Becky Farwell is not a main character to be admired or to be called a heroine, but this is a story of how she started a little something and it just built and built and built until it was out of control. As I got farther into the story, the author created such tension--I was so nervous for her, even knowing how the book ended (I read the endings first), I could not put the book down, waiting to see what would happen to Becky. But yet through all this, the reader can understand why she did what she did and actually I found I pitied her, especially when her friend Ingrid paid a last visit to her. A good read and a good lesson for all readers.

Ever wonder how good people go bad? The Talented Miss Farwell leads you step-by-step down the path from overachieving good citizen to multi-million dollar con artist. Rebecca Farwell is by all accounts an ideal citizen - gifted at arithmetic at a young age, she uses her skills to turn her father's struggling business around and learns how to demand a seat at the table, not a small feat for a young woman in rural US in the 1970's. Her accounting skills serve her well as a young adult, when she lands a job in the local government, despite not being able to go to college with an ill parent at home.

This book had me both rooting for and against the heroine. I wanted her to get caught to save herself! At the same time, I desperately wanted her to fix her own problems. She is a sympathetic con artist, and this is the type of book that reminds you that all of us contain multitudes. We are all capable of a great deal, given opportunity and the skill to do so, how easy is it to justify small moral lapses, then a little bigger one, and a little bigger? Tedrowe draws Miss Farwell and her friends and co-workers well. Everyone feels incredibly real and believable. I loved reading this novel. Also an awesome pick for someone who enjoys tense mysteries but wants to try something different.

What a ride! The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe was a fantastic journey through the 80s and 90s on the tails of Miss Farwell's tailored designer suits. We meet Becky as a brilliant minded young girl who sacrifices a successful future to help her father. Accepting her mediocre but happy existence, she becomes enthralled with the Art World and this is where our adventure begins. Anyone with a heart condition should take caution when reading! My anxiety was off the charts! This was a really great read suitable for multiple generations.

What a delightful ride! Engrossing, fresh, humorous take on a story I have not seen before - a seemingly ordinary woman obsessed by art and where it takes her life. Wonderfully readable and a lovely distraction during these strange days. Highly Recommended!

While the comparisons to The Talented Mr. Ripley were inevitable given the subject material of a risky double life, I feel the comparison is earned and an apt description for this sharp thriller. The story of Miss Farwell is sharp, engaging, and exciting, and as I've always been fond of books where art and deception are key elements, it's no surprise that I enjoyed this read. Admittedly, the plot was slow going, and there were several moments when waiting for the plot to begin had me bored to tears, but once the excitement of the plot kicked off, I was completely hooked. This book was delicious fun, and I was intrigued to learn that it's based on a true story - one I know I'll have to research myself. It takes a skilled hand to be able to craft a plot so tense that I'm surprised to learn that a version of it occurred in real life, and the author does this masterfully. All in all, I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in art, crime, and high-stakes double lives, as the skilled prose and exciting action make this a thrilling and intriguing novel to read.

Becky Farwell grows up a lot through the course of <i>The Talented Miss Farwell</i>. Starting with her childhood, where she becomes an accounting whiz in order to save her family business and moves on to work for the town hall in her small town of Illinois. At some point, Miss Farwell begins to lead a “double life”, one of money and prestige as a well known art collector. She uses money that isn’t hers to fund her art collection and yet at other times, she’ll sell portions to do good deeds for those around her in her “other life”.

I found this book hard to gauge. It’s told in timeline format from youth to Becky’s mid 40’s. As much as we learned about Becky, I still felt like we didn’t get a great grasp of the character—even at the end. We knew her motives, but not truly what drove her. I felt unsettled by the book itself.

Becky Farwell responds to her tragic young life full of limitations by turning her talent for math and problem solving into a new "activity" at which she can prosper.. While I had empathy for her and her life choices this book was so brilliantly written that I just had anxiety throughout. I was never sure whether I was supposed to admire her or just be disgusted.

A whirlwind adventure of a book. I lived in New York myself in the 90s and like the talented protagonist of two names, was drawn to Soho and the art scene. Somewhat terrifyingly, it was not hard for me to understand how a bored girl from a small town might somehow fall into a second identity as a glamorous patron of the New York art world. You’d think you could never understand how an understated girl from a small town could embezzle this amount of money. But the author does a wonderful job of showing exactly how this happened, in a frighteningly seductive way,

Though this book draws an obvious comparison to the Talented Mr. Ripley, it sometimes reminded me a little more of the first part of Psycho - only what if Marion Crane went back and forth between her office job and the glamorous escape she had tried to make, which was a success.

I found this book to be a whole lot of delicious fun and was surprised to learn it is based on a true story - which I am now inclined to research. If you have any interest in art, crime, or both, you will be sucked into this book..

Thanks to Harper Collins, NetGalley and the Talented Emily Grey Tedrowe for the advanced copy of this lovely book which I savored like a fine piece of art.

A unique view of obsession. I knew that I should be disgusted by Becky's actions early on, but the author did a credible job of portraying Becky and Reba as two distinct women. I did find Becky rather cold (though that would explain her ability to defraud her municipality for as long as she did. Each time I thought her house of cards was about to crumble, she managed to right it, which kept the book intriguing. The conclusion was well done; while she turns her knowledge to good use, based on her actions of the previous 20-odd years, I am left wondering whatever drove her to an obsessive nature will ever truly be stilled.

The Talented Miss Farwell
A Novel
by Emily Gray Tedrowe
HarperCollins Publishers
William Morrow
General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction
Pub Date 29 Sep 2020 | Archive Date 29 Sep 2020

I love stories where the characters lead a double-life and are involved in a con. I thank Net Galley and the Harper Collins publishers for providing me an ARC of this book! I found it a little difficult to stay interested in this book. I skipped several sentences at a time and for me this book dragged.

A Sharp, Incisive Thriller!

Miss Farwell or Becky lives two entirely separate, distinct lives. To some she is a fierce art collector and to her family, she is just a simple woman. Why the double life? Why such deceit? Read to find out!

I very much enjoyed this thriller. I have always liked books where the character is living a double life, i.e., The Talented Mr. Ripley. There is something so satisfying about reading a book where the protagonist is pulling off such a high-risk con.

My only critique was the pacing. In my opinion, it took me a little long to really get into the "meat" of the book. Other than that, I think this was an excellent thriller!

I was very excited about this one thanks to the description; Catch Me If You Can meets Patricia Highsmith?! Unfortunately I found it fell a bit flat.

Although I really enjoyed the premise of this book I often found myself skipping sentences, paragraphs and even whole pages due to the extreme detail of the art pieces referenced. I know these pieces enhanced the story and would appeal to those who know art well however, I was racing to the end to see if the crime was discovered so those parts weren’t important to me.

A woman leads a complicated double life, where she is both a crafty and resourceful New York art dealer and a quiet, small town clerk. But her two lives collide and disaster results. Clever, intelligent and sly