Michelangelo's Notebook
Paul Christopher
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2005 Onyx/Penguin
ISBN: 0451411862

Life may imitate art but death follows it.

Sr. Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has opened the floodgates to a new thriller sub-genre -- the art world mystery, or as I like to call it- the ‘artystery’, & Paul Christopher's Michelangelo's Notebook is a stunning addition.

Make no mistake, mysteries & thrillers set in the world of art existed prior to The Da Vinci Code -- (as there were legal thrillers prior to Grisham & Turow) -- but the greatest among the writers who have concentrated on fiction in the art world was Irving Stone. His books, rather bio-fictions include The Agony and the Ecstasy (about Michelangelo), Lust for Life (about Vincent Van Gogh), & others. Likewise other bestselling books in the art world include Jasper Johns (by Michael Crichton), The Modigliani Scandal (by Ken Follett), etc. All were phenomenal bestsellers, thought the sub-genre as such has started with Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code -- & later this year we can expect some great mysteries including The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra, The Last Cato by Matilda Asinse, False Impressions by Jeffrey Archer & an Annie Kincaid Mystery Feint of Art by Hailey Lind.

It is in this background, Michelangelo's Notebook is to be read & enjoyed. Brilliant & beautiful Finn Ryan is a dedicated student of art at New York University. She is passionate about Michelangelo & his works, especially his drawings on the human anatomy. She has often heard of this artist's lost notebook -- the one wherein he copied down his sketches & studies on human anatomy, & Ryan makes a fascinating discovery, about a drawing of a dissected corpse.

That very night someone breaks into her apartment steals the sketches she's made… & also murders her boyfriend. Suddenly Ryan is thrown into a vortex of conspiracy, & soon becomes the center of attraction of a deadly force, which will rather have her dead…before she finds out the T-R-U-T-H.

I enjoyed Michelangelo's Notebook very much, the feisty heroine & the chase reminded me a lot of John Grisham's The Pelican Brief -- & I highly, highly recommend it for the lover of good & exciting thriller mysteries.

More from Paul Christopher:
...And Hell Followed With Him
Alien Intervention: The Spiritual Mission of UFOs, & more.
(01/15/06)

Narayan
2006©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org