudden appearance of this painting and find the owners or their descendents. He does so within a very short time period, the painting is returned to the only surviving member of the original owner -- Rachel Meredith, a young woman who teaches film at NYU. After a reception and exhibit to display this painting and to highlight the devestation and loss of many paintings during the War, Rachel takes the painting home and hangs it on her apartment wall. Soon, she and her husband -- a photographer -- are troubled by muggings, home invasions and even a bombing that nearly kills them at a popular parade. Convinced that their problems are due to the possession of the Van Gogh, Clayton Ryder is called in again to investigate.

Ryder soon finds himself involved with Rachel and her husband Wil, trying to track down the source of their problems. His suspicions revolve around several powerful and persistent art dealers, auction houses and personal collectors -- all of whom seem determined to persuade Rachel by whatever means to sell them the painting. Ryder has to deal with his own problems at the precinct where his squad mates do not care for him, his partner is heading towards a heart attack, and his senior officer doesn't think much of his "art stuff." Clatyon's character is interesting, and evolves over the course of the story.

While a good many of the incidents, characters and tropes of the book were very familiar, I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of the New York neighborhoods it takes place in, as well as the way the authors show that the passion for Art can sometimes becomes a mania. The characters and their decisions, past and present, illustrate how the past is never just history and the present always sows the seeds for the future, in Art as well as life.

RECOMMENDED.

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