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The Art Whisperer (2014)

by Charlotte Elkins(Favorite Author)

3.65 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1477824553 (ISBN13: 9781477824559)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Thomas & Mercer

series

Alix London

review 1: First off, I received this book via a win from the First Reads program on Goodreads.There are two books that preceed this, and while I understood what was going on in the novel just fine, there were moments when it just would have been better to read the others: "A Cruise to Die For" and "A Dangerous Talent." In the beginning, I thought the writing was off to a really good start. It opened uniquely, and I enjoyed it. Plus they turned a good phrase - "Talk about moth and flames." Then, however, the writing just seemed odd at times. There would be these long sentences with many commas (sometimes run-ons) that were really unnecessary and totally broke up the flow for the reader. Some of it felt disjointed. These sentences seemed to disappear as the novel continued. It w... moreas just odd. I'd be really enjoying it one moment, and put off the next. I will mention that I am a slight grammar nerd, and long sentences are just hard to pull off. The characters are well done. I like Alix, though she does manage to be very good at many things. Her friends and family are entertaining, and the museum the story centers around is great. The art tips and facts that are part of this story (and I'm assuming are researched or known, but for all I know could be false), are really great and add to the story itself. The plot did seem slow at first, and without spoilers, the overall pace was iffy. One moment it would be great, another it seemed a little too slow. Though I enjoyed the story, the overall climax was until nearly the very end, and it swiftly was solved and fixed after that. The point of view switched several times, and this again was iffy for me. We see from several characters only once, and then suddenly from the murderer in italics, a few times. I think it may have been better if it had just centered on Alix, and possibly Ted, as he seems to play a major role. Overall, it works, but I could have done without the murderers thoughts - it is more suspenseful otherwise.There is a part where the author says that Alix never turns on her phone if she can help it, but before this she has assigned ringtones to three important people so that she always answers them (why bother if her phone is never on?), and also has answered and used her cell phone several times already within the story. So this didn't add up.My last little detail with the writing is that sometimes the authors go into way too much detail. While it's interesting - these certain scenes could have been pulled off way quicker and seemed less contrived, as they were.And my own little pet peeve includes a major SPOILER ALERT! The end bothers me. They haven't known each other for very long it seems, and have not spoken for a year. Couldn't they at least date first?And so that is it. I give three stars. For the most part I enjoyed the story itself, but the little things were too much to ignore for me.What do you think about Alix and Ted?
review 2: Disclosure: I "won" this book in a Goodreads contest and it was provided to me free of charge, but that has absolutely no bearing on my review.I have read quite a few of the Aaron Elkins "Gideon Oliver" series but had never tried the Aaron/Charlotte Elkins books, and this was also the first in the Alix London series I've read. It is "light" reading, but the discussion of the art is very interesting; I enjoyed the book very much and will certainly read the other books in the series. less

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