An Artistic Masterpiece or a Forgery?

I am not by any means an expert in art.  Show me a famous painting and I probably will not know the artist.  But I still appreciate good works of art and the time, effort, and patience it takes an artist to fully realize his or her vision.  The Art Forger, B.A. Shapiro's debut novel, not only takes us into the world of art but, obviously, into the world of art forgery.

Claire Roth is an artist who made a bad name for herself when she painted a picture her then-boyfriend took credit for.  She was vilified when she finally came clean and now she paints famous works for a company called Reproductions.com.  But Claire still wants to become the famous artist she once dreamed of being.  Enter Aidan Markel, owner of a well-known gallery, who offers her a Faustian bargain: Claire forges a painting for Markel and he will give Claire her own show in his gallery.  She agrees and soon finds out that there is more to this deal than she ever suspected.  

This is a very good debut novel with some terrific insight into the world of art forgery.  There is more mystery and suspense to it than I would have initially guessed.  Pick it up if you want to learn more about art as well as enjoy a good story!