Priceless by Zygmunt Miłoszewski

Author : Zygmunt Miłoszewski
Title : Priceless
Published : 10/07/2018
Pages : 400
Genre : Mystery Thriller
Publisher : AmazonCrossing

     It begins with a tantalizing clue: a recent photograph taken of Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man—one of the most priceless masterworks ever plundered by the Nazis, which disappeared and was believed destroyed. Now, with proof of its existence, the Polish government wants it back. One wrong move and it could vanish forever. Because bound together with the missing artwork are secrets that have remained buried for a reason. That’s why they’ve enlisted a woman with the right motives: Dr. Zofia Lorentz, a tenacious historian driven by academic pride and personal desire. Zofia isn’t going at it alone. Her crack team of experts includes an ex-paramilitary tactical genius, a slick art dealer with black-market connections, and a beautiful aristocrat who is also a family outcast and one of the most ingenious art thieves in the world.

     Zygmunt its by far and away my favorite of the polish authors I have come across. His books mix a look into some of the darkest aspects of human nature as well as examining his own people and the legacy his country has whether they want it or not. This is all done wrapping it up in crime story's that have kept me up at night with a grim determination to avoid sleep just so I can get to the end. It has however been some time since I finished the Prosecutor Szacki trilogy and I was starting to give up hope of ever seeing another of his books in translation. Every now and again I trawl various bookshops and online stores for authors I have loved reading just to see if anything new was on the horizon. So of course when I saw this up for pre-order I did that without even reading the blurb. 

     I suppose the first thing to note about this newest book is that the themes and style of this are not the same as his other crime books. This, however, is nothing to worry about, It means that we get to look into the lives of a whole new group of people and also see Poland form a different perspective. A lighter and at times more comical group of people and events. It doesn't take long to get to grips with who each of these people are. Each comes from a very distinct background which means the parts they are to play is handed to us. That is to say, if you don't allow for human nature, this leads to some moments of both laughter and tension. If oceans eleven had had more honorable motives and been set in Poland you probably would be too far off. The more time I spent with this group the more I came to enjoy there company. It's hard not to, there is something infectious about them that means you get behind them in this adventure they have set out on. Despite all this, they do seem to get themselves into so tricky situations and only by the skin of there teeth do the get out, because, for the most part, it isn't there skill.  

     As I have said before this is a different direction for the author, it moves away from what has come before and allows us to see his style used in a different genre. With the lighter tone comes a story on a more global scale. You never can tell where the search for a painting stolen during world war two will take you and who will try and stop you from getting to the truth. Whereas his previous books are very much Polish Noir, this Is more the grand adventure, and a race against the clock. With tensions building from outside and within you have to wonder if they will ever reach their goal. The author, however, has not taken the easy path and just phoned this book in. He has done his research into the world of art and those who have chosen to make there living from stealing it. I learned a few things about how the professional determine if a painting is an original and how to spot a clever fake. All done in such a way that it didn't pull me out of the story. Being as how the subject deals with the theft of art during world war two, we do see some of the more informs Nazi's of the time come up, and how they systematically striped not only Poland but also Europe of its art treasures. Some of which are still lost to this day. 

     This was a joy to read and more than once put a smile on my face. It's fast-paced and clever mixing grand adventure with a lesson in history and art. If like me when you are finished you will be hoping to see them again in another adventure. It's one of those books that you can happily take to the beach on a beautifully sunny day and let the story take you away.