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"  The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro (Algonquin) &amp;quot;If Bridget Jones&amp;#039;s Diary and The Da Vinci Code had a love child, this would be it,&amp;quot; one reader enthused about this literary thriller spun from a real-life art heist at Boston&amp;#039;s Gardner Museum. Others found young artist Claire Roth a dubious heroine and the plot\u2014involving the forgery of a Degas painting\u2014contrived, but almost everyone had a good time with it. The still-unsolved 1990 art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston has befuddled those\u2014amateurs and professional alike\u2014who have attempted to solve the mystery. In The Art Forger, Shapiro creates an imaginative thriller centering on the stolen Degas. The expertly paced storyline keeps the reader guessing, and the local details, art-world savvy, and clever imaginings about the inner thoughts of Isabella Stewart Gardner resonate. \u2014Joanne M. Choi, Boston You don&amp;#039;t have to know Degas from Dali in order to enjoy this fast-paced literary thriller about one woman&amp;#039;s quest to find redemption in Boston&amp;#039;s cutthroat art world. The heroine is endearingly earnest yet flawed, making her absolutely empathetic. With compelling characters, surprising plot twists, and tight construction, The Art Forger does it all and does it brilliantly. \u2014Susan Jensen, Mesa, AZ An interesting look at what it takes to create a masterpiece. The way Shapiro weaves true events into the story is wonderful. \u2014Selena Crochet, Houston, TX For a book about the seemingly inaccessible world of fine art, The Art Forger is intensely readable. The characters are relatable, the plot fast-paced without being rushed. Art and art forgery are explained in an elegant, natural way, and passages about complicated painting processes and art history are never clunky. \u2014Alyssa Stewart, Helena, MT Shapiro&amp;#039;s description of the process of creating art copies is fascinating and never becomes mundane. The mystery behind the stolen paintings is compelling, and though Claire Roth does not inspire very much sympathy for the situations in which she finds herself embroiled, the conflicts between the main characters are believable. \u2014Melissa Jackson, Bloomington, IN If Bridget Jones&amp;#039; Diary and The Da Vinci Code had a love child, this book would be it. I can almost see the movie tagline now: &amp;quot;Likeable but occasionally bumbling heroine stumbles headfirst into the dark nexus between true and false art. Intrigue and hilarity ensue.&amp;quot; The Art Forger devolves into a fluffy beach-read at points, but the novel is ultimately readable thanks to Shapiro&amp;#039;s smooth, casual prose. Though the protagonist&amp;#039;s comedic asides sometimes distract rather than entertain, and despite the unconvincingly tidy resolution of the mystery, The Art Forger does indeed plunge the reader into the fascinating dark corners of art forgery, where true color and vibrancy lie. \u2014Gloria Huang, New York City  American Ghost by Janis Owens (Scribner) The truth about a 1930s racial crime in north Florida threatens the romance between a preacher&amp;#039;s daughter and an inquisitive Miami grad student. Readers gave Owens kudos for style and gravitas, even when they viewed the past and present as only tenuously linked here. Inspired by a historic 1930s lynching, Owens tells a tale of the romance between Jolie Hoyt, the daughter of a Pentecostal preacher, and Sam Lense, a Jewish graduate student from Miami. Owens spins an engrossing and complicated multi-generational saga in American Ghost, one that kept me entertained for hours.\u2014Laurie Blum, Farmington Hills, MI American Ghost chronicles the complicated first romance of a local girl sheltered by both religion and poverty. Motherless Jolie falls for a quintessential outsider who hasn&amp;#039;t been forthright with her about what he is doing. Sam finds that the more he delves into the past, the less he comprehends the Hoyts and the insular town of Hendrix. It&amp;#039;s a Southern love story that explores how buried memories affect different generations of families years later. \u2014Joanne M. Choi, Boston The characters and setting of this engrossing book resonate, and the unexpected humor woven into the dialogue and narrative is a nice foil to the serious subject matter. The love story is flawlessly intertwined with the mystery, and there are wonderful plot twists throughout. \u2014Selena Crochet, Houston, TX Owens&amp;#039; portrayal of Jolie and Sam&amp;#039;s romance resounds with excitement, heartbreak, and the uncertainty of whether or not the past will tyrannize the present. American Ghost weaves a thrilling historical event from past to future, and its intricate back-story completely delivers. Like a movie that I want to rewind, I feel like reading the novel over again would reveal extra tidbits that I missed before. \u2014Jessica Shaver, Sandy, OR American Ghost tells a compelling story, but the characters change drastically over the course of the novel\u2014so much so that they become unrecognizable by the conclusion.\u2014Alyssa Stewart, Helena, MT In American Ghost, Owens crafts strong, likeable characters, and excels in an evocative portrayal and exploration of a horrifying time and place in history, though the execution is sometimes applied unevenly, and the final resolution seems overly hasty and slapdash, undermining the voices of America&amp;#039;s ghosts. \u2014Gloria Huang, New York City This novel&amp;#039;s beautiful depictions of rural Florida swampland and the conflicted history of the region brings the characters to life, especially those that help provide the back-story for some of the more dramatic events. The only failure in American Ghost is that the different storylines never do intersect to the extent in which they are intended, leaving some confusion at the end. \u2014Melissa Jackson, Bloomington, IN Gritty, authentic and sultry. \u2014Julia Rogers, Santa Cruz, CA Like all good Southern novels, this one&amp;#039;s got atmosphere, y&amp;#039;all. Its sinister setting mirrors its subject, giving the story a haunting quality that lingers long after you&amp;#039;ve closed the book. Part historical novel, part romance, part mystery, American Ghost is an absorbing, memorable read. \u2014Susan Jensen, Mesa, AZ  Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach (Algonquin) Some readers loved the meandering sweep of this saga about a wealthy Connecticut sister and brother who witness their parents&amp;#039; murder but unravel the truth behind it only years later; others didn&amp;#039;t have the patience for the author&amp;#039;s off-angle handling of his odd collection of characters. Written from the vantage point of David Hochmeyer, the son of murdered parents, Life Among Giants flashes back to the events leading up to this horrific event. The lives of the Hochmeyer family are bound up with the life of Sylphide, their famous and glamorous neighbor. This is a tale about budding sexuality, power, desperation, and deadly secrets. \u2014Joanne M. Choi, Boston An epic tale of a family kept distant from one another by their secrets, Life Among Giants shows great potential, but the too-neat ending felt rushed after the long, meandering tale that the main character, Lizard, has to tell. Nonetheless, the menagerie of crazy characters and situations make this a unique and enjoyable book. \u2014Alyssa Stewart, Helena, MT While there are certainly many clever and amusing moments, Life Among Giants feels almost deliberately oblique at times. \u2014Julia Rogers, Santa Cruz, CA Roorbach writes strongly and crafts extremely colorful characters, excelling in his rich, vivid descriptions. That said, Life Among Giants felt a bit too wandering to keep my attention. It seems best for a reader in the mood for a Gatsby-esque adventure.\u2014Laurie Blum, Farmington Hills, MI A strange and sweeping novel, Life Among Giants failed to capture my imagination, though Roorbach&amp;#039;s masterful storytelling and rendering of voice and composition are commendable. \u2014Susan Jensen, Mesa, AZ "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/books/a12542/new-novels-november-2012/>