Living in Boston, site of the infamous Gardner Museum heist, I’ve long been fascinated by art heists, forgeries and other art-related crimes. Lucky for me that Jonathan Santlofer’s new novel, THE LAST MONA LISA, has all of the above, not to mention an evocative European setting that has me ready to book the next flight to Florence or Paris.
 
Luke Perrone is an artist and art history professor, but he’s a little down on his luck. The New York City gallery where he shows most of his work is about to close, and his department chair tells him that he’s unlikely to get tenure without a major exhibition under his belt. As the novel opens, however, Luke is ready to leave all of those troubles behind, since he has just gotten a tip about his great obsession: his great-grandfather Vincent Peruggia’s journal.

"[A]s Santlofer acknowledges, he embellishes some of the historical record to make for a good story, but he also positions the heist in the context of a suspenseful, character-driven thriller."

Luke’s relative was infamous in early 20th-century Paris; he was an artist and craftsman who served time for stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. Luke has always been fascinated by his long-dead relative, speculating about his motivations and whether or not, as some experts have suggested, the painting the Louvre eventually recovered --- the one that’s still hanging there to this day --- is actually a very skillful forgery.
 
Tipped off that Vincent’s journal was among a recently deceased professor’s papers that have been donated to a library in Florence, Italy, Luke abandons his intersession teaching plans and hops on a plane. There he encounters his great-grandfather’s real and tragic story --- or at least most of it --- and draws the attention of Alex, a beautiful young woman with whom he feels an instant connection.
 
Little does Luke know that his research has also drawn the attention of others, including a frustrated Interpol detective with a chip on his shoulder, not to mention members of the underground art world who would prefer that Vincent’s secrets remain buried --- and don’t care who they have to hurt to keep them that way. Even the smart, beautiful, compassionate Alex may be hiding something. Why does she run away from Luke whenever the two of them start to get close?
 
Santlofer narrates his novel utilizing short, snappy chapters and a variety of perspectives. This includes passages from Peruggia’s journal, so that readers uncover his story at the same rate that Luke does. An accomplished artist himself, Santlofer includes vivid and detailed descriptions of the book's European settings, as well as the artworks that Luke and Alex discover and appreciate on their travels.

I had heard about the 1911 Mona Lisa theft previously, but only through a children’s book. Here, as Santlofer acknowledges, he embellishes some of the historical record to make for a good story, but he also positions the heist in the context of a suspenseful, character-driven thriller. Readers might look a little closer at the Mona Lisa if they find themselves in Paris any time soon --- looking, just like Luke, for clues and mysteries even more tantalizing than the famous woman’s smile.