The Vermeer Conspiracy

by Eytan Halaban

Overview

One semester before graduation, Danielle Caruthers, a Yale senior, takes a train to New York City and vanishes. No one has heard from her since-not her parents in gilded Westport, not her senior advisor, eminent art historian Whitmore Verhaast, and not her roommate, Sabrina Gutierrez.
The daughter of a single Colombian mother, Sabrina grew up on the rough side of Chicago and has been defying the odds ever since-most recently with a full scholarship to Yale. Now, as she sifts through the clues her roommate left behind, Sabrina discovers that Danielle was in hot pursuit of a centuries-old secret-the true identity of Vermeer. If Danielle's explosive discovery is revealed, it would ruin Verhaast and expose the powerful cabal in the shadows behind him-a cabal ready to kill to keep the secret.
Obsessed with solving the mystery of her missing friend, Sabrina leaves Yale behind and risks everything to bring the truth to light. Further fueling Sabrina's perilous mission is her own score to settle...that is, if Verhaast doesn't get her first.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629012391
Publisher:	First Books
Publication date:	04/17/2015
Pages:	182
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.39(d)

Editorial Reviews

★ 2015-09-04
In this novel, a Yale student investigating her roommate's disappearance uncovers clues to a centuries-old art mystery and a shadowy group of art collectors. Sabrina Gutierrez and Danielle Carruthers have little in common besides being Yale roommates. Sabrina was raised by her Colombian single mother who worked two jobs to support her, and Danielle comes from wealth and privilege. But the two become close friends, Sabrina being touched by Danielle's kindness. She feels compelled to investigate when Danielle goes missing, especially since she's certain that Whitmore Verhaast, a charismatic Yale art history professor and Danielle's senior adviser, is involved. Sabrina has reason to think the worst of Verhaast, and as she digs for information, she discovers additional mysterious disappearances, all somehow linked to Johannes Vermeer; a convent in Belgium; and a secret, powerful cabal of art collectors with Nazi ties. And what of Hanna Deursen—a mistress and protégé of Vermeer's fellow artist Carel Fabritius—whom Verhaast warned Danielle to stop researching? Sabrina's investigations could bring Verhaast down and destroy some received notions of art history, but powerful forces are amassed against her. Halaban (The Last Commission, 2014, etc.) offers something rare in thriller novels: a strong female friendship and an honest-to-goodness heroine who has no extraordinary skills or weapons beyond her courage, intelligence, compassion, and determination. Bombastic egotists like Dan Brown's Robert Langdon often inhabit thriller plots; what a pleasure it is to see his ilk skewered in the loathsome Verhaast. In contrast, Sabrina's willingness to put pride aside if necessary and play dumb stand out as a special kind of bravery few authors would highlight in a badass-worshipping world. Similarly, Halaban's characterization avoids clichés and is instead both deft and well-rounded. Danielle's mother, for example, is no snobby Westport matron but a kind, thoughtful woman who treats Sabrina like family. Another nice touch is Sabrina's growing trust in her sweet boyfriend, Josh, handled with unsentimental but moving realism. The plot moves briskly, with a growing sense of tension, toward a satisfying conclusion. A fine thriller that's intriguing and clever, appreciative of art's power, and grounded in a sensitive humanity—a winner.

Kirkus Reviews