My Chronicle Book Box Review:
I discovered this series because of iBooks ‘FREE: First in a series’ marketing tool. At first glance this series might not have caught my eye so I am very grateful that I picked the first one up free as I enjoyed it and have now continued on to purchase this, the second in the series.
As I hoped the second book builds on the successes of the first. There is another intricate mystery to unravel and we get to spend more time getting to know the unlikely group that again team up with Dr Genevieve Lenard, non-verbal communication expert and social disaster.
Dr Lenard, who is given various nicknames by her friends, is high functioning autistic and prefers to conduct her fine art insurance investigations from the seclusion of a bespoke high tech viewing room. In the last book she stepped out of her comfort zone and reluctantly teamed up with a motley crew of associates to take down a forgery ring but at the beginning of this book the relationships forged with Genevieve appear to have broken down. It quickly transpires however that her new friends have not abandoned her but are in fact trying to protect her, misguided as this may be.
Genevieve finds herself in the centre of this book's crime spree, targeted for revenge but by whom is not easily proven. The team, who’s specialist subjects include policing, cooking, art theft, arms dealing and hacking to name just a few, reunite to take on the case. This is a well plotted detective story with a focus on patterns, connections and substantial evidence rather than jumping into action, with one memorable and exciting exception which should put Genevieve off leaping into the fray for some time!
I enjoyed the level of detail that went into this novel and the interactions between the characters really brought them to life. Recommended reading for intricate crime fiction lovers. The next in the series ‘The Braque Connection’ is now on my 'want-to-read' list, this is currently maintained on numerous scraps of paper but I hope to get organised and make better use of my Goodreads and Bookstr accounts!
