The Legacy
Kirsten Tranter, Atria, $15 paper (432p) ISBN 978-1-4391-7718-1
This hypnotic debut from Australian author Tranter pays homage to Henry James's A Portrait of a Lady while offering a suspenseful story line worthy of Patricia Highsmith. Gorgeous, wealthy Australian Ingrid Holburne takes a break from her college studies to attend the Venice Biennale, where she meets much older art dealer Gil Grey, who manages the career of his artist daughter, Fleur, 13 and a child prodigy. After a whirlwind courtship, Ingrid marries Gil, to the dismay of Ingrid's close half-cousin, Ralph, and their mutual friend, Julia Alpers. When Ingrid apparently perishes in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, Ralph, still grieving almost a year after September 11, asks Julia to go to New York to learn more about what happened. What Julia uncovers is a rat's nest of clues that slowly and seductively drive the action to a shocking conclusion. While Tranter's sedate pacing avoids typical thriller antics and conventional crime plot twists, she raises some wickedly keen questions about art world wheeling and dealing. (Aug.)
Details
Reviewed on: 06/14/2010
Genre: Fiction
Open Ebook - 480 pages - 978-0-7304-9431-7
Other - 448 pages - 978-1-4391-7721-1
Paperback - 418 pages - 978-84-666-4626-0
Paperback - 464 pages - 978-0-85738-062-3
Paperback - 480 pages - 978-0-7322-9081-8