The Collector

Marion Spicer is an investigator on the look out for stolen art; 18th century pieces are her forte and she spends her days perusing auction catalogs and sales for stolen artwork. She’s very good at her job, but she feels little passion for it. Everything changes when she inherits a large collection of pre Colombian art from a father she knew she never had. But accessing her inheritance won’t be that easy. Her father has left her with a task, before she can claim her priceless artifacts, she must first find three priceless, missing statues. Suddenly Marion is thrust into the cut throat world of black market art theft where people are willing to kill to own priceless treasures of the past. I loved this fast paced exciting thriller. Marion is an intelligent and likeable heroine and I hope to see more of her in the future

Debut novel in which the protagonist paints a picture of activities in the world of stolen art., and particularly of Pre-Columbian art. This is a well written and plot driven mystery with believable characters in the shady underside of the art world. It's often difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

Marion Spicer has inherited a massive art collection from a father she thought was dead. The only problem is she has to fulfill the will's requirements in order to take possession of her inheritance. As she tries to solve the mystery of her father, a man she has never known, she realizes all is not as it seems. There is an attempt on her life, she is being followed and someone seems to be helping her achieve the requirements of the will. Can she figure the mystery of her father's art collection before she is stopped.

Marion Spicer is a specialist in retrieving lost/stolen art objects. It's not exactly her passion but affords her a nice, orderly life in the city of light. That's about to change. Edmond Magni, the father she never knew, has died & left her a huge collection of rare pre-Columbian art. But there's a catch. To inherit, she must track down 3 pieces that were sold. In short order, Marion finds herself surrounded by dodgy antique dealers, rabid collectors & one very creepy assistant. It's her introduction to a world of greed, secrets & backroom deals. As she continues to dig, Marion comes to realize her father's little test is about much more than 3 ancient statues. She just has to stay alive long enough to figure it out.

This is a fast paced story with no shortage of twists & red herrings. With a few exceptions, everyone has a reason to keep Marion from learning the truth. Characters range from art auction insiders & hired thugs to a helpful detective & her best friend. But it's Marion's character that undergoes the most change as she is forced to step outside her quiet, safe existence & learn to trust herself. It's also a subtle commentary on the power wielded by so called "experts" & how easily their influence can manipulate the opinions (and bank accounts) of others. It's a quick read so you can sit back for a couple of hours & enjoy an action packed race around Paris.

This is a novel that starts straight away, no preamble just jumps in which in some ways is a relief as you get to the nub immediately.

Marion is a specialist in stolen/lost art objects who then finds out that the father who she thought had died years ago hadn't, combine that with art, complex characters, murder and you have an engaging story,

I found it quite a quick read but would recommend it

This is a well written and well constructed intelligent first novel. It is an art mystery in Paris. There is a large and very prestigious art inheritance, but with a catch. An interesting look behind the scenes of a world most of us would never see. An excellent debut novel, I hope there are more!

smart and well-worked-out, there are some coincidences that scream out contrived but it's all overcome by the well-observed characters and, finally, the scam itself - takes us into pre-Columbian art market with an heir who wonders if she's onto something valuable in terms of her time and the grief of death of an estranged father who may not have been all he seemed - I liked that weave of family, and Marion's unique presence and nous: she's not to be trifled with, and yet she has her own charms - it will be curious to see how other stories with her work out as central figure: all in the art world?? that will be sensational

Fantastic read. Could not put it down. Great plot great characters.

A new Le French Book review!

If it's not overtly clear by now, I have nothing but the highest respect for the publisher Le French Book, and the people who work there. The ability to translate not just words, but feeling, nuances and great story, opening up a new dimension of great authors and works to English-speaking audiences, is something I admire greatly.

"The Collector" has a very fast pace - a one-sitting read. Make sure to set aside a little time when you get this book, because it will be very hard to put down until the final page!

This is the start to a new series for this author, but it is not her first work. Ms. Thieblemont knows and owns her voice, starting out with strong confidence that carries through the whole book. This was refreshing to read, when there are so many other books that take a few chapters to really warm up. To be immersed in the story from page one, to feel the enthusiasm with which the tale is told from the start, made "The Collector" fun to read, even outside of the actual plot!

It was neat to see a new perspective on French life, through French eyes. I got a look at life in Paris, rather than the countryside focus of the Winemaker Detective. It was interesting to read the Parisian nuances, things I've not yet come across in character descriptions set in other places in France. It's similar to the use of "pop" vs. "soda" here in the United States - little identifiers that round out a person's background and personality. Once again, I've learned something new.

The book is set in the world of art, and Ms. Thieblemont's descriptions make that world vivid and stunning. The colors, the textures, the contrasts, all were expertly created for the reader. I enjoyed lingering among the display, even as the story compelled me onward.

It will be interesting to see where Marion's story goes from here! I look forward to finding out.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

I loved this book. I hope there are more books to come. Fans of Cara Black will also love our heroine, Marian Spicer. There is the same gritty quality of the ugliness hiding underneath Paris' gorgeous exterior. I enjoyed learning about pre-columbian art and assume, since the author is a researcher in art trafficking, that the facts are fairly close to reality. I'm tempted to run over to the Louvre and look at their department.
Some of the background info that made this story a mystery seemed to stretch reality but who cares! It was a great read and I look forward to more of her books.

Edmond Magni is one of the greatest collectors of eighteenth-century art and an owner of a very imposant collection of pre-Columbian art. He is so obsessed with it, those figures are more important to him than actual human beings. But when he dies of an unexpected death, his only relative is a long lost daughter who never met him. The entire collection is her inheritance now, but there are conditions: she must find three missing statues. It might be a hard work for someone else, but not for Marion Spicer. She is also into the world of art, working as a private investigator and looking for stolen art. The collection of her long lost father is not a source of income for her, but a treasure of beautiful pieces of art that have to be preserved for future generations. But the world of art is not a safe place at all. Marion throws herself into the world of thieves, fake auctions, grave diggers, smuggling and making perfect replicas. In order to find the three missing statues, she stamps on something bigger: a murder!

This is my very first book from this author and from the very first page I was captivated by the plot. A very prestigious collector of art dies and his daughter who works also in the world of art inherits the most wanted collection of pre-Columbian statues. There are some very fine pieces of art here and also a detective story. It's like Indiana Jones meeting Lara Croft. The story takes you from the most prestigious museums of Paris to the old tombs in Colombia and Peru.

But what started very enthusiastic and fully-packed with adrenaline, ended somehow diluted. Maybe it was just me, but the ending left me very disappointed. After that kind of rush, I was expecting a real BAM at the end. The end didn't surprise me nor left me with my mouth open. But, that's just my opinion.

I liked Marion as a character. I liked her hunger for justice, her hunger to finish whatever she started. I liked her passion for art, her admire of pieces of history. She sees the things as evidence of existence of the people that lived on this planet before us, not as a source of money.

Overall, The Collector is a beautiful piece of art full of mystery and action. It is an interesting and fast-paced read perfect for the fans of Indiana Jones. And everyone else, of course.

My opinion: 3,5 / 5.

Marion Spicer has a job she is considering leaving because it is not exciting enough for her. She works for an organization that investigates stolen art and her specialty is 18th century pieces. She produces quite a large income stream for her employer, a well-connected woman that she dislikes. On the same day that Marion learns her father did not die 30 years earlier but had changed his name and become a legendary preColombian Art collector and left his collection, with stipulations to her, she is re-assigned to preColombian Art at her work place. It's an interesting switch because her bequest is supposedly a secret, she has no knowledge of the field and it brings in less money than her current work. So, that is the set-up for the mystery. It is a bit long to explain but it is juicy once it gets going. It's a field with its own rules and secrets that the members work diligently to keep hidden. The story reminded me of The Sting at times but I'm not giving away anything else. It's a very fast book and any other clues will need to be found by the reader. It's well worth the effort.

Marion Spicer is surprised to receive her estranged father collection of pre-Columbian artifacts. She never nknew him as he left when she 3 years old. The will has a hidden condition Marion must find 3 statues specified in the will. Marion asked 2 long time friends to help her. Marion is attrack while swimming and almost drown. Who and why is after the statues and wants to prevent them being.

Disclosure: I received a free copy from Le French Book through Netgalley for an honest review. I would like to thank them for this opportunity to read and review the book. The opinions are my own found. Others acquaintances help her find two of them. Will she find the third in time to save her life. I found the characters developed and the translation into English easy to read. I recommend this book.

I found myself getting fully drawn into this book, it had a lot of twists and turns that I didn't see coming, It never faltered and took me along with it. The characters were drawn up so well that I had no trouble dislike some easily, whilst I felt for others. The word of art collectors are foreign to me and I found it intriguing This book has been beautifully translated from French, that it is a joy to read, and unless I knew this fact I would not have know - it is seamless.

I love this story! It is well written and you need to understand there may be a cultural difference, but I learned so much. Also the story is a thriller that will keep you up until the book is finished.

Author, Anne-Laure Thieblemont, is herself an art reporter and trained gem specialists, known for her investigations into stolen art and gem trafficking. Is it any wonder that with THE COLLECTOR she has given us a brilliant novel that combines intrigue, action, suspense and more than a smattering of art history. Her descriptions of various art and gem pieces competently guide even the most unfamiliar or untrained reader through an appreciation of what it takes to authenticate art pieces.

Her protagonist, Marion Spicer is an expert in eighteenth century art working for a Paris art house who suddenly inherits an estate including a large, prestigious and tremendously valuable collection of pre-Columbian art from a father whom, for the past thirty-three years, she believed was dead. Wow, Marion is an heiress with a potential fortune, but as with all things that seem to be too good to be true, so it is with this windfall. First, there are the stipulations set forth in her fathers will stating that she is to locate and recover three priceless sculptures before she can inherit so, of course, she sets out to do just that. Second, are any number of individuals, from her father’s assistant to his mistress to other collectors with voracious appetites for acquiring beauty who stand in her way and some of these folks are not above committing murder to achieve their ends.

With scenes from Marion’s personal life neatly interwoven into the mystery the tale becomes a measured, slow burning read with compelling characters and secrets that reveal themselves slowly proving that in literature, as in life, not all is what it seems and we must always expect the unexpected.

Great read...
A buttoned up art appraisal professional has a challenge to her mores when her estranged father dies and makes odd conditions on her "Inheritance." An array of unexpected events starts to veer into almost madness for a bit..
Did I mention this is a great read?

This was a wonder French thriller, unique, mesmerizing and full of rich details. Marion Spicer inherits an art collection from a father she never knew but, before she can actually claim it, she has some conditions to fulfill. That's when the trouble begins. Will she claim the prize? I'm not saying, because I hope you will read it and find out for yourself. I loved the style of this book. I think it would make a great and visually stunning movie. I look forward to reading more by this author.

As a reader of many of the Le French Books this was as good as the other of their translations This was a great written story line with perfect characters. I can't wait until the next one comes along.

***I received this book in exchange for an honest review***.

A great story! Very popular with our readers in the library!

A short but exciting story made special by the fact it largely concerns a dead art collector and the machinations he set in motion. It is exciting, suspenseful and engaging. Little by little the clues assemble a picture of the man, and the strange things he did in furtherance of his weird desires. Once you start reading you can't stop as you seek more information and understanding. Sex and violence play a role as the story unfolds. Good guys and bad guys are difficult to discern as the nasty world of rich art collectors is laid bare. I loved the story, but didn't want to meet any of the people involved.

A fan of mystery books set in France, I jumped at the chance to read and review The Collector by Anne-Laure Thiéblemont, the first book in her Marion Spicer Art Mystery series. Using pre- Columbian art, and the cutthroat dealings between appraisers, collectors and historians in the art world, Ms. Thiéblemont introduces us to colorful characters willing to do whatever it takes to get their hands on a prestigious art collection. What begins as a surprise inheritance soon turns into an adventure where people’s lives are at stake.

Ms. Thiéblemont does a good job introducing us to Marion Spicer right from the start. An intelligent single woman who has been told her father has been dead since she was three years old, Marion discovers that her father had been alive for the last 33 years and living under the name Edmond Magni. The terms of his will leave his entire estate to her, an estate filled with pre-Columbian art valued at over forty-million euros as long as she can locate three pieces which apparently were a part of the collection at one time but had been sold off. Thinking she’s hit the lottery, Marion is very excited about the inheritance and immediately begins to plan how to locate the three items. While Marion works as an investigator in the art field, she’s never worked with pre-Columbian art and has no idea how much danger her life will be in as a result of this possible inheritance.

Ms. Thiéblemont also does a good job developing the secondary characters and they are all very colorful. And also strange. As she encounters art dealers and appraisers on her search, Marion is introduced to a world filled with depraved individuals and with art that is somewhat less than appealing – in fact the descriptions of the art collected by her father show that he was obsessed with art that depicted the most barbaric aspects of Columbian civilization. Plus, he was obsessed with sexual objects and quite rude from what she learns from individuals who did business with him. There are also questions about the legality of parts of his collection.

Overall Ms. Thiéblemont’s writing style is engaging and entertaining. The mystery of who is trying to obstruct Marion’s search for the missing items is well done and overall the story takes several twists and turns. Marion is forced to question what she knows about her family and herself and ultimately question who she can trust. The list of people she can trust is even smaller than she thinks. The story’s pace is occasionally a little slow but the story is interesting enough that it kept my attention from start to finish.

Will Marion locate the three missing statutes she needs to collect her inheritance? Will the inheritance turn out to be everything she hoped it would be? Or will her father’s collection be something other than what it appears to be? You’ll have to read The Collector to find out. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of this author’s work.

A fascinating story and unique insider's look into the exclusive world of Parisian art auction houses. The action and suspense are well developed and sustained. While the main character remains a bit elusive to the reader, the story is compelling and recommended.

Anne-Laure Thieblemont – The Collector (Marion Spicer Art Mysteries #1)
Marion Spicers’ normal, almost predictable way of living and her approach to her work to help with identifying and retrieving stolen art, is unexpectedly upheaved by the news that her father didn’t die when she was ‘n child as she believed, but that he was the renowned Edmond Magni who died only recently. Her life gets further twisted up with the news that she would inherit his collection of art but the condition that she has to fulfil to inherit puts her live in danger as she gets drawn into the shadier side of the art collectors’ underworld. Throughout the book the tension and uncertainty of who is ally or enemy is palpable and keeps you invested in the story. As someone who also loves items of the past and loves to collect it, I could identify with Marion of not wanting to let such priced items to go to persons that only wants it for what price it could get. I would have liked the ending to be different, but seeing as it is the first book of a series, it would only compel you to read the next one to see what happened further with the characters. Looking forward to the next book

This an accomplished and intelligent mystery thriller debut by the author. This is a story that revolves around Marion Spicer, an eighteenth century art specialist and investigator. A father she knew nothing of, leaves his collection of pre Columbian art to her, but with provisos. She will have to track down three missing pieces which have been sold from the collection.

And so Marion finds herself on a mission where she encounters ruthless characters who will not shy away from murder in their efforts to gain the art collection. This is an action and suspense driven narrative, which draws the reader in deftly. It is great to learn about the art world and how much people will do acquire the art they want.

I loved this novel and plan to read other Marion Spicer mysteries as soon as they become available! I would like to thank Le French for a copy of the ebook via netgalley. It was great to discover another great Le French author.

Very interesting read, and a great look into the world of art and antiques.

A absolutely delightful read! This is the first in the Marion Spicer series. The writing is brilliant here. The thriller centers around a inheritance of art that requires Marion to delve into the art world and the thrills begin. It's non stop action and the setting is both adding to the intrigue and beauitfully described in such a outstandingly detailed manner you feel as if your part of the story. I found this thrilling from page one. . I highly recommend The Collector for your reading enjoyment. Thank you for the advance reading copy. .

Well-written. Enjoy books by this author. Look forward to more. Will buy a copy for myself and many copies for donations and as gifts.

This book passed my expectation by some way; the writing is crisp and the complicated area of art and the world of collecting and exhibiting masterpieces was presented for me to gain understanding and insight.
It is a true thriller mystery as it is unclear how the novel will unfold or the basis of the challenge set to Marion Spicer in her Father's will.
He dies in mysterious circumstances and she is poised to inherit his unique and priceless collection of pre-Columbian artifacts. However she must first find three statues; until she has these in her possession she cannot fulfil the conditions of her Father's legacy.
I liked the brief glimpses of Paris. I liked the various characters and the sense of threat. I thought the Police knowledge was a little to ahead of the game but this didn't distract from the book.

A mystery thriller set in Paris that will introduce you the Paris art scene as well. Beautifully written, almost poetic prose, this book is hard to put down once you start reading.

Amazing read!!

The Collector by Anne-Laure Thiéblemont The dark and mysterious world of Art trade has not been more dangerous. Marion's estranged father Edmond Magni has left her a puzzle that she must solve before she can gain her inheritance. The process of finding three missing art pieces will have deadly consequence. The book is looking into the dark world of stolen art pieces, international art theft, and fraud. Marion's adventure will show her the depth of her fathers dark world, and why he had lost not only his life but potentially his reputation. She will compete with brutal forces who will attempt to destroy all those connected to the Magni. The book is a mystery to make the reader question their knowledge of the Art world.

A zesty book that took me by surprise. I think there was a chunk missing from the end, though, as it seemed to skip straight to the end. Or perhaps it was too subtle for me. A good read, but definitely a single read and then move on. I will keep an eye out for this author in the future.