Hello, Therians!
A few months ago I had the pleasure of reading Restrike by Reba White Williams. I'm reposting my review today for the JKSCommunications Restrike Blog Tour.
Check it out below, and be sure to stop by tomorrow as Reba will be stopping by for a quick chat!
Check it out below, and be sure to stop by tomorrow as Reba will be stopping by for a quick chat!
BOOK DETAILS
Paperback
Paperback
$12.00
ISBN: 978-1939052001
Mystery
350 pages
Delos
June 1, 2013
Money and murder go hand in glove in
the rarified art world of Reba White Williams’ exciting first novel, Restrike.
Cousins Coleman and Dinah Greene moved from North Carolina
to New York after college to make their mark on the art world: Coleman is the
editor of an influential arts magazine and Dinah is the owner of a print
gallery in Greenwich Village. But their challenges are mounting as one of
Coleman's writers is discovered selling story ideas to a competitor and The
Greene Gallery is in the red because sales are down.
When billionaire Heyward Bain arrives with a glamorous
assistant, announcing plans to fund a fine print museum, Coleman is intrigued
and plans to get to know Bain and publish an article about him. Dinah hopes to
sell him enough prints to save her gallery. At the same time, swindlers,
attracted by Bain’s lavish spending, invade the print world to grab some of his
money.
When a print dealer dies in peculiar circumstances, Coleman
is suspicious, but she can’t persuade the NYPD crime investigator of a
connection between the dealer’s death and Bain’s buying spree. After one of
Coleman’s editors is killed and Coleman is attacked, the police must
acknowledge the connection, and Coleman becomes even more determined to
discover the truth about Bain. In an unforgettable final scene, Coleman risks
her life to expose the last deception threatening her, her friends, and the
formerly tranquil print world.
Praise for Reba White Williams and Restrike
“There’s a major new presence on
the crime scene...Reba White Williams. Restrike
will strike a big hit with sophisticated readers who love culture, uncommon
criminals and terrific writing. You won’t be able to put this book down!”
–Alexandra
Penney, bestselling author of How to Make
Love to a Man, former editor-in-chief of SELF magazine
“A captivating glimpse into the glitzy New York
City art scene”
–Jane
Cleland, author of Dolled Up for Murder, a Josie Prescott Antiques mystery
“Agatha Christie,
Dorothy L. Sayers, Sue Grafton, and a few others, have a new sister in the
celebrated sorority of women mystery writers. Her
sophistication with art, fashion, food, and scent add extra pleasure to the
heart-beating tension.”
–Susan
Kinsolving, author of The White Eyelash,
Dailies and Rushes
“For art lover and mystery fan alike, Restrike is a feast.”
–Susan
Larkin, author of Top Cats: The Life and Times of the New York Public
Library Lions, American Impressionism and other books
“I was up all
night. WOW! A suspenseful, roller coaster ride through the sexy world of art.
You get to learn the inner workings of a serpentine world and have fun at the
same time.”
–Barbara
Guggenheim, author of The Ultimate
Organizer and upcoming Art World: The
Second Oldest Profession
“An intelligent,
fascinating thriller…Agatha Christie meets Muriel Spark”
–Bert
Fields, author of Royal Blood: Richard III and other novels
“Reba Williams channels Agatha Christie in this
smart and sassy whodunit that takes on the print world and hits a strike – and
a restrike”
–Jonathan Santlofer, Nero Wolfe
Award winner
“A
first-rate thriller, which holds our rapt attention until the end.”
–John
Julius Norwich, author of A History of
England in 100 Places: Stonehenge to the Guerkin
“Restrike
is a thrilling and compelling story of murder and treachery. Reba Williams kept me spellbound.”
–Francesca
Zambello, Director of Glimmerglass, director of opera and musicals, including The Little Mermaid
“A novel that does what the best fiction
should always do: it fully inhabits a fascinating subculture. The investigation at the heart of this
novel is not just into murder, but into the nature of fraud, forgery, and the
secret selves that often rise up unexpectedly to ambush us.”
–K.
L. Cook, author of Love Songs for the
Quarantined and The Girl from
Charnelle
“A fascinating glimpse into the
harrowing, high-stakes world of art fraud.
Restrike is a smart, fast-paced mystery peopled with vivid
characters both charming and dark.”
–Mindy
Friddle, author of The Garden Angel and Secret Keepers
“Restrike is savvy, saucy, and scary – a worthy debut from a writer
who bears watching.”
–Jacquelyn
Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean and What We Saw at Night
“A fast-paced tale of nefarious
dealings in New York’s art world.”
–Tom Cook, Edgar Award winning
mystery writer
“Starts out with a bang and keeps
you riveted! A first rate debut!”
–Steve Berry, New York Times bestelling author
Awards:
·
2001 Gold Medal Award
from The Spanish Institute (with Dave Williams), November 2001.
·
Woodrow Wilson Award for
Corporate Citizenship (with Dave Williams), October 2000.
·
2000 Woman of
Distinction Award, for extraordinary professional accomplishments. New York State Senate, May 2000.
·
2000 Swan Award (with
Dave Williams), lifetime achievement for furthering the arts both nationally
and internationally, Cheekwood Museum, Nashville, Tennessee.
·
Pratt Institute, Pratt
Legend, 2000.
·
1999 New York City
Council Woman of Achievement Pacesetter Award.
·
Distinguished Cultural
Leadership Award (with Dave Williams), for outstanding contributions to the
arts and culture of the Empire State, February 10, 1999.
·
Award from Primary
School 164, Brooklyn, a culture and arts magnet school, for “Dedication and
support of the arts in public school education,” June 11, 1998.
·
The Augustus Graham
Medal (with Dave Williams), presented on behalf of the Brooklyn Museum of Art
Board of Trustees, for “Outstanding support of the arts,” April 30, 1998.
·
The Polish Order of
Merit, Cavalier of the Grand Cross of Poland, First Class, honoring
contributions to the financial industry in Poland.
·
Bayard Rustin High
School for the Humanities (with Dave Williams).
Appreciation: “In helping to
re-establish a very special environment, you have begun a renaissance which we
hope continues until the school has regained its original beauty,” October 25,
1995.
BUYING LINKS:
REVIEW
Murder mysteries are always exciting to read. They allow the reader to escape reality and play detective for a few hours. And then there's always that moment of anticipation when the perp is finally revealed.
Williams does a brilliant job of keeping the suspense alive with each turn of the page, and there is never a dull moment as murder, greed, hidden pasts and family secrets grip the art world.
There are a multitude of interesting characters, and even though the story's main focus is the murder of a print dealer and Coleman's determination to discover the truth about his death, each character has their own side-story which kept the story flowing and added to the main plot. The mystery unraveled at a good pace, revealing some very surprising truths about certain characters.
All these truths, along with the many twists and turns within the plot, culminate in one thrilling ending with even more surprises.
I enjoyed every minute spent amongst the pages of this fantastic read. Lovers of suspense and mystery will be riveted by this book.
It deserves nothing less than...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reba White
Williams has written articles for American
Artist, Art and Auction, Print Quarterly and Journal of
the Print World. She served on the Print Committees of The Boston Museum of
Fine Arts, The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum and The Whitney
Museum. She was a member of the Editorial Board of Print Quarterly, and is an Honorary Keeper of American Prints at
the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University.
Williams grew up in Mississippi,
Tennessee and North Carolina. She graduated from Duke University and her
ambition at 21 years old led her to New York, where she began writing about
art, business and finance. Williams eventually earned her MBA from Harvard, MA
in Art History from Hunter, PhD in Art History from the Graduate Center, CUNY,
and MA in Fiction Writing from Antioch University.
She worked as a library
assistant, researcher at a management-consulting firm, a Wall Street securities
analyst and writer for Institutional Investor magazine and other
financial publications, and her expertise and passion for the arts led Williams
to write a mystery novel series revolving around art fraud. The first book, Restrike, releases June 2013.
Williams has served as
President of the New York City Art Commission and Vice Chairman of the New York
State Council on the Arts. In 2009, most of her and her husband’s
collection—about 5,000 prints—was donated to the National Gallery of Art in
Washington, D.C.
She and her husband founded
the annual Willie Morris Award for best Southern fiction, now in its sixth year.
With her husband and their dog Muffin, who is fictionalized in her books, Williams
divides her time between New York, Connecticut and Palm Springs.
Connect with Reba
Website: http://rebawhitewilliams.com/
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