DUPED

A HARRY BARTLETT MYSTERY

An hour past St. Patrick’s Day, 1990, two men dressed as Boston cops steal 13 objects worth $200m from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum near Fenway Park. Nearby, Uncle Louie, an ex-mobster turned stolen art retrieval expert, is reappropriating two paintings from a personal residence that were stolen from a museum. Both break-ins go undetected.
At 8 AM, Uncle Louie receives a frantic call from his nephew Harry Bartlett, a Gardner Board member. He needs Uncle Louie’s expertise because a $20m ransom demand expires in 7 days. He hesitates to reenter the criminal world but he loves the Gardner, the spot where he and his Mom sought refuge from his abusive Dad. His Mom’s advice is simple: “nail the f’ ing bastards.”
He takes the case, but there are complications including discovering forgeries, running afoul of local mobsters, and FBI agents itching to throw him in jail. On top of it all, Mom is dying.
Working with a lieutenant that he’s known for decades and a sympathetic FBI agent with a crush on him, Uncle Louie scours Boston for the stolen art. But will he find it in time?