3.75 stars

The Last Mona Lisa reminds me of a lot of Dan Brown's books. They both have a professor protagonist who is trying to uncover a mystery in the art world while outwitting an assassin and falling in love with a alluring but closed off woman. Like Brown, Santlofer's chapters are short and immensely readable which allows the action to proceed at a fairly brisk pace.

Unlike Brown, however, Santlofer does not solely focus on the action and adventure of the mystery. The flashbacks to 1911 establish this book as one part Da Vinci Code and one part Titanic. Throwing in the historical fiction angle on top of the mystery does occasionally muddy the action and the pacing of the book, but I did think that it worked for the most part. I did have a few other small issues with the book overall - the female love interest feels especially underdeveloped - but I definitely still found The Last Mona Lisa to be an arresting and fast-paced read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

- Super-fast pace
- Memorable, likable characters
- International mystery + intrigue
- A touch of romance
- Art history lessons abound
- Based on a true story
- Great ending 👏

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced reader copy via the NetGalley app. I loved it!

The Mona Lisa melts into fiction, back to truth, or perhaps not to the truth

“The Last Mona Lisa” is based on the life of Vincent Peruggia who stole Leonardo’s Mona Lisa from The Louvre on August 21, 1911. I know the story; I have read numerous accounts, and I have watched documentary reenactments. I even have socks adorned with that famous face. What more could this book add to the legacy? Well, as it turns out, quite a lot. What if The Mona Lisa which has been in The Louvre all these years is a fake? How can one be sure?

The story unfolds in a first person narrative by Luke Perrone, an artist and a teacher of art history. He is captivated by the most famous woman in the world: Lisa del Giocondo, the beautiful Mona Lisa, a four-hundred-year-old beauty who was abducted and returned more than once including one time by Perrone’s great-grandfather, Vincent Peruggia.

The chapters alternate back and forth in time between the present and 1911. The narrative is full of feelings, expectations, goals, and motivations. The journey is told through journals written by Peruggia, historic academic research, Perrone’s personal investigations, and INTERPOL inquiries. The Mona Lisa’s adventures throughout the ages are documented including the many forgeries of her, some exposed and some hidden even from the most diligent examiners.

“The Last Mona Lisa” is compelling, unpredictable, and absorbing, page after page as truth melts into fiction and returns to reality. The story is preposterous and yet so believable. Which is Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, and which ones are fakes? I received a review copy of “The Last Mona Lisa” from Jonathan Santlofer and Sourcebooks. The author himself makes replications of famous paintings for private collectors (that can always be identified as replications), and he has reproduced The Mona Lisa many times

I've never read a thriller/mystery set in the art world so found this super interesting! Having made the trek to see the Mona Lisa in person at the Louvre I thoroughly enjoyed the back story of the painting's mysterious past. The romance between Luke and Alex was a little stilted but the will they or won't they ending seemed appropriate considering their history.

The Last Mona Lisa is the story of the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. Vincent Peruggia, a former carpenter/painter at the Louvre, walked into the museum in the middle of the night and walked out with a painting. The painting was missing for a couple of years until he tried to give it to the Uffizi in Florence, Italy.
Over a hundred years later his great-grandson, Luke Perrone, receives an email that Vincent's journal was found and is at a library in Florence. Luke has been obsessed with Vincent since he discovered his existence so he goes on a trip that will take him to Florence to read the journal, Paris to reach out to another family, and then back to New York. All of this is to determine the truth around the theft.
The 1911 portion of the story is based on an article from the 1930s that was only published after all of the persons in the story had passed and could not corroborate the facts of the story. That being said this book was enjoyable and an action packed historical fiction story.

I love a good art history mystery and this one delivered! It grabbed my attention from the start and left me excited to read more by this author in the future!

Luke Perrone, great-grandson of convicted art thief Vincent Peruggia, sets out to learn more about his ancestor and his theft of the "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre museum. This takes him to Florence, Paris, the south of France and back home to Manhattan. Along the way, he falls in love, forms a bond with an INTERPOL agent, gets into fights. His search also results in the deaths of innocent, and not-so-innocent, men and women.
Jonathan Santlofer does a great job of reeling the reader in right away and keeping the reader hooked. There are lots of characters, changing locations, a love story and some art history. Luke is a likeable character, although he doesn't catch on too quickly all the time. He's just a regular guy in over his head. Vincent Peruggia is also given a voice.
I would recommend this to readers who enjoy Dan Brown and William Martin, and to those who like a sympathetic main character and action that is not too graphic.

If you’re in a Dan Brown mood, this historical thriller will satisfy. It’s based on the true story of Peruggia’s 1911 theft of the famous painting. Santofler’s story is action-packed with a side of romance and intrigue. Luke is a sympathetic protagonist, but the side characters were a bit wooden. The amount of information in Peruggia’s journal was quite convenient. But it didn’t stop me from enjoying it. I have a minor in art history and have a particular love for both Florence and Paris so it checked a lot of sentimental boxes for me. It was fun and would be an entertaining movie!

This ARC was provided by @netgalley and @sourcebooks. The opinions are my own.

THE LAST MONA LISA by Jonathan Santlofer is a suspenseful story that centers on the actual theft of The Mona Lisa in 1911 and a fictional modern-day investigation by the great grandson of the thief. Luke Perrone is an art history teacher who has long been obsessed with his ancestor's theft of this famous painting. When he learns that someone has found his great grandfather's journal, he heads to Florence and starts to unravel the mystery. There are many questions here: what was the original motivation for the theft? What happened to those involved? Who is masterminding the killing of anyone associated with the journal? What danger faces the young woman to whom Luke is attracted? Why is INTERPOL involved? Is Luke also in danger physically? Will he be able to solve this mystery and return to his teaching position in America? Santlofer is an award-winning writer and an artist himself. He cleverly intersperses diary entries with Luke's actions and reflections to add depth to this mystery which Ruth Ware described as "a deliciously tense read." THE LAST MONA LISA received starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly.

I am in the minority, but I did not like this book at all. I tried. I slogged through it. But it just seemed like a straight-to-home-video movie, instead of a summer-blockbuster mystery/action/thriller.
The quest that the main character, Luke, goes on to try to discover just exactly what happened when his great-grandfather stole the Mona Lisa just wasn't compelling enough to keep me interested. The characters were all two-dimensional and I felt no connection to them. Their motivations did not seem organic or realistic. The action scenes felt tacked-on. The chapters alternated points-of-view and narrators, and so switched from first person present-tense, to third person past-tense, to third person present-tense, and it felt jarring every time. My least favorite chapters were the ones narrator by Vincent. To me he came across as a self-absorbed, self-pitying, melodramatic guy who believed he was a great artist and should not be expected to take a "menial" job that would actually provide for his wife and unborn child. I had no patience with him. (For that matter, I didn't really like Luke, either. And don't get me started on Alex. Their insta-love was not at all believable.)
I would not recommend this book. But I know a lot of people have really enjoyed it. So what can I say? Maybe you'll love it, and maybe you won't. I certainly didn't.

The Last Mona Lisa completely sucked me in from the first chapter. The Mona Lisa being stolen out of the Louvre (which did actually happen) and what unfolds after was such a compelling story.

I loved the switch in perspectives from chapter to chapter, especially from Luke to his ancestor Vincent.

If you liked the The Da Vinci Code, you’ll definitely enjoy this!

Pros: The cover of this book caught my attention immediately, and I knew I wanted to read it as soon as I read the description because “books about art” is one of my favorite genres. This book contains so many of my favorite things: a book about art (the Mona Lisa! Caravaggio’s Medusa!), a main character who is an art history professor, researching in an old library, a secret journal, conspiracy theories, art theft and forgery, European settings, museums (The Louvre! The Uffizi!), etc.

The book’s short chapters kept the plot moving quickly. However, this book took me longer to read because I kept setting it aside to google places and pieces of art. I also wanted to know more about the real theft of the Mona Lisa that this story is based on and how Picasso was involved. I’m also fascinated by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist and loved the mention of it in this book.

Cons: This book was at a disadvantage because the set up contains so many of the things I want in a book, which leads me to go in with really high expectations. Although I liked this book, I liked the set up and the history more than the story. I think it’s a case of truth being stranger than fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this book. I've shared this review on Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Amazon.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Author Jonathan Santlofer is an author and an artist. So his writing about the Mona Lisa is a must read! The Last Mona Lisa explores two timelines - one when the Mona Lisa is stolen in 1911 and present day when the grandson of the thief is trying to figure out why his grandfather would do this. It explores the dark side of the art world. The lines become blurred as to what is real and what is a forgery. Some people still believe that the Mona Lisa displayed in the Louvre is not the original painting! I highly recommend this book!

I really enjoyed this book and found myself completely absorbed reading this book which took a hold of me and propelled of me into a world of history and art theft. I really enjoyed the author's creation of the dual timeline, it's characters were that well developed that they have inspired me to further research into the theft of The Mona Lisa. Excellent read. I truly enjoyed it and definitely recommend it!

A completely engrossing read a book that took me out of my world into the world of art,theft history.A dual timeline characters that come alive inspired me to do further research into the theft of The Mona Lisa.#netgalley #sourcebooks

In 1911 the. Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by Vincent Peruggia. Jonathan Santlofer takes the known facts of this theft and creates a thriller that follows Vincent’s great-grandson as he searches for his ancestor’s story. Luke Perrrone has spent years hunting for Vincent’s journal. When he is contacted by a professor in Florence with information on its’ location he takes a leave from his position and travels to Italy. Luke teaches art history, but his tenure may depend on finding the journal and publishing Vincent’s story.

Vincent was an artist who lost his wife and was forced to turn the Mona Lisa over to a forger to support his infant son. His journal details his life before the theft, his time in prison and his pursuit of the forger after his release. The journal reveals a number of forgeries and a method to detect which is Leonardo’s actual painting. John Smith, an Interpol agent, wants the journal to provide an advancement from his dead end desk job. Luke is also pursued by a Russian assassin who is working for an unscrupulous collector. He has left a trail of bodies as he searched for the journal and is now on Luke’s trail. From Florence to Paris it is a game of cat and mouse with the added complication of Alexandria Greene. Posing as a student of medieval history, Luke feels an immediate attraction, but she is elusive and secretive. While he opens up about his troubled background, he evades her questions about his research, causing a friction between them.

Jonathan Santlofer’s descriptions of the Italian churches and their artwork makes them easy to visualize. He paints with words that show his love of art and the quest for the journal provides a thriller that builds from the opening pages to the final confrontation. I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this book for my review.

This book was a thoroughly entertaining fictional story based on the true facts surrounding the theft of the Mona Lisa from The Louvre in Paris, France in 1911, It is about art forgery and art theft, but you don't have to be an art aficionado or art lover to enjoy it. The author, Jonathan Santlofer, takes the reader on a fast paced journey of mystery and intrigue throughout Italy, France and New York; much like a Dan Brown novel, The descriptions and settings were very well done and made me feel like I was there in Florence or Paris and experiencing the sites and sounds and the smells and tastes of the cities, with a Fodor's or Rick Steves' travel guide in my hand. I also found myself immersed in the story by searching the internet for every painting and sculpture that was mentioned, even though they were all well described. The characters and the storyline kept me engaged and guessing the outcome.

This is the first book that I have read by this author, but I will definitely be looking forward to reading some of his other titles. I really liked The Last Mona Lisa and rate it four stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me this ebook.

Thanks NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS LANDMARK and Jonathan Santlofer for an ARC to review.
This book was on my wishlist and I am so lucky the publisher granted my wish.
A fast paced page turner historic mystery that I almost finished in one sitting.
Alternating between Paris 1911 during the Mona Lisa theft and Florence current time, the book hooks you between Vincent's heartbreaking thrilling journal and Luke's insane adventure between Florence and Paris chasing his great grandfather's footsteps. A rogue Interpol agent, a mysterious blonde, a ruthless killer, the man beyond and the infamous lady the Mona Lisa.
I absolutely loved it and will seek all the author's othet work.

In this fast paced novel, the great grandson of Vincent, a convicted art thief, seeks to discover if the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre is a fake or forgery. The story starts in the early 1900s when a museum worker convinces himself that stealing the Mona Lisa will return it to its rightful owners. But the truth was, he desperately needed money which led to a liaison in the world of forgery. He realized too late that the liaison wanted the real Mona Lisa it to make multiple forgeries, and sell them as the real painting. Jump to 2019 where Vincent's grandson, Luke Perrone, decides to investigate his grandfather's theft and seek to discover what paintings were fakes. The description of famous landmarks in France are vivid. I also enjoyed the hint of violence that erupts in the underworld of art forgery, without it being too graphic. It is a well written, engaging story.

I didn't know the Mona Lisa was stolen but it was and Santlofer has written an entertaining novel posing answers to the puzzle of whether the real painting is back in the Louvre. Set in a dual time line between a diary written by the thief Vincenzo Peruggia and Luke, his descendent in the modern day, it blends mystery, conspiracy, and art effectively. Luke, an artist who has lost his galley, goes to Florence when he's contacted about the diary- but he's not the only one looking for answers. There's an Interpol agent who has been watching him and others for years. There's also Alex, an attractive art historian who grabs Luke's interest. And then there are the murders. I liked the atmospherics in Florence in particular (wow would I like to travel to visit the sites). This has enough twists to keep you engaged as well as good characters. I wasn't thrilled with the ending (perhaps a bit over the top) but I'll bet other readers will like it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read that might have you, like me, looking up artists and paintings.