Bea Green – Stealing The Spanish Princess

‘Stealing The Spanish Princess’ by Bea Green is an art crime mystery which is a book which not only gives you a mystery, there is the added extra of peeking into the art world thefts and of the history. It oozes intrigue with a love child and the mafia in the mix too.

DCI Richard Langley from Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiquities Unit and his colleagues from Homicide investigate a murder and art theft. The artwork is a fictional work by El Greco, only the owner is aware it exists. Who could have stolen it if no one knows about it? The murder is the owners girlfriend who got in the way of the theft. So both teams are tasked with finding the art thief and murderer.

Richard is a clever and kind man who knows his stuff. At times I pictured him as a bit of a geek with his head stuck in a book. His love and knowledge of the art world is plain to see throughout the book. The fact that he has not just an art theft but has to help Detective Inspector Eilidh Simmon with the murder investigation. The actual fact that the painting isn’t known as existing is odd, but for the dead woman who very clearly does.

A very immersive story that takes us to mainland Europe in the investigation of the picture. A really well-paced story with main characters that are not your normal run of the mill personalities. Saying that I do think this book is again not a normal run of the mill thriller. I enjoyed my time spent chasing stolen art and also learning about the ins and outs of the art world too.

Thanks to Random Things Tours and The Conrad Press for my copy of the book.