Carson Morton's Stealing Mona Lisa: A Mystery
So the title bills this as a mystery, and it appeared on more than one best-of-2011-mysteries list, but dude, this is NOT a mystery in any way. It starts in Paris in 1925, where a reporter is interviewing a guy on his deathbed who is narrating an increasingly ridiculous tale about his life as an art-related con man, leading up to how he and some confederates stole the Mona Lisa in 1911 (an actual thing that happened in history). But the narrative focus is sloppy--too much time is spent on the inner lives of other characters (especially a married woman who frequently thinks soppy things about the protagonist). And Picasso is brought into it in an entirely stupid way. And there are sitcom-level misunderstandings. And way too much melodrama. and NO MYSTERY WHATSOEVER. If you couldn't tell, this book pissed me off. I really don't get how it ended up on best of 2011 lists. And can someone explain what the mystery was supposed to be? F.
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