The Art of Love and Lies

Rebecca Anderson

Aug 2023 · Shadow Mountain · Narrated by Justine Eyre

About this audiobook

A free-spirited artist teams up with a no-nonsense detective to capture a thief who has stolen a priceless Michelangelo painting.

Manchester, England, 1857.

Rosanna Hawkins is one of Manchester’s finest artists, even though no one knows her name. She reproduces “parlor versions” of classic masterpieces with near-perfect precision, which her employer then sells to the emerging upper-middle class families of Manchester.

When the largest art exhibition ever to be held in Manchester opens, Rosanna attends, excited by the chance to sketch such famous works. When she meets the handsome Detective Martin Harrison, who is head of security for the exhibition, she is immediately intrigued by his charm, confidence, and canvas-worthy good looks. The two spend many a flirtatious afternoon exploring the exhibition hall, discussing art and sharing their secret hopes. Rosanna dreams of painting something original and meaningful, and Martin hopes to one day shed the shadow of his father’s notorious past.

The couple’s blossoming summer romance takes a strange turn when Rosanna recognizes her own works on display in the exhibition hall. Someone is stealing paintings and replacing them with her parlor version reproductions. When the evidence casts suspicion on her, Rosanna must convince Detective Harrison of her innocence and proposes a plan to capture the real art thief.

It is a daring race to catch the criminal before he disappears with the most priceless piece in the collection—Michelangelo’s Manchester Madonna. If Rosanna and Detective Harrison fail, not only will the painting be lost forever but so will their chance to rekindle their romance and paint their own happily ever after.

Ratings and reviews

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! I like books based on an actual historical event. In this case, it’s the Manchester, England Art Treasures Exhibition that took place in 1857. I loved the descriptions of the event and could easily picture it through the author’s writing. The story was original, romantic, and slowly built to an exciting conclusion. It’s a sweet, witty, romantic story involving art theft, mystery, and a bit of suspense. The narrator is fabulous!

About the author

Rebecca Anderson is a high school English teacher by day and a writer by night (or very early morning). She loves hiking, Broadway shows, food, books, and movies. She is happily married and a mom to four above-average kids.

Justine Eyre is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has recorded over three-hundred titles. Named a 2013 AudioFile Best Voice, she has won an Audie Award and multiple Earphones Awards. Classically trained and multilingual, she performs on stage, television, and film and has had roles in King Lear and The Crucible, on Two and a Half Men and Mad Men, and in multiple indie-circuit films.