The Appraisal

It starts off almost like a James Bond movie, with clever disguises and ruses; a rumpled detective, corrupt officials with expensive tastes and beautiful women. 
Once the object and reason for the chase, a large painting by an Italian legend has been identified, layers of theft and betrayal reveal themselves. Other than the real challenge of pronouncing some of the names, following the characters and the action was exciting. There is a large cast to keep straight.
 The part really that rings true is just how corrupt & dishonest so many in power were on trading in art and objects that don't belong to them. 
Recommend- a part of the world we may not pay enough attention to.

Who knew the art appraisal business could call for James Bond like skills?  Or that art ownership could be a very good way of washing criminal cash, or passing on funds to criminals and terrorists.  Who knew that being on stolen art retrieval commissions could be so heartbreaking when you learn the stories behind the stolen paintings?  
Helena Marsh was raised in the art appreciation, then appraisal business.  Her father and mother both insisted she learn some very strong survival skills.  They evidently foresaw the time when appraisals, sales and retrievals would no longer be accomplished over a glass of sherry in a paneled library.
Helena is sent to Budapest to buy a Titian for a old Hungarian man now living in Canada.  He claims he was forced to sell it after being sent to a Soviet Labor Camp.  When word of this Titian gets out, suddenly there are other bidders and Helena must use her considerable skills to protect herself and to discourage the other bidders.
This was a surprisingly exciting story set mostly in Hungary.  It sets several tropes about the art world on its ear.   I did have a problem with names and place names, but that’s always going to be a bit of a problem for me with any book set in Eastern Europe. Well written, fast paced, with characters you become invested in, I am hoping this might become a series.

Maybe a bit overly dramatically cloak and dagger in parts but gosh, it's an interesting read.  Helena is an art appraiser and she's in Hungary trying to buy back a Titian.  Big bucks.  Porter clearly has a strong understanding of the art world, which is in fact used to launder money and where corruption abounds, especially in the netherworld in post War Europe and Eastern Europe.  I was most intrigued by the details.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.  This is different from many of the "woman goes back to Europe to find something" novels because it's not a family romance except with art.  You'll learn something while reading it which makes it all the more worthy.

The author has a good understanding of the dark underlying criminals in the art world. This is as exciting as James Bond and equally multi layered.  Our  heroine (Helena)  is an art expert, a master of disguises, a burglar, and a dangerous martial-arts-trained killer.  Her work in finding stolen art requires her particular skill set. She is sent to Budapest to find a painting stolen by the Nazi's and enters a dark world even her skills may not save her from. 
This book is a top thriller and I enjoyed it from cover to cover. Its exciting and interesting to read about the dark world of art. it is a world few of us know about and one we would not want to be a part of.  The author has a masterful writing style and a fast paced narrative that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. A very enjoyable book .