The Lost Madonna

A little slow in places, but a nice story of a woman coming to peace with her past. The mystery is a small one but the characters are nicely drawn. I do regret the Madonna's fate, though.

Not a major work of literature, but an interesting story. And I thought that this book gave a true picture of being a young woman in the 1960s -- and also of a woman now who had been a young woman in the 1960s.

This is a book about an art professor who life is changed after a huge natural disaster. She encounters the flood by being in the wrong place at the wrong time or, depending how you think about it, the right place at the right time. One of the things that I like about this book is that it is a mystery and nobody dies. I think it is a lot harder to write a mystery where you can't fill pages with long descriptions of gore and forensic science, but you have to fill the pages with thoughtful writing. I do think that there are a lot of unresolved issues in this book. I didn't believe that the main character felt strongly about her love interest as she said she did. I thought that supporting characters could have been developed a lot more and show more that would have added to the book. I would have also liked to have seen the relationships developed more. show less

I really liked this book-- not so much for the story, as for the setting in one of my absolute favorite cities and for the glimpse into the world of art history and restoration.