Ryder eventually discovers that the painting was originally the property of a Jewish widow living in Paris in 1944. The painting was subsequently lost, presumably stolen by someone in the German Secret Service. Many Germans in the military thought that after the war ended art works sold on the black market could become a stable source of income, so they eagerly plundered all art works they could get their hands on. Ryder searches for the heirs of the Jewish woman, and finds her granddaughter, Rachel Meredith, a professor of film history at NYU.

Ryder has found the missing heir to the painting and the museum publicly acknowledges the feat in a gala ceremony, but he senses that there is more to this story than the reuniting a lawful owner with a painting stolen during World War II. Dr. Meredith is attacked in a seemingly random assault at her office. Frightened, she calls Ryder, who offers to help, though technically, it is not his case. He is warned off the case by his boss, but Ryder continues to probe, consulting an old friend and reliable art dealer, Oliver Plumworth. Oliver may be old in years, but his mind is still agile. He fills in the historical bits and pieces that Ryder is missing.

Monsieur Trabuc has been sought by many for a number of years and, in fact, an extremely well done copy of the original surfaced as a companion to Madame Trabuc, the other piece originally owned by the Jewish widow. Oliver describes an elaborate black market trade of artwork stolen during the war that developed during the 1970’s that involved Swiss art dealers and Nazi war criminals.

Ryder becomes increasingly concerned for Rachel when she is besieged by art dealers, museums and aficionados wanting to buy the Trabuc. Rachel is not interested in selling the painting primarily because it has sentimental value, linking her with the family she never knew. It soon becomes obvious that there are people who will stop at nothing including murder, to get the painting.

The Lost Van Gogh is a first novel by a husband and wife team. It is primarily a thriller, but has more to offer than a fast moving plot with an outcome that affects more than a handful of people. The story that is the main thrust of the book is one occurring in the present day, but its roots are directly linked to people and events that happened during World War II. This concept is a refreshing change from the recently popular plot device of telling two stories simultaneously, one that is current and one that is happening at some time in the past. Unfortunately, the sequence of events happening in the present sometimes changes from three months ago to present day to a year or two ago without a clear transition. The reader has to be paying close attention to keep the chronological order straight.

The authors provide a good quick lesson in art history as it relates to the plot so one does not have to be well versed in the subject to follow the story. At the same time, this brief diversion may find criticism among the devout thriller fans in that it slows down the pace of the action. The same criticism may well apply to the lengthy description of Nazi war crimes relating to art, although Oliver Plumworth is a very engaging character — one I would love to meet.

The authors took care in researching their novel. They don’t have their characters doing things that they wouldn’t reasonably be expected to be able to do. Witness in particular the opening scene, with an art theft that requires a great deal of agility as well as guts. Certainly the extensive planning on the part of the German art thieves demonstrates their single-minded devotion to achieving their goal.

I hope the authors have a good marketing strategy for their first novel. It is well worth reading though thriller devotees will find some faults and some readers may not be pleased with the vivid descriptions of physical torture. As any librarian or bookstore employee will tell you an author whose last name begins with “Z” will be relegated to the bottom shelf where only the most diligent readers search for new material. Hopefully, a bookstore employee will put this one on a display table so it will receive more attention.

--Andy Plonka