(Drivebycuriosity) - Do you love art? Do you enjoy well constructed thrillers? Then you might like the novel "Priceless" by Zygmunt Miloszewski (amazon). The Polish author belongs to my favorite writers. I had relished his crime drama trilogy about prosecutor Teodor Szacki (here are my reviews rage entanglement truth ).
"Priceless" is very different. Here four people, 3 Polish, one Swedish, get the order to retrieve a Lucas Cranach painting, which was stolen in Second World War from a Polish museum and is now supposedly hidden in the US. The quest leads to dramatic events in the US, Sweden and in Poland and finally to a severe political discovery (this is a spoiler free blog).
The novel is an action thriller, a dip into the world of art and alternate history. Miloszewski touches issues like art theft, terrorism, Word War II, the NATO, American diplomacy and more. I learned a lot about Renaissance paintings & French Impressionists, but I also got entertained. The author can really write and he blends an idiosyncratic plot with skillful elaborated action scenes. His descriptions of advanced security technology, landscapes, blizzards, Polish ski resorts, cable cars & architecture are masterpieces.
Again I enjoyed the elaborate & pivoting (sorry the German word
"fintenreich" does not exist in English) plot which reminded me of the
British classics (Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh), in combination with
psychological insights & sarcastic remarks about international politics,
sex, history, architecture & more.
I want to read more by him. Recommended!
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