Yesterday, there was breaking news on the Gardner Theft:
The FBI said Monday that it believes it knows who stole paintings and sketches valued at up to $500 million from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 and is seeking the public's help to track down the stolen artwork.
I wonder if the stolen Gardner paintings will be recovered before Masterpiece, the working title of my next novel, is in print.
I hope so! One of the items on my bucket list is to see The Concert by Vermeer–in person.
Personally, I doubt the thirteen items, taken on March 18, 1990, are on display in some wealthy collector's private gallery. I bet they're used as a store of currency, collateral of some kind, in black market trades.
Another question: Are the thirteen items all together in one cache of stolen loot? Not in my book (literally). The Vermeer, the Rembrandts, the Manet, the Flinck, and the works by Degas–I bet they've been split up.
What do you think?
The New York Times describes my novels as “money porn,” “a red-hot franchise,” and “glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance.” Through fiction I explore the dark side of money and the motivations of those who have it, want more, and will steamroll anybody who gets in their way.