Brushstrokes from the Past (Soli Hansen Mysteries)
A man carrying precious cargo dies an untimely death in a deserted field. Three hundred years later, two women wait on the edge of the field, wondering why they were summoned. Soli, art historian and gallery owner, and her friend and co-conspirator, Hetty, are meeting a professor of archaeology who has made an extraordinary find. They realize it is a treasure that will tempt the nefarious local Nazi leader, Lieutenant Colonel Heinz Walter, who is desperate to get his hands on anything of value, and immediately call on their band of resistors for help. When their resistance group is compromised, Hetty takes a big risk, and Soli is afraid she will never see her friend again. Together, the group undertakes a desperate search, hoping they can save lives and preserve their country’s valuable art and artifacts.
In 1641 Amsterdam, Annarosa Ruber is an unusual married lady of her time. Her husband, Claude Beaulieu, a French Musketeer, has taught her to fight with a sword. When they return home one night to find a thief has taken a portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn, they decide to they must go after him together. Centuries later, their legacy intertwines with the lives of Soli and Hetty.
Set primarily in Norway during the last years of WWII, this is the fourth and final installment of the Soli Hansen Mystery series. It works well as a standalone novel despite a few references to earlier books. The dual timeline is heavily focused on 1945, with just a few short peeks into the lives of the artist and collectors in 1641. This story will appeal to art history lovers and those who are looking for a different angle on WWII women.
