The Black Painting

November 6, 2017
In this taut psychological thriller from Olson (The Icon), the heirs of the late Alfred Arthur Morse—his three children and four grandchildren—reunite for the first time in years, at his house on Owl’s Point on the Connecticut coast, for Alfred’s funeral and the reading of his will. Decades before, a painting was stolen from Alfred’s library, one of the 14 or 15 so-called black paintings produced by Francisco José de Goya at a time when the artist believed he was possessed by a demon. Morse family legend had it that anyone who looked at the painting would suffer death or some other misfortune. This myth was reinforced when an art historian, who came to appraise the painting, died while sitting in front of it. Philip, one of Alfred’s two sons, has only recently learned that his father suspected him of taking the painting, and hires PI Dave Webster to uncover the real thief. Dave is drawn into long-held family secrets that reveal how the black painting brought out the worst in each of the Morses. This dark, supernaturally tinged tale ends on an unexpectedly hopeful note. Mystery readers interested in art history will be rewarded.

November 15, 2017
After the death of its patriarch, a family is reunited to settle his estate and revisit the long-unsolved theft of a valuable and possibly cursed painting by Goya.In his second novel, Olson (The Icon, 2005) explores the dynamics of a dysfunctional family and their relationship with Goya's terrifying self-portrait--part of the notorious Black Paintings collection he created at Quinta del Sordo in the early 1820s. The promising setup begins with the discovery of Alfred Morse's body by his granddaughter Teresa, who, along with her three cousins, had been summoned by their grandfather for private interviews at his estate, which none of them had visited since the painting was stolen when they were children. Shortly thereafter, the story flounders with disjointed scenes that have little relevance to the painting's theft, including a sexual encounter between Dave Webster, a private eye hired to find the missing artwork, and Audrey, one of the cousins. Cliches abound with the reading of the will, which leaves the bulk of Morse's estate to Ilsa, his loyal housekeeper and suspected lover. Readers get a better picture of the cousins' personalities when they reunite that evening to discuss their inheritance, the painting, and their lives. Angered by their grandfather's demands, they burn the letters that accompanied his will saying they will each receive $250,000 if they get needed treatment for medical or psychiatric problems. The pace picks up halfway through when Teresa and Dave join forces to figure out who stole the painting and where it is. They discover sordid family secrets and specific details of the events that led to the painting's disappearance, triggering a memory Teresa had repressed of that night.Olson lures the reader with a promising psychological thriller but disappoints by merely scratching the surface of psychosis and terror.

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November 1, 2017
Aging patriarch Alfred Morse summons his four adult grandchildren to his decaying Connecticut estate to lay down the terms of his will, but when Teresa Marias and her older cousin, Audrey, arrive, they find their grandfather dead in his study with a horror-stricken look on his face and his longtime housekeeper gone. Discovering just how Morse died reawakens the question of the disappearance of the black painting, the nightmarish Goya self-portrait rumored to contain a demon and to be cursed. The painting had been taken from Morse's study 15 years earlier and never found, despite the conviction and imprisonment of the brother of one of the household staff for the theft. PI Dave Webster, who originally investigated the theft, is hired by Morse's lawyer son, Philip, to clear him of any suspicion of the crime. As Webster gets involved with Audrey sexually and Teresa emotionally, the search for the painting becomes increasingly convoluted, revealing long-hidden secrets and deceits. Launching a new upscale thriller imprint from Harlequin, this engrossing, dark psychological suspense tale will draw followers of art-based crime fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

November 15, 2017

Olson's second novel concerning art history (after The Icon) features a demon painted by Goya, part of a legendary cursed series of personal portraits. Arthur Morse, an avid collector, enjoyed the dark reputation of the painting hanging on his study wall, though he kept his back to it and never allowed his grandchildren into the room. During the funeral of Morse's wife, the painting is stolen, and the young children are the crime's only witnesses. The story begins several years later as the now adult children are summoned to their grandfather's house to learn about his plans for his estate. Teresa, haunted by her fractured childhood memories of the house, finds her grandfather dead when she arrives, a look of terror on his face. She and her cousins uncover long-buried secrets as personal and other painted demons come to the surface. Olson's novel moves easily from art mystery to psychological thriller, with tension and danger building as the characters' reliability shifts from chapter to chapter. VERDICT A quick and chilling read for fans of B.A. Shapiro, Noah Charney, and Iain Pears. [See Prepub Alert, 8/2/17.]--Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2017

This launch title of Harlequin's Hanover Square imprint opens with the theft of a self-portrait by Goya said to bring the viewer madness or even death. Years later, when four now-grown cousins are summoned by the family patriarch, they find him dead, his eyes shot with terror as he stares at the spot where the painting hung. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.