This was a very enjoyable and well written book.

I like architecture, so I loved the fact that our main character was an architect, or atleast studying to become one.

I also liked the fact that some of the story took place in Hungary, a country I'm not overly familiar with.

It was very tense, and there were plenty of times when I had no idea who could be trusted and who couldn't.

Thank you to Alison Booth, NetGalley and publishers RedDoor Books (RedDoor Press) for the chance to read this book.

The Painting - Alison Booth

When Anika Molnar flees her home country of Hungary not long before the break-up of the Soviet Union, she carries only a small suitcase - and a beautiful and much-loved painting of an auburn-haired woman in a cobalt blue dress from her family's hidden collection. Arriving in Australia, Anika moves in with her aunt in Sydney, and the painting hangs in pride of place in her bedroom. But one day it is stolen in what seems to be a carefully planned theft, and Anika's carefree life takes a more ominous turn. Sinister secrets from her family's past and Hungary's fraught history cast suspicion over the painting's provenance, and she embarks on a gripping quest to uncover the truth.

There is such a contrast in this story between war torn Hungary, where you can trust no-one and Australia, free and safe. The descriptions were beautifully evocative which I loved.
Anika has clearly had a difficult time in Hungary and no one is forthcoming with information when she tries to discover more about her painting and her families history. She is quite naive and trusting in her relationships, but she has taken a liking to Daniel and another man Jonny seems interested in her too. I liked Anika but I was very mistrustful of a lot of the male characters! There seemed to be a lot of hidden agendas. Aunt Tabilla seems kind but won’t speak about the painting, Anikas parents are still in Hungary and watched. Any phone calls are listened in to - I didn’t know where this was going and the eventual unmasking of the thief was a surprise. Anika has to confront the ghosts of her families history, I loved the connection with her grandmother, this felt really special and reminded me of my own family connections

‘When you were born and bred under communism, you didn’t think of insurance.’

An evocative but thoughtful mystery, The Painting made me think more about our history, how badly humans treat each other and it made me think about how and who we trust.
For me, this book felt ultimately about family and love. To be able to spend time with your loved ones and talk, really talk and listen is so important and this really brought this home to me.


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Thank you to Helen Richardson PR, Alison Booth and Red Door Books for my copy of the book and my spot on the blog tour

Thank you to Helen Richardson for my invitation to the tour and to Red Door Press for my copy of the book in return for a fair and honest review.

The story begins with Anika taking a painting to a gallery, the painting has travelled with her from her native Hungary and now is on the wall in her bedrooom. The painting of a beautiful woman with auburn hair turns out to be by an artist called Antoine Rocheteau a French Impressionist. Given to her by her Uncle Anika takes it to an Art Gallery in New South Wales on the insistence of her Aunt Tabilla who she now lives with in Australia. The gallery are shocked at the painting and tell her to get in valued but she also must have provenance which she does not.

Her Aunt gives her the number of a man called Julius Singer who she knows and owns a gallery and when Anika shows him the painting his reaction is very different to that of Daniel in the first gallery. This shocks Anika and she vows not to make contact with him again.

Anika’s family are still in Hungary where savings where not allowed by the Communist Party. As she tries to uncover the truth about the painting, it becomes more complex and the story of how her aunt left Hungary and the lives her family who still live there have.

Anika has been dating Daniel who she met at the first gallery and one night when she return home she finds the painting has been stolen. She knew that the painting must be important for her parents to have given it to her to bring to Australia but can she find out the truth about it ?

This is a slow burner but it really steps up the pace and I really enjoy a book that gives me an insight to an area in history I am not familiar with. It is apparent that Anika and her family have experienced many atrocities in Hungary which haunt her and she trusts no-one. This is a really well researched and engrossing read and I really love a story set around a precious art work and this one ticked all the boxes for me. Secrets and the past of a painting all come to light in this wonderful book.


4.5 Stars ****.5

When Anika Molnar fled her home country of Hungary for freedom beyond the Iron Curtain in Australia, she was looking forward to a life full of opportunity without the suspicion that clouds the existence of all living under the watchful eye of Soviet masters. So far, her new life has been just what she was hoping for, apart from the usual struggles of a newly arrived immigrant: living with her Aunt Tabilla in a quiet Sydney suburb, she is studying to be an architect, and working to view life in a more positive way, but she misses her family terribly and cannot imagine how she will ever see them again.

Other than a small suitcase, Anika brought with her very little in the way of possessions, apart from a small painting of an auburn-haired woman in a cobalt blue dress which once belonged to her Uncle Tomas, that she intended to give to her aunt as a reminder of her late husband. Since the painting only reminds Tabilla of all she has lost in Hungary following the death of Tomas, and her own traumatic flight after the Hungarian Revolution, she gifts the painting to Anika instead. Anika places the picture on her bedroom wall as a reminder of the things she too has lost.

One weekend, Anika decides to take the painting to an event at The Art Gallery of New South Wales hoping they will be able to tell her something about its history. Her grandmother always told her it was by a Hungarian artist and Tomas acquired it during WWII, but she knows nothing else about it, not even the name of the artist. When she discovers that this painting is actually by a famous French Impressionist her life is turned upside down, and she is left with many questions she has no answers to. How can she ever find out the truth when the only people she can ask are trapped thousands of miles away?

When the painting is stolen from Anika's bedroom wall one afternoon, seemingly in a well planned operation, she struggles with the fact that she may never know the truth about not only this painting, but the others that hang away from prying eyes in her grandmother's apartment back home in Hungary. The only way to find her answers, and settle her worries about her family's past is to head back to Hungary and ask some uncomfortable questions to her loved ones - and with the fall of the Berlin Wall, her chance has finally come.

The Painting is a slow burning, and complex, genre busting combination of mystery, thriller and romance, which beautifully contrasts the idea of what it means to be free by comparing life in Australia with that under the weight of the oppressive regime in Hungary during the Cold War - and in doing so, takes us on a journey filled with raw and uncomfortable truths that have been kept as closely guarded family secrets for so long.

While I am not about to delve into what Anika discovers about the painting, her family and herself in her quest to uncover the truth, I can tell you that this compelling and well-researched novel will take you to some dark places. Alison Booth writes movingly about the horrific events that took place in Hungary during WWII in those terrible days when Nazi occupation was replaced with an equally brutal new regime in the form of the Russian army, and the way this affected the lives of those forced to endure what followed.

Interestingly, she does not do this with a blow by blow account of events, but rather through the gradual unveiling of the truth through the interactions of Anika with her family members, highlighting how their lives were shaped by events and exploring the disparity between their outlooks and behaviours. In many ways, the painting itself is not the central theme here, but rather a device to show the understanding that comes with openness, to acknowledge the pain of the past, and to to bring about redemption and forgiveness, which I found intriguing.

Inevitably, this is a story full of poignant echoes of grief and loss in many forms, but it is also thrums with the deep love of family, and examines the myriad ways in which we remember the past. It's evocative, emotional and engrossing, with an ending that ties up all the loose ends with a lovely message of hope.

Anika flees from Hungary to Australia with a painting which is a gift from her father and hangs it in the living room of her aunt's house. The painting seems to have a known value. However, the painting gets stolen and the painting seems to have a history spanning during the WWII years to Hungarian Revolution.

The plot sounded interesting to me. In the beginning, it was a little bit boring, but in the middle part of the book, the story gets interesting with the painting being stolen and the history behind the painting fascinated and intrigued me at the same time. Nonetheless, the story was set when Berlin Wall collapses and the end of Soviet Union with Hungary having their first elections after years of communism rule so the author did a good job researching about the history. The writing was great however and so are the characters.

Overall, it was actually a good book--worth three and a half stars in my opinion. I haven't read any books from this author but I would like to read more books from her in future.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

“Trust dies but mistrust blossoms” – Sophocles


I have to admit that this book didn’t really take me in the direction, or on the journey I had thought it was going to, as I incorrectly assumed from the premise that this was going to be an investigation by the authorities into a missing work of art and its possible subsequent retrieval.

However, whilst the painting was still clearly the focal point of the premise, the story was much more a unique and unconventional work of cultural fiction, driven and directed by the detective skills, of Anika, the owner of this work of art, as its disappearance piques her interest and curiosity about its past identity and heritage, almost to the point where it becomes an all-consuming obsession for her, from which, only the truth will set her free from the terrible places her thoughts lead her and the wartime atrocities she imagines her family might have been involved in.

Anika’s story was packaged beautifully and fitted very neatly into a relatively short book, where there were no wasted words or lengthy passages to grapple with. Yes, at times it did feel a little formulaic and I might have enjoyed a much more leisurely reminiscence about Anika’s Hungarian family life, pre-Australia. However, taken as a whole, it said all it needed to and offered a short, but insightful glimpse into a vignette of a country once at war and fighting for its very existence against its much larger subversive aggressors and the overwhelming force used on an already bruised and battered population; whilst highlighting the determination and steadfastness of a family to survive, against all the odds, with the hope of finding an increasing sense of peace, calm and safety in the months and years to come.

Anika’s journey to join her aunt, who has built a new life for herself in Australia, is poignant and inspirational. For whilst Anika is homesick, it is not for her previous life, but entirely for her family, who she misses with all her heart. News from Hungary though, does portend better days of freedom ahead, when perhaps, as well as her making the trip home to see them, there may come a time when the family can make the journey across the ocean and visit Australia, to see for themselves the life and opportunities Anika is creating for herself.

The dual location aspect of the story worked exceptionally well, especially the way in which it was formatted into two distinct halves, rather than switching back and forth. The fact that the timeline remained ‘real-time’ constant throughout also added to the realism and authenticity of the journey, although I had to keep reminding myself that this was very much a story of the late 1980s and not from a more modern time, especially as the author did such an amazing job of keeping the narrative and descriptions authentic and true to the era.

Meanwhile, the emotional trauma from the loss of the painting troubles Anika so much, that despite all the difficulties she might have to overcome to make such a trip, she is unable to rest until she returns for a short holiday to the country of her birth, to discover for herself the secrets of her grandmother’s treasured ‘gallery of art’ and the origins of the painting which was gifted to her via her deceased uncle and which was the subject of the subsequent cruel theft.

This well structured story became more multi-layered and textured as it progressed, as new and alternative options became available to Anika in her search and quest for the truth about her ‘stolen’ painting. The emotional intensity of the narrative and dialogue was palpable, the air was constantly crackling with tension, as the stress and strain ratcheted up notch by notch for Anika, especially when she doesn’t know who to trust, so ends up by trusting no-one, which leaves her feeling isolated, alone, highly vulnerable and susceptible to being taken advantage of, which she soundly is, by the ever dubious motives of the story-seeking press, who push a truly naive Anika to her limits and intrude into the private life of her family, with complete disregard for their feelings. Along with the lies and duplicitous nature of his cavalier behaviour, that Jonno also toys with Anika’s feelings and emotions only serves as a point of fact about the press truly deserving the dubious reputation, which so often precedes them.

Such behaviour also makes Anika even more sceptical when the attentions of another potential suitor are turned on her. Can she trust her own feelings, or his actions. Are his intentions towards her genuine, or is he also playing silly self-centred games with her fragile state of mind? Once Anika can clear her head of some of the negativity she has heaped upon herself, she can take some valuable time to work out where her life is going and how she wants to embrace her future.

The narrative was observationally descriptive and rich in detail, whilst the dialogue was intuitive, fluid and perceptive, offering a real sense of time and place to the point where I could imagine myself shadowing Anika on her travels, eavesdropping on her conversations and sitting quietly whilst she wrestles with her own personal demons in quiet solitude.

My suspect list for the perpetrator of the crime was continually expanding and changing, and although I hadn’t quite worked out every detail and nuance of their motive, also in spite of the several red herrings thrown into the mix, I did identify the culprit some time before the official reveal. In fact the name I had in the frame didn’t appear to feature on anyone else’s radar at all, which was more than a little surprising!

The almost complete disinterest of the police to the burglary, despite the subsequent valuation of the painting, was staggering to say the least and if the ending hadn’t happened quite as it did, I have no doubt that this would have remained an unsolved case for a very long time!! Alison did an excellent job of really making me dislike them all to a man, almost to the point where if I could have got my hands on any one of them, a resounding kick up the rear end would have been obligatory!

The rest of the characters, although well drawn and defined, were really not easy to connect with or relate to and I never found myself totally investing in them. Each carried their own emotional baggage, which made them very guarded, complex and often very vulnerable, as raw passion ran deep and keeping closely guarded secrets was second nature to them, each for their own reasons. Aunt Tabilla was probably the most well adjusted of this diverse character cast, and she is, as she always has been, Anika’s mentor and champion

The conclusion of Anika’s story and brief journey into the world of high finance art, was brought to a natural and satisfying conclusion, where there were no real winners or losers, any indications of wrong-doing were set to rights in a way which was filled with heartfelt and compassionate empathy for everyone concerned. Anika of course, walked away with her own prize, but you need to read her story for yourself to discover what that was!

ARC received in exchange for an Honest Review
Thank you to Red Door Press and NetGalley!

"Once you crossed the ocean you were always on the wrong side. That was the lot of the immigrant, belonging everywhere but nowhere"

The Painting by Australian novelist, Alison Booth is a novel set in 1989, the same year the Iron Curtain was broken and the Berlin Wall was taken down on live television. Anika Molnar has fled her native Budapest and in the changing times, she wonders if she will ever see her family again. Luckily for her, she is not alone. Anika lives with her aunt that fled Hungary after the Revolution of 1956 that took the life of her husband, Anika's uncle. The only thing these two women have to remind them of him is a painting that Anika took with her from Budapest. Until the painting goes missing. Until more people heard about it. Until several men are around Anika inquiring on the precedence of such an expensive painting coming from Budapest under the communist regime when no paintings could have been bought in a legal way. That is when Anika starts looking back, asking her always secretive family to remember the horrors of war and occupation under Germans and Russians.

Honestly, The Painting is a novel about family, war, immigration, and how to move forward after living vigilant and guarded your whole life. The painting is an excuse to take you in these themes, but for me, what I valued the most about this novel was that it showed me how little I knew about Hungary and the extent of communism in other countries. Historical fiction often focuses only on Germany and France when exploring these years of pain, but Alison Booth presents us with a fresh take, focusing on Hungary and Australia, both left to the side, but that formed part of the story that for some reason, we are always trying to reduce. 1989, that is not that far away. 1989 was 32 years ago. There are men and women in their 30's that probably have parents living with war trauma in Budapest, and I think it is disrespectful that more books don't address them as victims as much as we do with other countries. I am thankful Booth is remembering and honoring them while teaching people like me about the history of Hungary and the brave lives that were taken. For that, I think this novel should be read and incite you to read more about the topic.


*SPOILER
However, I found the beginning kinda slow and the mystery of who took the painting kinda unnecessary to the end. As I said, the painting is just an excuse for Anika to be pushed into investigating her family and the truth, so there was no need to be brought back at the end.
*END OF SPOILER

The writing style is a little bit repetitive and slow at the beginning for my taste (the painting takes forever to be stolen for example) but once we are taken to Budapest, I was enchanted with the story and the way Booth portrayed the trauma that the characters lived with, and the pain memories caused them.
Moreover, my copy had several typing mistakes (nothing too scandalous, but that I hope the end result will not have) and often felt repetitive due to some expressions that were overused in my opinion. This is all personal opinion of course, and I don't know if the published novel will have these issues.

Be sure to check my youtube channel and other social media for more book recommendations at Isabel's Digest
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCYIlVUaPpFE33KvomfCX7g

What a delightful book. To follow the story of the painting was incredible. Was it really worth a lot of money? How had her grandparents really come by the painting? And for her to go back to Hungary to visit her grandmother was amazing. A thoroughly good read

This book combines art, history and personal relationships in a way that would interest a number of different readers. Set in Australia and Hungary, it focuses on a young woman who leaves Communist Hungary to attend university in Australia and live with her aunt. She has a painting given to her by her family, and takes it for an appraisal only to learn it is very valuable. However, the provenance comes into question, leading her to wonder about what she really knows about her family. Two young men in Australia, a journalist and an art appraiser, are interested in her but she doesn't know whether it's because of the painting. During the course of the novel, the Communists leave Hungary and the country is about to have free elections. This allows her to go back for a visit.

I enjoyed this book because it combined so many different genres. I liked reading about the history, and the characters were also quite intriguing. It gives a really good look at the mindset of someone who grew up in an oppressive atmosphere, never trusting anyone. I've recommended this book to a number of friends!

This book had so many twists and turns that it kept me guessing and captivated throughout its entire read. I can truly say that it's been one of my favourite novels I've read so far this year.

Anika is infatuated with a painting that has been in her family for as long as she can remember. After her aunt encouragement, Anika brings the painting to an art gallery to have it examined with hopes that it can be identified as money has become tight since she has fled the communist reign in Budapest for refuge in Australia. It is during the examination that Anika discovers that the painting was not painted by a Hungarian artist as she once thought, but rather by a French Impressionist. The curator implores Anika to have its provenance in order to show that it truly is hers.

Searching for the provenance of the painting becomes much more difficult when the painting is stolen one evening while Anika and her aunt are out. An already distrustful Anika will have to learn to open herself up in order to solve the mystery of the painting and unlock the secrets that her family cannot and will not speak about..

4 stars
Wow! This is just an incredible book that takes the readers on an amazing journey. This is a great read with a thoroughly researched background and amazing characters.

A story that will linger in one's mind long after finishing the book. I found the settings of Sydney in 1989, and Budapest, just as the USSR was losing its grip on Eastern Europe particularly compelling.
Anika Molner is a powerful character as she delves deep into the provenance of a painting she has smuggled out of Communist Hungary.
This is an emotional rollercoaster, full of suspenseful moments; love, fate and history, all creating a masterpiece. A novel not to be missed.

It’s always interesting to read a book set in two different locations, in this case Australia and Hungary. The contrast of what it was like to live there, the political context and the challenges of adapting to a new life are all well depicted. I found it hard to engage with the characters and wonder if that is because the focus was so much on the plot and building a picture of where the story was taking place. The story itself is an interest blend of mystery and almost a social history.

Inspired by a newspaper article in 2014, Booth imagined writing a novel about a young and traumatized Hungarian immigrant who ends up in Australia in the mid-1980s not long before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. She imagined her carrying an impressionist painting of an auburn-haired woman of unknown provenance from her grandmother’s collection. As finances get dismal in her new country, the young Hungarian would be forced to have the painting appraised with the intent of selling. At the appraisal, Booth imagined that her character would admit to not knowing it’s provenance and shortly after having it appraised, it would be stolen in a well-planned theft.

Booth’s story came together, and she named the girl in her 20s, her protagonist, Anika Molnar. In an effort to know the truth about the painting, Anika sets off for Budapest to find out how and why her grandparents came to possess a priceless French Impressionist painting. She can’t understand how her Uncle Tomas, an engineering student from a butcher’s family, could afford such a painting. It leads her on a quest to uncover hidden secrets in her family’s past.

Although I have visited Hungary, I was ignorant of its history. I was unaware that Russia had invaded in November 1956 to quash an uprising. Many had managed to cross the border into Austria during the revolution and take shelter in refugee camps. Eventually, some of these refugees ended up in Australia. Anika’s Aunt Tabilla, was one of these immigrants. What came through very clearly for me was the lack of trust that Anika displayed. I discovered that new immigrants from Communist countries struggled with suspicion and trust. When I understood what her family had been through, I understood where this attitude came from.

“In a war, soldiers wore uniforms and the enemy could be easily identified. But in a totalitarian regime like theirs, the enemy could have been anyone. It was necessary always to be careful and always to trust no one.”

I loved the juxtaposition and contrasts in Booth’s writing! The war-ravaged Hungary set against the new land of opportunity, Australia, lent itself to a compelling story featuring a painting that symbolized the journey.

The thread running through the well-plotted story is that in order for Anika to succeed in her new, chosen country, she must address her past as well as the secret past of her family.

You’ll love this unique story set in Hungary and Australia written with the perfect balance of romance, mystery, political unrest, art, architecture, and historical facts.

To be published July 15, 2021, I don’t think it’s coincidence that “The Painting” is to be published on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union.

I was gifted this advance copy by Alison Booth, Red Door Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

A beautifully written story emotional moving.Each character came alive.I sat down to read a few pages and was so involved I read late into the night.I will be recommending The Painting to friends who I know will love it.

I am an avid thriller/ mystery reader and on first glance, I really didn't expect to like this book. The initial tone is more of a story about the past and of answers lost in time throughout the generations of a family and from another country a world away. Which is the basic premise but once I began to read, I could not stop. It was finished in a day!

From page 1, the feeling you'll get from this book is warmth and love. It's a complex tale, which goes in directions that you'd never have expected and takes you across the world. It has love and romance mixed in with mystery and drama. When everyone is hiding something then who do you believe?!as a mystery fan, I was kept guessing until the end and the end couldn't come soon enough to find out just what had gone on! And it wasn't anything I'd guessed lol.

As I said, I am obsessed with mysteries which always have a much darker and more sinister tone so it was actually a revelation to have a mystery that is so engrossing and yet also the book is so beautifully written and the whole story just has such warmth and love to it. It really does just make you think of the beautiful colours, culture and architecture of Hungary..... but in words!

The author has an amazing way with words to set the scene so clearly and to really paint the most vivid images in your mind as you read with very little effort from the reader. It is very cleverly written and manages to be both a historical story, a romance, a woman trying to find the truth about her family history, a mystery, and just a feel good fiction novel!

The characters are very well written and you'll find yourself recognising your own family members/ friends in them. There is something very relatable and real about these people and you do genuinely feel for them and the situations/ suspicions that they're facing. It's also steeped in enough historical accuracy to make it quite a fascinating and educational read about living in these circumstances that hopefully none of us ever have to experience and the fears and dangers and extremes that people had to go to to survive them.

I couldnt speak highly enough of this book and it has definitely opened my eyes to what a "mystery/ thriller" can be! It's nice to take a step away from the usual who dunnits which can all get a bit samey after the while but this was just so new and fresh. It really wasn't what I had expected or anticipated however I have no complaints about that and this will definitely be either the perfect summer read or the perfect escape for the current pandemic drama!

I really enjoyed this book. It is beautifully and sympathetically written. It is written about a very turbulent time in World history but it invokes the time period perfectly without being too heavy handed. Anika is a really well written, lovely and heart warming character who I enjoyed spending time with. She is a strong character having to adjust to life in Australia after fleeing from Hungary, and having to learn to trust people again after growing up in a communist country. She then discovers that a painting that has been passed onto her by her family may not be all it seems and she has to face up to her family’s past during and after World War 2. This book is a really good piece of historical fiction.

A story of a painting that ties generations together, and apart. The story is well written, with nice characters and an engaging plot.

While the premise of The Painting really pulled me in, I had a hard time staying engaged with the plot and characters. The European history was really interesting and I had been hoping to learn more of the protagonist's family during WWI/WWII in order to better understand their plight. But when it came down to that bit of information, it was not much more than a few lines of dialogue. Much of the book was character reflection, but I still didn't feel that Annika or the supporting characters were fully developed. Lots of hints and edges, but nothing super deep. I'm giving The Painting 3 stars because there were pieces I enjoyed, but it had so much more potential.

“When something was over, you couldn’t have regrets or dwell on the past. Yet the past was not always so willing to let you go. Even though you did all you could to kick it behind you, it could bounce back when you least expected it and knock you hard.”

The Painting is the sixth novel by Australian author, Alison Booth. She only had a small suitcase when she left Budapest, but Anika Molnar’s father insisted she take the painting with her to Australia. A portrait of an auburn-haired woman in a blue dress, it was only small and had an indistinct signature, but it represented home to Anika, having hung on her Nyenye’s wall for as long as she could remember.

As Uncle Tomas’s widow, Aunt Tabilla was the rightful owner, but she immediately gave it to Anika: she had cast off her old life and didn’t need any reminders: she lives in Sydney now. When Tabilla points out the Art Gallery of NSW notice about their regular open day for establishing the authenticity of paintings, her suggestion that Anika take the chance to find out more is not really optional.

The curators are very interested, claiming it is the work of French Impressionist, Antoine Rocheteau, and want to know its provenance; Anika can’t really say with any certainty, but Daniel Rubinstein offers to help her get a valuation. Jonno, the man behind her in the queue, is also interested (in her or the painting?)

Tabilla’s old acquaintance, 137 Gallery owner, Julius Singer has a very strange reaction when she shows him, also questioning provenance. With just one remark, Singer casts doubt on the ownership of the painting. But that all becomes academic when the painting is stolen.

It is only from the press article about the theft that Anika and Tabilla learn just how valuable it is. Anika wonders how her uncle, a mere engineering student, or his family with their butcher’s shop, could possibly have afforded it in the post-war years.

Soon, she is resigned to never seeing the painting again, but Singer’s remark lodges in her brain and, coupled with disturbing observations from Daniel and Jonno, Anika feels compelled to find out the truth. The opportunity to do so presents a few months later, as borders are relaxed, and Anika steps onto a plane to Budapest with some difficult questions for her family.

Booth easily evokes late-1980’s Sydney and Budapest, and her characters, their dialogue and mindset feel authentic. Anika is an interesting protagonist, with background that fosters mistrust: “In a war, soldiers wore uniforms and the enemy could be easily identified. But in a totalitarian regime like theirs, the enemy could have been anyone. It was necessary always to be careful and always to trust no one. Maybe distrust like hers was a scar that she would never be rid of.”

The story is cleverly plotted and keeps the reader guessing until the final neat twist that results in a very satisfactory conclusion. Booth is skilled at descriptive prose: ” If only she could empty her head but thoughts kept crowding in, as if there was a party going on that they simply had to attend.” Art theft, architecture, and family secrets add up to a fascinating, thought-provoking and heart-warming read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Red Door Books and the author.