• The Art Forger

  • By: B. A. Shapiro
  • Narrated by: Xe Sands
  • Length: 10 hrs
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (3,680 ratings)

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The Art Forger  By  cover art

The Art Forger

By: B. A. Shapiro
Narrated by: Xe Sands
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Publisher's summary

On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art, today worth over $500 million, were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there's more to this crime than meets the eye.

Making a living reproducing famous artworks for a popular online retailer and desperate to improve her situation, Claire is lured into a Faustian bargain with Aiden Markel, a powerful gallery owner. She agrees to forge a painting - a Degas masterpiece stolen from the Gardner Museum - in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But when that very same long-missing Degas painting is delivered to Claire's studio, she begins to suspect that it may itself be a forgery.

Her desperate search for the truth leads Claire into a labyrinth of deceit where secrets hidden since the late 19th century may be the only evidence that can now save her life.

©2012 Barbara Shapiro (P)2012 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"A clever, twisty novel about art, authenticity, love, and betrayal. B. A. Shapiro knows about Degas, and she knows about art theft and forgery, and she also knows how to tell a gripping story." (Tom Perrotta)

What listeners say about The Art Forger

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,520
  • 4 Stars
    1,388
  • 3 Stars
    577
  • 2 Stars
    130
  • 1 Stars
    65
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,511
  • 4 Stars
    1,043
  • 3 Stars
    475
  • 2 Stars
    146
  • 1 Stars
    86
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,433
  • 4 Stars
    1,139
  • 3 Stars
    506
  • 2 Stars
    120
  • 1 Stars
    57

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engrossing and Exceptionally Performed

This story is fantastic, but Xe Sands is incredible! I wish she performed every novel with a female protagonist.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Painters would love this

Loved the peek into an artist's work and life. Great story! Great narration as well.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great: Characters, Plot, Performance

If you could sum up The Art Forger in three words, what would they be?

imaginative
depth
entertaining

What did you like best about this story?

The way in which it was written, how it jumped between present day happenings and the letters of Isabella Gardner.

Which character – as performed by Xe Sands – was your favorite?

Obviously Claire. But in general I found Xe Sands performance of all characters to be one of the best I've heard on Audible so far.

Any additional comments?

Holy goodness. This was an excellent read. It was thrilling and easy to read. I enjoyed the characters and plot. It was predictable, yet unpredictable all at the same time.

The audiobook was a delight. The narrator did a fantastic job without being too theatrical. I would highly recommend to young adults and adults alike. Not an overly romantic novel, even though the plot may suggest so.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book and equally great rendition

The story is very realistic and the character building exquisite. Taking a heroine with all her flaws and making the reader fall in love with the character is done extremely well.

Loved the ending and loved that the clues were all there for those who love to figure out the ending (me) but still kept me listening till the end.

The voice of Xe brings out the emotions well and made it a great listen. One of the few where I felt the voice made the book better to listen than read high speed!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Fair story read way too slowly

Would you try another book from B. A. Shapiro and/or Xe Sands?

No. The story was OK but the main character was terrible - insecure to a ridiculous degree, self deceiving, with bad judgement (so bad, it was not believable). The narration was much too slow; eventually I borrowed the book from the library in order to skip to the end and find out what happened because I couldn't stand the thought of another two hours of listening. That's a first for me. As for Xe Sands, here voice was fine (occasionally whiney but based on the character, that was appropriate). There was some action to the story but not much, and it got lost between the navel-gazing/angst indulgence of the main character and the slowness of the reading.

If you’ve listened to books by B. A. Shapiro before, how does this one compare?

No idea. This was my first, and it's going to be my last.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Xe Sands?

Anyone who could have speeded things up. Xe Sands would have been fine if she doubled her speed.

What character would you cut from The Art Forger?

The main character. She spent so much time agonizing over everything and doing things that were just plain stupid -- helping people who were users, then expecting thanks; not realizing that no one wants to be shown to be wrong, especially "experts", and wondering why people didn't welcome her interference when the outcome made them look bad. Duh. And did I say "agonizing" yet? She did so much of it, over EVERYTHING, that I think it needs repeating.

Any additional comments?

This is the first audio book for which I am going to request a refund. Don't waste a credit on this.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Unappealing main character

I like the premise and story of this book, but the main character was frustrating. I just couldn't relate to her complaining and worrisome nature. The performance also lacked refinement. The narrator did this odd intonation for men, which made it difficult to listen to.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting art world romance

Would you consider the audio edition of The Art Forger to be better than the print version?

The narrator was very good and held characters persona well,

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I felt the protagonist was naive and only somewhat plausible,

Any additional comments?

Reviews comparing voice to print is missing the basis for reviews.... Is it a good story? Is it read well consistently with story and characters? Did it hold my attention? Your questions do not lead to accurate reviews.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Didn't Expect to Love It

Even though I have always wanted to take an Art Appreciation course, I didn't expect to really like this book. But my sister recommended it highly. Well, I was hooked!! Maybe not right away, but it did happen. I learned much about art and the art world. That was crucial to the story. Yes the ending was slightly predictable but was still more than wonderful!! This was one of those books that I truly did not want to end.

Parts in the end dragged on slightly (the never ending drama between Claire and Aiden, pursuit by law enforcement authorities) but it was worth it overall.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Art Forger is authentic!

Great performance of an intriguing story about so many aspects of the art world. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed the Story

Very good. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys art and history and such and so on. Yes.

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