First published 2010
Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe leads a quiet, structured existence between his medical practice and his painting. His orderly world shatters when Robert Oliver, a celebrated artist, becomes his patient after attacking a canvas at the National Gallery of Art. Oliver refuses to speak about what drove him to such violence. Marlowe cannot let the mystery rest. He seeks answers from the women who knew Oliver best, following clues that pull him across continents and centuries. His investigation leads him from contemporary American cities to the Normandy coastline, from the world of French Impressionist painters in the 1800s to the present day. As Marlowe uncovers the tragic secret that haunts Oliver, he discovers how art preserves what history threatens to destroy. The search transforms his understanding of obsession, love, and the lengths people go to protect what matters most.
Genres: art, historical-fiction, mystery, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, mystery, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Normandy, National Gallery of Art, United States
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century, 21st-century
564 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Co.