★ 01/31/2022
Ambitious fledgling reporter Jules Roth, the heroine of this masterly, multifaceted thriller from Barr (The Unbreakables), lands a job working for her personal hero, investigative journalist Dan Mansfield, who appreciates the young woman’s moxie. He invites her to join his small team, which is attempting to track down Woman on Fire, the last work of German Expressionist Ernst Engel, who was murdered in 1939. Dan is pursuing the painting on behalf of his good friend, famed shoe designer Ellis Baum, whose mother posed for the masterpiece. Young Ellis had seen the painting being taken from his home by a Nazi officer, and now, as he’s nearing death, longs for it to be returned to his family. Jules and the team aren’t the only ones lusting after the elusive picture, which is now worth millions. Ruthless Margaux de Laurent, considered the most important gallerist in the world, will stop at nothing to possess it. The action leaps between art capitals in the United States and Europe, intermingling the action-packed present day with thrilling episodes from the 1930s and 1940s that reveal Woman on Fire’s turbulent history. Barr’s vigorous prose complements her fully realized characters. Readers will be gripped from start to finish. Agent: Stephanie Abou, Massie & McQuilkin. (Mar.)
Incredibly fast-paced and savvy, Lisa Barr takes readers into the high stakes world of art theft through the eyes of a young, gutsy journalist. Thick with history, scandal, romance and deceit, Woman on Fire is a truly compulsive read.
"Barr’s riveting dive into the dark side of the international art world, led by an intrepid young journalist, had me on the edge of my seat. A deliciously addictive page turner filled with twists and an unforgettable villain."
"Woman on Fire is a sharp, propulsive page-turner that will keep readers in suspense."
"Woman on Fire is a sharp, propulsive page-turner that will keep readers in suspense."
"Addictively propulsive and laced with rapid-fire twists and turns, this sizzling tale of deception, lust, Nazi-looted art, and murder crackles with tension and comes vividly, strikingly alive in Lisa Barr's skilled hands. Part thriller, part World War II epic, part journey through the pain of loss, Woman on Fire is as vibrant as the searing work of art it revolves around, with characters so richly drawn you'll feel as if you've known them—or, in some cases, been terrified by them—forever. Woman in Gold meets Spotlight meets Basic Instinct in this extraordinary novel, which is certain to be snapped up by Hollywood just as surely as it will be devoured in one sitting by captivated readers who can't turn the pages quickly enough. Woman on Fire is unforgettable."
"Woman on Fire is an exquisite, fascinating read that hooks you with its intensity and captures your heart with emotional depth. A brilliant, seamless tale of art, atrocity, love, family, and courage, this stunning novel, both with the words and the paintings described on the pages, comes alive so vividly it's as if you are right there, seeing every remarkable moment with your own eyes. A truly astonishing novel that builds tension sentence by gorgeous sentence then crescendos to a scorching, utterly satisfying ending."
We’re in a golden age of female thriller-writers, and with her latest novel, Lisa Barr joins the ranks of must-read authors. Woman on Fire hits a fiction trifecta: historical depth, fast-paced intrigue, and a riveting heroine. Juxtaposing the transformative power of art with the dark side of human nature, WOMAN ON FIRE is the best kind of page-turner, one that makes you think and feel long after the final page is turned. I’m ready for more!”
2021-12-24
Barr’s second novel about Nazis and art, following Fugitive Colors (2013), features an epic struggle to reclaim one spectacular purloined painting.
Carl Geisler, son of Nazi art thief Helmuth Geisler, is hoarding an inherited fortune of contraband art when he’s murdered by New York art impresario Margaux de Laurent. Margaux needs Carl’s cache of priceless masterpieces—the cream of French impressionism and German expressionism—to sell on the dark web. Only thus can she save her own heritage, De Laurent Galleries, from financial ruin. Dan Mansfield, the old-school crusading editor of a Chicago newspaper, is called upon by an old friend to investigate a lost painting. Enter Jules Roth, a 24-year-old journalism graduate, who hero-worships Dan. The old friend, octogenarian fashion icon Ellis Baum, designer of high-end stilettos, never divulged the wartime horrors preceding his arrival in America as a 13-year-old orphan. His mother, Anika, a German beauty queen who was the mistress of his father, Jewish banker Arno Baum, posed for Woman on Fire, the final work of Ernst Engel, a groundbreaking German expressionist executed by Hitler’s art police. Ever since Helmuth Geisler brutally dispatched Anika, Ellis has been searching for her portrait. But Woman on Fire is among Margaux’s Geisler spoils, and she’s keeping it to honor her grandfather, Charles de Laurent. A French Jewish art dealer, Charles saved many masterworks from the Nazis before being forced to sell Woman on Fire to Geisler. Stereotypes abound. Jules and her sidekick, recovered addict and art-world phenomenon Adam Chase, are stunning. Margaux, archvillain, is beautiful in a Dorian Gray sort of way, her inner rot concealed in the attic of her id. Margaux also weaponizes words: “I don’t do delicate.” She, Ellis, and Dan command the reader's interest due to their desperate pursuit of their obsessions. That interest flags whenever the torch is passed to the more decorative, blander characters.
This novel does not do subtle.
"Barr’s vigorous prose complements her fully realized characters. Readers will be gripped from start to finish." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Woman on Fire is a sharp, propulsive page-turner that will keep readers in suspense." — Booklist
"An exuberant and propulsive thriller laced with sex, art, and history. Lisa Barr has created an unforgettable story that forces readers to question where the line should be drawn between the pursuit of justice and the hunt for revenge." — Alyson Richman, bestselling author of The Secret of Clouds
"Woman on Fire is an exquisite, fascinating read that hooks you with its intensity and captures your heart with emotional depth. A brilliant, seamless tale of art, atrocity, love, family, and courage, this stunning novel, both with the words and the paintings described on the pages, comes alive so vividly it's as if you are right there, seeing every remarkable moment with your own eyes. A truly astonishing novel that builds tension sentence by gorgeous sentence then crescendos to a scorching, utterly satisfying ending." — Samantha M. Bailey, USA Today and #1 national bestselling author of Woman on the Edge
“Incredibly fast-paced and savvy, Lisa Barr takes readers into the high stakes world of art theft through the eyes of a young, gutsy journalist. Thick with history, scandal, romance and deceit, Woman on Fire is a truly compulsive read.” — Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing
"Barr’s riveting dive into the dark side of the international art world, led by an intrepid young journalist, had me on the edge of my seat. A deliciously addictive page turner filled with twists and an unforgettable villain." — Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue
"Addictively propulsive and laced with rapid-fire twists and turns, this sizzling tale of deception, lust, Nazi-looted art, and murder crackles with tension and comes vividly, strikingly alive in Lisa Barr's skilled hands. Part thriller, part World War II epic, part journey through the pain of loss, Woman on Fire is as vibrant as the searing work of art it revolves around, with characters so richly drawn you'll feel as if you've known them—or, in some cases, been terrified by them—forever. Woman in Gold meets Spotlight meets Basic Instinct in this extraordinary novel, which is certain to be snapped up by Hollywood just as surely as it will be devoured in one sitting by captivated readers who can't turn the pages quickly enough. Woman on Fire is unforgettable." — Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars
“We’re in a golden age of female thriller-writers, and with her latest novel, Lisa Barr joins the ranks of must-read authors. Woman on Fire hits a fiction trifecta: historical depth, fast-paced intrigue, and a riveting heroine. Juxtaposing the transformative power of art with the dark side of human nature, WOMAN ON FIRE is the best kind of page-turner, one that makes you think and feel long after the final page is turned. I’m ready for more!” — Jamie Brenner, author of Blush and Gilt
"An exuberant and propulsive thriller laced with sex, art, and history. Lisa Barr has created an unforgettable story that forces readers to question where the line should be drawn between the pursuit of justice and the hunt for revenge."
06/01/2022
Barr's (Fugitive Colors) thrilling audiobook has it all—family secrets, art scandal, and manipulative sex—leaving open the question of intent: is it a pursuit of justice or a hunt for revenge? The story opens with investigative reporter Jules Roth being abducted at an art gallery opening. Listeners jump back in time to learn more about Jules and her pursuit of a painting stolen by the Nazis, titled Woman on Fire. It is being sought by the dying son of the woman in the painting and by art dealer Margaux de Laurent. Thus, begins the cat-and-mouse game for Margaux, who enjoys playing the game more than winning the prize. Carlotta Bentan narrates with a breathy voice and intensity that makes for compelling listening. Characters have varied European accents to keep each distinctive, as they hail from England, France, and Germany. Jules is portrayed as naive yet quick to learn on her feet, while Margaux is sly and cunning, thinking she has all the answers. VERDICT Fans of Dan Brown's "Robert Langdon" series will enjoy watching Margaux weave her web of deception to get her way in the art world.—Stephanie Bange
