From Publishers Weekly
In his seventh novel, Kilian ( The Last Virginia Gentleman ) tells a fast-paced story of murder and corruption among Chicago's upper crust. Matthias Curland returns from his dissolute life as a second-rate painter on the Cote d'Azur for his mother's funeral, only to find his once-wealthy German-American family bankrupt and his father's architecture firm about to close its doors. When a painting from a Curland-funded museum is discovered on the family sailboat--wrapped around the corpse of a woman who had been involved with both Matthias and his embittered, alcoholic brother, Christian--Zane Rawlings, police chief of the small town of Grand Pier, Mich., starts an investigation that quickly turns dangerous. Matthias, meanwhile, is hired to design a skyscraper by Trump-like billionaire Peter Poe and quickly falls in love with Poe's wife Diandra, a brainy, coolly elegant former model. Further developments lead back to the dead woman and the stolen painting. Kilian has a great feel for plot; his complicated story moves gracefully to a swift, satisfying conclusion. While some of the characterizations are a little broad, on the whole this is a thoroughly entertaining thriller.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A stolen sailboat drifts to shore with the body of a young woman who has been shot and wrapped in a mysterious painting. Across the lake in Chicago, architect Matthias Curland has reluctantly returned from Paris to deal with his family's failing architecture firm, while brash billionaire Peter Poe is frantically making deals to keep his real estate empire solvent. The three stories converge neatly in this fast-paced novel by the author of Looker ( LJ 12/90). Entertainingly long on plot, it is unfortunately short on characterization: Matthias is too laid-back to be really compelling, and the other characters rarely rise above stereotype. However, nice details about Chicago society, high finance, and the art world add interest, and the suspense holds up well to the end. If you need another page-turner, this is your book; otherwise, not an essential purchase.
- Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
