Laurel Beacham made working solo a habit and a personal success story. The world’s leading art recovery expert, she is known for her nerve, instincts, and the ability to do whatever it takes to bring each masterpiece back safely. Museums applaud her while thieves admire the cunning way she operates. No matter the odds against her, she listens to her instinct when challenges mount. Right now, … those instincts are screaming a warning. Laurel’s last job landed her the head position over the London branch of the Beacham Foundation. All well and good, except bringing one case to a close only opened another even bigger one. And more importantly, the new case inextricably connects to Jack Hawkes, a man smart enough to be her equal, but one who keeps her trust meter hovering in the red zone. The pair leap headlong into a plot that gets more dangerous and illusive by the minute. As the bodies and forgeries add up and the clock counts down, will Laurel’s skills help her make it out of this job alive?
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Marked Masters by Ritter Ames
Marked Masters, second book in the Bodies of Art series, is as fast-paced and heart-thumping as the first book. Laurel Beacham is like the James Bond of the Art world. Knowledgeable Art Critic by day, cat-suited art burglar retrieving stolen art to send it back to it’s rightful place. The author submerses all your senses in this well written, intricately plotted gem of a book. I’ll be picking up Book Three soon!
This book opens with Laurel Beacham in Florida with Jack Hawkes. Despite what they have just gone through in the first book in this series, Laurel still doesn’t trust Jack and is only reluctantly working with him. He is keeping too many secrets from her while demanding she share everything she know. They are continuing to work together, however, in order to stop a major art heist, and Florida is their most promising lead. A kidnapping and a dead body prove that they are on the right track. Will they learn more about the plans in order to stop the heist? Or will they be stopped permanently?
There is a strong on-going story line in this series involving an upcoming art heist, so I definitely recommend you read these books in order. In fact, I wish I had read this one closer to the first. The author does do a good job of filling in the blanks on what has happened before, which helped me remember the events of the first book. The story starts strong and keeps going from twist to turn as the pages fly by, resolving enough to make this book feel like it has resolved while still leaving plenty for Laurel and Jack to face in the next book. The duo make for intriguing leads, and the characters we meet along the way hold our interest as well.
The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, having trouble catching my breath. I’m hooked on this series, fascinated with the high-society world of art-supporters & the seedy world of art forgeries. I could easily read another 3-4 more volumes of this series without losing interest. These characters pull you into their lives, and the action leaves you happily dazed.
Marked Masters is the second book in a Bodies of Art Mystery series written by Ritter Ames. The storyline is well thought out and developed, the characters are relatable, and the plot is full of surprising twists and turns which makes this a gripping story. Ms. Ames has skillfully written a story of deception, intrigue, and humorous situations that suspense that kept me. Once again, she has intricately woven a tale with plenty of action and suspense that kept me engaged from the beginning of the book until the end and crafted in a way that kept me guessing. I am looking forward to reading the next installment in this series. I highly recommend this series.
Laurel Beachem has been promoted to head position over the London branch of Beacham Foundation. Laurel and Jack Hawkes are forced, once again, to work together and are globetrotting from Florida to London to Italy searching for missing art when they discover a large forgery operation and learn that even the forgeries are being forged. Jack has a memory for faces and Laurel has a memory for brushstrokes, and they work together figure out who is responsible for the forgeries. Some of Jack’s past is revealed, Laurel discovers things about her mother, and wonders if she can trust anyone. Laurel and Jack quickly find out this operation could prove to be deadly.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.