Fake

Russian oligarch Leonard Sobetsky makes aspiring artist Emma Caan, the narrator of this propulsive thriller from Katz (The Boys’ Club), the kind of offer typically associated with a whiff of sulfur: leave Manhattan’s Gemini Reproductions, where she’s one of a stable cranking out (strictly legal) brushstroke-perfect replicas of masterpieces for their owners, to copy exclusively for him and he’ll not only pay handsomely but also give her entrée to the art world’s stratosphere. In a flash, the 26-year-old segues from subways and ramen to Instafamous assistant director at a prestigious gallery, winging on her benefactor’s private jet to a Hong Kong art fair to broker megabucks sales and party epically. All the while, however, she’s anxiously waiting for the other Louboutin to drop—which readers know will happen since this twisty tale, which unspools largely in flashbacks, opens with Emma being grilled by FBI agents concerning her dealings with Sobetsky. Though a key secondary story line about Emma’s dysfunctional family feels contrived, the author’s exposing of some of the art business’s more egregious manipulations and frauds makes for genuinely captivating entertainment. Katz remains a writer to watch. Agent: Allison Hunter, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Feb.)