A Cloud of Fraud by Linda Ferreri (Book Review)
A man is shot dead in front of City Hall in Philadelphia where his family is tangled in a bitter lawsuit.
One brave woman, drawn there by a work of art, finds herself following a twisted trail to the hills of Le Marche in Italy to learn why.
All the while, the cloud of fraud grows thicker and darker around her. But, as C. S. Forester said, perhaps the scandal of fraud enhances the flavor.
One brave woman, drawn there by a work of art, finds herself following a twisted trail to the hills of Le Marche in Italy to learn why.
All the while, the cloud of fraud grows thicker and darker around her. But, as C. S. Forester said, perhaps the scandal of fraud enhances the flavor.
Review of A Cloud of Fraud
Cloud of Fraud was an interesting read, filled with art-inspired synergies forged in a dialectic of greed. Beautifully written, the story is enveloped in the iconic beauty and purity of the Italian Renaissance.
Starting and ending strong, the underlying premise was a pleasure to discover. Most impressively, Linda cleverly probes through the facts and extracts a story told from a brilliant Italian atmospheric perspective. The tone of story reminded of the very tonal arrangements of Crivelli's work. Brilliant!
The characters were multi-dimensional and possessed great depth. While I struggled to wholly relate to each character, I empathized with their dilemma and cheered them on through the cacophony of betrayal and murder. Sadly, as subtle plot derivatives become clear, I was left with an insight into the frailty of the human condition.
I found it hard to put this book down. It was fast-paced and highly engaging. I credit this to the very-short and extremely focused chapters. (I really like short chapters!)
The world inside Cloud of Fraud was robust. Linda is a clever one. In all her brilliance, she manipulated the architectural structures and themes of the Renaissance period to present a uniquely defined work of literary art. This work features elements reminiscent of the period she so admires.
Highly recommended for art historians who are seeking a mystery to which they can relate.
Starting and ending strong, the underlying premise was a pleasure to discover. Most impressively, Linda cleverly probes through the facts and extracts a story told from a brilliant Italian atmospheric perspective. The tone of story reminded of the very tonal arrangements of Crivelli's work. Brilliant!
The characters were multi-dimensional and possessed great depth. While I struggled to wholly relate to each character, I empathized with their dilemma and cheered them on through the cacophony of betrayal and murder. Sadly, as subtle plot derivatives become clear, I was left with an insight into the frailty of the human condition.
I found it hard to put this book down. It was fast-paced and highly engaging. I credit this to the very-short and extremely focused chapters. (I really like short chapters!)
The world inside Cloud of Fraud was robust. Linda is a clever one. In all her brilliance, she manipulated the architectural structures and themes of the Renaissance period to present a uniquely defined work of literary art. This work features elements reminiscent of the period she so admires.
Highly recommended for art historians who are seeking a mystery to which they can relate.
Read an Excerpt from A Cloud of Fraud
Early on in the Hard-heads case, at one of the bar association luncheons, Judge Pirandello had positioned himself next to one of his former clerks who was now a successful litigator in the Probate Court. Biggers, by name. There was the introductory chat about the wellbeing of their family members and the joke about the latest case here or there. The dialogue was familiar to both of them. The Hard-heads plaintiff was a problem person, the judge had learned, and he needed to be squashed to put an end to mostly frivolous claims, driven by greed. Everybody in the family knew it, the judge heard. He knew the type. The Probate Court was littered with greedy relatives, angry children with buxom young stepmothers wearing expensive jewelry their fathers had bought. He knew it all. The judge wanted rid of this case, and so he was pleased to learn that it was not worthy of His Honor's dignified much less close attention. The Hard-heads case had to go.
It would have gone long before now, the judge was thinking to himself as he growled into the cup of black tea, but these damned people had refused to take the hint, refused to be cowed or put in their places. Here and there at the few hearings he had conducted over this motion or that, he had seen a shrug of the shoulders by one or another lawyer.
"What could we do?" They might as well have said that out loud. The judge understood.
His knee was throbbing, but Judge Pirandello refused to have it replaced. The fact that cold weather was coming on made it worse. The goddamned orthopedic surgeon was another money-grubber. Were there no professionals left in his world who were not money-grubbers? He stretched his corpulence forward over the edge of his chair to reach for his footstool, then winced as he elevated the bad leg. He yelled out for Mary to bring him another cup of tea. Then, he opened the enormous file on the small table beside his chair.
In Re the Estate of Seri. He hated even the name. Italian people should not behave in this fashion, he thought. His own father would have come back from the dead to beat the daylights out of his heirs if they had behaved as these people were behaving. Suing one another. Claiming fraud. All of it. Disgraceful, he thought. They were each poised to receive a generous amount of money but no, that wasn't good enough. As with errant children, the Judge was both angry with and ashamed of the parties.
It would have gone long before now, the judge was thinking to himself as he growled into the cup of black tea, but these damned people had refused to take the hint, refused to be cowed or put in their places. Here and there at the few hearings he had conducted over this motion or that, he had seen a shrug of the shoulders by one or another lawyer.
"What could we do?" They might as well have said that out loud. The judge understood.
His knee was throbbing, but Judge Pirandello refused to have it replaced. The fact that cold weather was coming on made it worse. The goddamned orthopedic surgeon was another money-grubber. Were there no professionals left in his world who were not money-grubbers? He stretched his corpulence forward over the edge of his chair to reach for his footstool, then winced as he elevated the bad leg. He yelled out for Mary to bring him another cup of tea. Then, he opened the enormous file on the small table beside his chair.
In Re the Estate of Seri. He hated even the name. Italian people should not behave in this fashion, he thought. His own father would have come back from the dead to beat the daylights out of his heirs if they had behaved as these people were behaving. Suing one another. Claiming fraud. All of it. Disgraceful, he thought. They were each poised to receive a generous amount of money but no, that wasn't good enough. As with errant children, the Judge was both angry with and ashamed of the parties.
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Excerpt from A Cloud of Fraud by Linda Ferreri
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Copyright 2019 by Linda Ferreri.
Reproduced with permission from Linda Ferreri.
All rights reserved.
About the Author
Linda Ferreri is the author of several art crime novels as well as witty illustrated iBooks.
She is a highly respected international art law expert who divides her time between the United States and Le Marche in Italy.
Sometimes she says her most amusing book was her first, The King of UNINI, a sophisticated little romance set in Paris.
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