A Dangerous Talent
Written by Charlotte Elkins and Aaron Elkins
Narrated by Kate Rudd
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Alix London has a promising career as an art consultant, a sumptuous condo in Seattle’s toniest neighborhood, a gorgeous figure, and a presence that exudes Ivy League breeding and old money. She has it all…or does she? Only Alix knows that the image she presents to the world is a carefully constructed mirage that veils an embarrassing truth. A brilliant, once-promising art student, the daughter of a prominent New York art conservator, her world was left in ruins when her father went to prison for art forgery. Now a Harvard dropout with an emptied bank account, she is languishing in a career that has produced little more than a lucky house-sitting gig. But all of that changes when Alix meets Christine Lemay, a novice art collector with money to burn and a hot tip on a recently discovered painting by American master Georgia O’Keeffe. Chris hires Alix to perform the authentication, an assignment that finally could launch Alix into the big leagues. But soon after her arrival in Santa Fe, she finds herself tangled up in a web of forgery, deceit—and murder. Anxious to avoid becoming the next victim, she teams up with FBI Special Agent Ted Ellesworth—and gets a little unlikely help from her roguish father—to uncover the truth behind the painting and those who would kill to have it. Sharp, witty, and devilishly fun, A Dangerous Talent offers an insider’s look into the surprisingly treacherous contemporary art world.
Charlotte Elkins
With their backgrounds in art scholarship, forensic anthropology, and psychology, Charlotte and Aaron Elkins were destined to be mystery writers. Between them, they’ve written thirty mysteries since 1982—garnering an Agatha Award for the best short story of the year, an Edgar Award for the year’s best mystery, and a Nero Wolfe Award for Literary Excellence, among other honors. The authors revel in creating intensively researched works that are as accessible and absorbing as they are sophisticated and stylish. In addition to writing the first three Alix London mysteries—A Dangerous Talent, A Cruise to Die For, and The Art Whisperer—they are also the authors of the Lee Ofsted golf mysteries, including A Wicked Slice, Rotten Lies, Nasty Breaks, Where Have All the Birdies Gone, and On the Fringe. Charlotte was born in Houston, Aaron in New York City, and they now reside on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
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A Dangerous Talent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Cruise To Die For Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art Whisperer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Trouble with Mirrors Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
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Reviews for A Dangerous Talent
70 ratings10 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good start to a series about art forgery and murder.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm not exactly sure why, but I would label this a "cute" story. It took me a while to get into it. My main issue was the cute or silly names the authors chose: Alix, Geoff, Katryn, Roland "Rollie" de Beauvais, Paynton Whipple-Pruitt and Gregor Gorzynski. We did have Helen, but Helen Hall-Duncan so not just Helen as well as Chris (short for Christine), but we were missing Rocky (short for Rochelle or Raquel) and Sam (short for Samantha), clearly an unforgivable oversight. There is a Clyde, but thank god we are gifted the refined pronunciation "Cul-lyde." Theodore is allowed to go by "Ted," but why not just Ted and leave it at Ted. And Ted casually refers to Lieutenant Mendoza as "Eduardo," a familiarity not evidenced anywhere so Mendoza would have been more apt if not just "Lieutenant."Weird gucci names aside as well as faux cultural airs, this is a simple story so not terribly taxing to read. The story ultimately turned out to be okay. Various historical tidbits throughout, and the art and literary history of Northern New Mexico sprinkled in made it very interesting: real cases of counterfeit Georgia O'Keeffe's, O'Keeffe's Ghost Ranch, and Mabel Dodge Luhan and the turn of the early-20th Century Taos art scene. This book even made Santa Fe sound interesting rather than a tourist smothered urban sprawl in the high desert.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alix London is trying to build a career as an art restorer and as an art consultant, nine years after her father, Jeffrey London, once a noted art restorer, was convicted of art forgery. She's on the coolest of terms with her father, now out and in the art importing business, who nevertheless persists in trying to maintain contact with her.
Then one day she's approached for a job that could be the true start of her consulting career. A woman just beginning in collecting art wants Alix to evaluate a Georgia O'Keeffe painting she has been offered. Soon she's on a chartered plane from Seattle to Santa Fe.
In a matter of days, she's survived a murder attempt, thwarted the theft of the painting, and met a handsome but provoking and, in her opinion, highly suspect art dealer from Boston.
Oh, and she's being described in news reports as the daughter of the notorious Jeffrey London, which isn't going to do her art consulting career any good.
And this is all just the start.
It's fast-paced, exciting, and definitely meets some interesting characters along the way--both new friends and new enemies.
Most of them prove to be a lot more cmplicated than they seem on first impressions.
It's a lot of fun. Recommended.
I bought this audiobook. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The art world is a complete mystery to me. I could no more tell you what the philosophy is behind an artists work than I could build a rocket...so this mystery about the art world was a good and challenging read for me. I found the book to generally be an easy reading mystery but was not as challenging or tightly written as the mysteries I normally read. The character of Alix London was intelligent and very likable but I was weary of the F.B.I. agent at first. He constantly insisted that Alix was a prime suspect in the murder of an art gallery owner and is probably a forger herself in spite of the fact there was not one shred of evidence to support this assumption. Of course they dislike and distrust each other because they are actually attracted to each other: a bit too much romance for me. The identity of the murderer becomes obvious early in the book, It would have been better if that had been reserved for later...but overall it was a very worthwhile read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mildly enjoyable. It reads rather like a cross between the art and the golf mysteries - we have an art expert with an interest in forgeries, who's pretty much a free agent (and thus could show up anywhere), and has a new friend who's a (nouveau) rich, older woman who wants to help her achieve her goals. I do like Alix, and her father and her relationship to him are interesting; the FBI agent is a little annoying and a lot predictable. I don't know much about art, or Georgia O'Keefe; I did recognize the clue when my face was rubbed in it (in an "Oh, yeah, right, I think I've heard that" style). On the other hand, Alix had to have her face rubbed in it too, so I don't feel bad. Mildly interesting setting (Santa Fe area, and Seattle). I'll probably read another one or two; I'm not excited about it, but Elkins (both of them) produce enjoyable light reading.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Synopsis: Alix London restores paintings. She also has the connoisseur's eye when it comes to spotting a forgery - she should have since her father was an art forger. She's been asked to evaluate a supposed Georgia O'Keeffe painting, and this seems straightforward enough, until some tries to kill her - twice.Review: Although this is well written and well plotted, it's fairly obvious what is going to happen, who the killer is, and how the main character is going to become romantically involved with a person from the FBI. However, it was still fun to read.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5When I read the summary of this book it sounded interesting since it dealt with the world of art and a leading character who was an "Art Consultant." Sadly, the book falls way short of expectations. The characters are all but flat and the plot comes off as a series of loosely connected episodes with no opportunity for either character development or surprise. Only partial bright spot to the narrative is the backdrop of Santa Fe and O'Keefe country. Definetely would not read another if more are added to the series.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This was a punt, because it was on offer, and it sounded interesting - a crime thriller set in the art world. Sadly, it was a pot-boiler. I lost count of how many times I rolled my eyes at the clichés, never mind the inconsistencies in the plot. Add to this my personal irritation as an archivist at the authors' sniping at our professional standards, and you can see why I've only given it two stars. I won't be reading any more in the series. It wasn't even mildly diverting.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alix London an art restorer in Seattle is trying desperately to overcome her own misfortune. She had a promising future in the art world with a growing reputation as a restorer and ‘connoisseur’. This means she was getting recognition for having a true sense of which art was the real thing. This was destroyed when her father, a prominent New York Art Conservator was sent to jail for art forgery. The same brush in many eyes has tarred her and it has been a struggle to keep a job.
She is now working for a new collector Chris LeMay who wants her to go to Santa Fe to authenticate a recently available Georgia O’Keefe painting from her Ghost Ranch period. Shortly after her arrival in Santa Fe, even bore she can use her art ‘nose’, there is a murder. Alix’s name pops up because of her father’s notoriety andit is possible that more bad luck is coming her way. But good things do happen to good people and if she can help the FBI agent on the case all her luck won’t be bad.
I really enjoyed the ambience and the characters in this story and it will be a nice bit of good fortune if there are more in this series - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alix London appears to be a success, but her life has fallen apart after her father's arrest for art forgery. She has her father's talent with artwork, but no honest person who knows of her father will hire her. So she jumps at the chance for a high paying gig - to authenticate a painting that wealthy Christine Lemay wants to buy. Suddenly though, people start making attempts on her life, and someone winds up dead. She needs to figure out what's going on, fast, before she's killed too.Along the way, she also meets a handsome FBI agent, makes a new friend, and tries to figure out her relationship with her father. So in addition to the mystery/suspense, there is personal drama as well.This was an entertaining read with some fun characters, and I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a new detective series. I would definitely read more installments in the Alix London series.(I received this book through Amazon's Vine Program.)