Chasing Mona Lisa by Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey ~ review

Product Details

• Paperback: 325 pages
• Publisher: Revell (January 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800720466
• ISBN-13: 978-0800720469

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2012

It is August 1944 and Paris is on the cusp of liberation. As the soldiers of the Third Reich flee the Allied advance, they ravage the country, stealing countless pieces of art. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring will stop at nothing to claim the most valuable one of all, the Mona Lisa, as a post-war bargaining chip to get him to South America. Can Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler rescue DaVinci's masterpiece before it falls into German hands?

With nonstop action, Chasing Mona Lisa is sure to get readers' adrenaline pumping as they join the chase to save the most famous painting in the world. From war-ravaged Paris to a posh country chateau, the race is on--and the runners are playing for keeps.

My take on this book:

I have read several books written by Tricia Goyer and would consider her a favorite author, but with this title I just couldn't get into the story. I am not sure if the problem was because this book was a sequel to "The Swiss Courier" which I didn't read. Generally I love historical fiction, especially when there is bits of truth woven in but there were a few things that didn't work for me in this book.

It took several pages for me to even get interested in the story, but once I did the French phrases used bogged me down, while I could figure out what they meant based on where they were used, it would have been very nice to have had a translation page included in the book so that I wouldn't have had to guess at what the phrases meant. There were also instances where I thought the authors went overboard on descriptions, which made me want to skip parts of the story. I did enjoy the fact that there were a few strong female characters,and it was easy to see that the authors had done their research about the subject they were writing about, but those things  alone just couldn't hold my attention. 

Overall this book just wasn't for me, but that is just my opinion. If your a fan of historical fiction, or spy novels with a bit of a romance thrown in then I encourage you to pick up this book, who knows you just might love it.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

rating 2.5/5

"Available January 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.