The Art Whisperer

An Alix London Mystery, Book 3

By: Charlotte Elkins, Aaron Elkins

Narrated by: Kate Rudd

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

When art conservator Alix London spots a forgery, she knows trouble will follow. So she’s understandably apprehensive when her connoisseur’s eye spots something off about a multimillion-dollar Jackson Pollock painting at Palm Springs’s Brethwaite Museum - her current employer.

Alix is already under fire, the object of a vicious online smear campaign. Now the Brethwaite’s despicable senior curator, obsessed with the "maximization of monetized eyeballs," angrily refuses to decommission the celebrated Pollock piece. But it’s only when a hooded intruder attacks Alix in her hotel room that the real trouble begins. And when FBI Special Agent Ted Ellesworth - with whom Alix had inadvertently, but thoroughly, botched a budding relationship just a year prior - turns up to investigate the Pollock, Alix knows she’s about to have her hands full.

In her third mystery, Alix London must see through mirages in the desert to uncover the knotted history of the painting - and save herself in the process.

©2014 Charlotte and Aaron Elkins (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Enjoying the series

These books are fairly typical cozy fare, but the characters are enjoyable and the mysteries neither too far fetched nor too simplistic.

I've read three so far and am hoping there are more.

Should be a movie. Loved it

If you enjoy the exhilaration of discovery that is intrinsic to the study of the history of art you will enjoy this satisfying mystery. The authors fold into the plot numerous issues facing museums for the past 50 years Wonderful

Last third of book is a good mystery

I’d probably give this book 2.5 stars if I could, so round it up to a weak 3. This book was better than the second Alix London book, but not as good as the first in the series. The first two thirds of the book have a lot of excess verbiage (though art aficionados might enjoy it) and the mystery only starts cooking in the final third of the book. There is a Mary Higgins Clark flavor to the Alix London series and is present in this book as well. Still the main character, Alix, is likable, and the actual mystery was well crafted. In summary, this book is a great three hour mystery wrapped in a seven hour novel.

Fun Book, but Problems with Narrator

This book is just a fun little mystery. It would be a fun listen if the reader had bothered to learn some basic pronunciation. It's conSERVator, not CONservator, for instance. Just how this was allowed to go throufh, I don't know. Does anyone listen before the audio book goes out? It's jarring.

Artfully Written Book @$7.34 a bargain

Whoever said that life around fine art is dull? It is not dull for Alix London. Called in to help restore a few paintings for a museum in Palm Springs she thinks that this will be an easy assignment. She couldn’t be more wrong. Soon things will go from bad to worse.
Alix London is an art restorer with a connoisseur’s eye. This can be both a blessing and a curse. On the blessing side it helps her to restore works of art with great precision. It also allows her to act as an excellent adviser for people wanting to build their own art collections. On the other hand it can be quite a curse. She can look at a painting and get a bad feeling. That feeling always means that the painting is a forgery. Her problem is that she can’t always figure out what is bothering her. This time she just happens to look at a Pollock hanging in a museum where she is restoring some works scheduled for sale. She can’t quite place her finger on what is wrong with it, but there is just something about it. Within hours of raising a question about the Pollock there is an attempt on her life. This is just the beginning of what will be Alix’s most dangerous adventure to date.
The Art Whisperer is just the enjoyable, lighthearted mystery we have come to expect from the Alix London series. All of our favorite characters are here and we get a little more development each time. We have Alix’s father Geoff, a one-time curator and forger. Geoff’s old friend and accomplice Tiny is along for the ride. Alix’s friend Chris, the multi-millionaire tech expert, makes an appearance with her usual flair. Of course Alix, once again, works with FBI Special Agent Ted Ellsworth. She is worried about her relationship with Ted. She still has a crush on him, but after the way she spoke to him at the end of the last novel she doesn’t know if he wants anything to do with her.
As always the characters are enjoyable. The story is paced nicely and well written. Alix London really does deserve her own television series. This would be an enjoyable show to watch and it would actually be quite educational. It isn’t often that one gets to hear about great works of art in mystery literature. At 7 hours 44 minutes it is an easy book to listen to, perfect for taking with you on vacation. If you haven’t listened to the other Alix London books before you should dive right in. If you have read the first two then you don’t need to hesitate for a minute. Pick this up and enjoy.

Kate Rudd was good with the delivery of the story.

Masterpieces, Fakes, and a Smear Campaign

The third in the Alix London series finds the art restorer in Palm Springs at the Brethwaite Museum, where a painful staff reduction is about to take place. Alix is there to restore some of the art works before they are put up for auction by the museum, when one particular painting gives her pause, a Jackson Pollock. Not a fan of Pollock’s work, Alix isn’t exactly sure what it is about the painting that is bothering her, but for some reason, she suspects that it’s a fake. Discussing it with her reformed art forger father, Geoff London and his friend, Tiny, even they cannot find its flaw. So, either it’s a very good fake . . . or it’s the real thing. But as tensions rise in the Brethwaite, and the staff become more fearful of the changes being made by the Senior Curator, Alix becomes even more convinced she is right. Meanwhile an on-line blog and reviews of Alix’s work in art conservation magazines, were being fed by some hateful person or people out to destroy her career. But why? I really like this series a lot. 😊 Fun, clean and artsy. And this one in particular holds an absolutely wonderful ending!

Another excellent Alix London art mystery

Like the two prior novels in the series The Art Whisperer is a light, fast moving and fun suspense mystery with great characters. Alix's relationship with her convicted art forger dad is fully repaired and her once budding romantic relationship with FBI Special Agent Ted Ellsworth is definitely on the mend. This novel is Book 3 in the Alix London series. Kate Rudd's narration is excellent.

Unusual story

I like art sleuths. this was fascinating
and it had a human story to go with it.

Almost unbearable

Perhaps as a novel, this is a good book. Buy, as an audio book, I found it very trite and downright irritating.

Fun and easy

Fun facts about art with an entertaining mystery. Not the most wonderful narrator but if you want a break from reality, buy this book.