Woman on Fire

Lisa Barr

Mystery Thriller

From the author of the award-winning Fugitive Colors and The Unbreakables, a gripping tale of a young, ambitious journalist embroiled in an international art art scandal centered around a Nazi-looted masterpiece–forcing the ultimate showdown between passion and possession, lovers and liars, history and truth. NOW A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Actress Sharon Stone set to produce and star in the film adaptation of WOMAN ON FIRE.

After talking her way into a job with Dan Mansfield, the leading investigative reporter in Chicago, rising young journalist Jules Roth is given an unusual–and very secret–assignment. Dan needs her to locate a painting stolen by the Nazis more than 75 years earlier: legendary Expressionist artist Ernst Engel’s most famous work, Woman on Fire. World-renowned shoe designer Ellis Baum wants this portrait of a beautiful, mysterious woman for deeply personal reasons, and has enlisted Dan’s help to find it. But Jules doesn’t have much time; the famous designer is dying.

Meanwhile, in Europe, provocative and powerful Margaux de Laurent also searches for the painting. Heir to her art collector family’s millions, Margaux is a cunning gallerist who gets everything she wants. The only thing standing in her way is Jules. Yet the passionate and determined Jules has unexpected resources of her own, including Adam Baum, Ellis’s grandson. A recovering addict and brilliant artist in his own right, Adam was once in Margaux’s clutches. He knows how ruthless she is, and he’ll do anything to help Jules locate the painting before Margaux gets to it first.

A thrilling tale of secrets, love, and sacrifice that illuminates the destructive cruelty of war and greed and the triumphant power of beauty and love, Woman on Fire tells the story of a remarkable woman and an exquisite work of art that burns bright, moving through hands, hearts, and history.

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

4.5 out of 5 stars (4.5 / 5) Who would’ve thought a story about a painting would be so gripping?

Jules is set on a task to find a painting stolen by the Nazi’s 75 years earlier. Unbeknownst to Jules, others are looking for this painting too. She is taken on the ride of her life tracking the painting with her team and following leads from numerous different sources. Others try to thwart her progress and the results could end in catastrophe.

This book is a little historical, a bit romance and a lot thriller. It’s fast-paced and full of characters that I loved. I was truly surprised how quick this book grabbed me. Reading the synopsis, I figured I’d enjoy it but that it would be slow-paced and more of a historical fiction. The story takes place in the present with few flashes to the past to fill in the story.

I adored the flashes of the past. WW2 and Nazi Germany can be interesting themselves, but when you add in the stolen paintings that I’ve only heard rumors about, it became a mystery that needed to be solved. More importantly, it actually could be solved with a lot of help from others and quite a bit of luck.

It’s about love, loss, revenge and secrets but also fighting for what you believe is right. It’s an adventure across the globe and throughout the art world. I highly recommend this one!

General content summary: F words: 20+, a man has a secret male lover, a child witnesses his mothers murder (few details), a woman is taken captive, previous overdose (suicide attempt), detailed intimacy, alcoholism, murder (details but no blood), a child poisons an adult, previous suicide, f/f intimacy (few details), blood, physical aggression. 

Thank you to Harper Perennial for the gifted copy!

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

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