Ben Bunch

‘The Lost Van Gogh’ tells the story of art sold like heroin – Pittsburgh Post Gazette

By Jeffrey Condran Jonathan Santlofer’s latest art historical thriller, “The Lost Van Gogh,” does everything the reader most admires about the genre: it’s a page-turner that follows compelling characters who not only dodge bullets — when they’re not firing them — but also engages in serious aesthetic and moral concerns regarding the value of art in people’s lives. Vincent van Gogh is the perfect subject for this novel, as important ideas about insanity and suicide, about the notion of the solitary genius, and about the power of images, are so often attached to the Dutch painter’s life and work. The evidence, if it’s needed, is right before our eyes with the last few years bringing us immersive exhibitions and multiple films made about his life — never mind the continuing flood of merchandise printed with images of his work. Surely, people the world over know more about Van Gogh’s brushstrokes than any other artist’s. Glimpse … Read more

Artist-author Santlofer’s ‘The Lost van Gogh’ is a brisk, engrossing mystery – South Florida SunSentinel

By Oline H. Cogdill Artist Jonathan Santlofer, whose meticulous research and insight to the creative process has made him the most prominent author of art-based mysteries, takes his engrossing approach to a new level with “The Lost van Gogh.” A sense of authenticity permeates the novels of Santlofer, whose artwork has been exhibited in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. Yet Santlofer never lets his research overwhelm his exciting plots. There is plenty of fodder for gripping plots with Nazi-looted art and the lucrative criminal enterprises of forgeries, thefts and more. The FBI and several large cities have art crime divisions. “The Lost van Gogh” marks the return of artist Luke Perrone and his girlfriend, Alexis Verde, last seen in Santlofer’s 2021 “The Last Mona Lisa.” The couple may have a missing self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh hidden under a rather ordinary painting Alexis bought from a … Read more

Library Journal – Review of The Lost Van Gogh

The latest art thriller from Santlofer (The Last Mona Lisa) has historic European locations and appealing characters chasing down art stolen by horrible people. Rumors of a final self-portrait made by Vincent van Gogh on his deathbed have tantalized art historians and collectors since the artist’s death, but the painting is widely believed to be lost forever. Luke Perrone is an artist and great-grandson of the man who stole the Mona Lisa; his girlfriend Alexis Verde is the daughter of an art thief. Together, they discover a portrait that might be the missing van Gogh, but then it disappears from their hands. Reuniting with INTERPOL agent John Washington Smith, the trio set off to Europe to recover the missing painting in the hopes of answering questions about van Gogh’s final days. Soon they’re ensnared in the secrets of masterpieces stolen by the Nazis and protected by members of the French Resistance during World War II. … Read more

Booklist – Review of The Lost Van Gogh

“Writer and artist Santlofer assembled a trio of unlikely art sleuths in The Last Mona Lisa (2021), and now, much to their surprise, they’re thrown together once again. Art historian Alexis Verde (also known as Alexandra Green) acquires a painting that she and her honey, artist and art history teacher Luke Perrone, discover is concealing what just might be a long-lost self-portrait by Van Gogh. Tully, a down-and-out PI, has been hired to secure this work, which is promptly stolen from Alexis when she attempts to have it appraised. Luke reconnects with former INTERPOL analyst John Washington Smith for help, but, like many others, he’s not who he claims to be. As the action shifts to Amsterdam, the levels of deceit and danger escalate precipitously. Amidst the chaos and terror, Santlofer offers sympathetic glimpses into Van Gogh’s life and puzzling death and the French Resistance’s valiant efforts to save Paris’ treasures as the Nazis’ systematically … Read more