The strange case of the Dutch painter by Timothy Miller

 

Name of Book: The Strange Case of the Dutch Painter

Author: Timothy Miller 

ISBN: 978-1-64506-042-0

Publisher: Seventh Street Books

Part of a Series: The strange case of Eliza Doolittle  is first in series 

Type of book: 1890, impressionism, Vincent Van Gogh, France, Paris, forgeries, gentleman, clues, death, suicide, lack of John Watson, caretaker, talent, gender, mysteries, haystacks, North America, rigging, money 

Year it was published: 2022

Summary:

Paris, 1890. When Sherlock Holmes finds himself chasing an art dealer through the streets of Paris, he’s certain he’s smoked out one of the principals of a cunning forgery ring responsible for the theft of some of the Louvre’s greatest masterpieces. But for once, Holmes is dead wrong.

He doesn’t know that the dealer, Theo Van Gogh, is rushing to the side of his brother, who lies dying of a gunshot wound in Auvers. He doesn’t know that the dealer’s brother is a penniless misfit artist named Vincent, known to few and mourned by even fewer.

Officialdom pronounces the death a suicide, but a few minutes at the scene convinces Holmes it was murder. And he’s bulldog-determined to discover why a penniless painter who harmed no one had to be killed–and who killed him. Who could profit from Vincent’s death? How is the murder entwined with his own forgery investigation?

Holmes must retrace the last months of Vincent’s life, testing his mettle against men like the brutal Paul Gauguin and the secretive Toulouse-Lautrec, all the while searching for the girl Olympia, whom Vincent named with his dying breath. She can provide the truth, but can anyone provide the proof? From the madhouse of St. Remy to the rooftops of Paris, Holmes hunts a killer—while the killer hunts him.

Characters:

Main characters include Vernet, aka Sherlock Holmes, a famous British detective who is investigating a forgery ring. Vernet is intelligent, observant and highly knowledgeable about what seems to be everything. Accompanying Vernet is Dr. Lermolieff, a non de plume used by an unknown man who is acting in Dr. Watson's stead: he can tell difference between real and forgeries and cannot stand impressionists. Theo Van Gogh a man of Dutch origins  is an art dealer with a young family and also looks after his talented older brother, Vincent Van Gogh who seems to be best described as meek and extremely talented ( or in today's days suffering from personality disorder...) there is also Gaguin, a friend of Vincent's who can manipulate people to his will as well as some other characters.        

Theme:

Honestly speaking, I think thenmain question or argument was about the forgeries and when new crouches on old 

Plot:

The story is in first person narrative: first from John Watson's point of view as he introduces the story, followed by the mysterious Dr. Lermolieff, a talented man who could tell differences between art forgeries and real paintings done by artists. The main story does contain Sherlock Holmes as named Vernet, and a backstory about Sherlock Holmes is given, which was pretty interesting. For awhile I thought Lermolieff was Watson, but it wasn't him and was someone else. While at first the story made sense, I had trouble following Vernets twists and turns and also had issues in trying to identifying the problem and plot.     

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Timothy Miller is a native of Louisiana, a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans. He has directed and designed lighting for plays in New Orleans and Chicago. His short play “Bumped” was filmed as “Scanned” starring David Jensen, and the feature film of his script “At War with the Ants” won a Silver Remi Award at Houston’s Worldfest. His screenplays have placed in several contests, including five times as a semifinalist in the Academy’s prestigious Nicholl Fellowship. He has taught English in Milan and has written for the Italian design magazine Glass Style. He tended bar for twenty-five years in New Orleans, Houston, Chicago. And San Francisco. When not mourning over his beloved New Orleans Saints he is mourning over his beloved Chicago Cubs. His favorite superhero is Underdog. His second Holmes pastiche, The Strange Case of the Dutch Painter, is now available for pre-order.

Opinion:

Yes this is a stand-alone novel: while it comes after THE STRANGE CASE OF ELIZA DOOLITTLE, there is no link to the first book. I honestly truly enjoyed it. Personally for me it wasn't comedic like the previous book, but it was highly educational, especially as it relates to impressionists and how they were seen. I also liked learning about van Gogh and his relationships to his brother and his friend. Seriously, for educational value alone, I would highly recommend it. I am not sure if its intentional, but in some instances, I had trouble understanding what if any there was connection between the crime and Theos murder: I will warn that the book focuses on two disparate plots instead of just one, and the actions Sherlock Holmes takes are more for long term knowledge rather than short term.  

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)