Painter on the Road to Tarascon by van Gogh

What if the most valuable painting thought destroyed in WWII was never destroyed at all but fell into the hands of the Russians. That is the premise for The Russian van Gogh.

A couple years back I was searching online for the most valuable painting lost in the destruction of the Second World War and I came across The Painter on the Road to Tarascon (pictured left) by Vincent van Gogh. It is a self portrait of the artist in his "yellow period"that if it had survived would be worth more than $300 Million USD today. Of course it set my imagination on fire and the result is one of my favorite thrillers I have written but of course judge for yourself. And for the next two days you can download it for free to your Kindle.

Link (Grab for Free on Amazon)

I wrote this story essentially as the female version of Indian Jones. I wanted  it to be a fun read, an across the globe adventure in the high stakes world of multimillion dollar art. And yes Vldimir Putin plays a major role in the story.

Here is more about the story:

A secure Russian government warehouse is breached in a violent raid. Chechen terrorist Sergey Karpov now possesses a priceless van Gogh the world thought lost in an allied bombing raid in 1945.

Seized in a German museum outside Berlin by the Red Army Trophy Brigade during the last chaotic hours of WWII the masterpiece is part of a hidden stash of billions of dollars worth of stolen art the Russians want kept secret.

Karpov's plans to extort the Putin administration are met with an iron fist and he turns to the world stage releasing a shocking tape to the BBC declaring he will burn the van Gogh and other paintings if his ransom is not paid in seven days.

The Russian van Gogh is a thrilling international race against time as the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam posts a $10 Million dollar reward for the captured painting's return. And British Secret Service along with WWII stolen art recovery experts, The Monuments Men, all join the hunt.

The Monuments Men, founded at Harvard University, dispatches Art History Professor and Forensic Art Detective Riley Spenser, the world's leading expert on the paintings of van Gogh to authenticate  the painting. If it is truly the lost van Gogh from WWII it's value could reach $300 million. Riley teams with British MI6 Agent, Justin Watson, and together speed to Moscow and eventually to the most dangerous city in Russia to find the painting.

From first page to last the story is a gripping intelligent page-turner filled with intrigue and peppered with cinematic action that jumps off the page like a major motion picture.