Alex (Alexandra) Connor was born and educated in England. She has had a variety of careers including photographic model, personal assistant to a world famous heart surgeon, and working in a Bond Street art gallery.Having always had an intense interest in the history of art, Alex – who has previously written historical novels and non fiction – is now concentrating on writing conspiracy thrillers set in the art world.
The Rembrandt Secret (aka The Other Rembrandt)
History's biggest conspiracy is about to be revealed. But not if a brutal murderer has anything to do with it . . .
He discovers that his father knew a dark secret at the heart of Rembrandt's life, one that has the potential to bring down one of the worlds most lucrative industries. But a sadistic murderer is on the case, killing in increasingly brutal ways to keep it hidden.
Will Marshall beat the killer to the truth? Who can he trust? Will he stay alive long enough to reveal the greatest secret never told?
The Caravaggio Conspiracy
1608. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the greatest Italian painter of his day, is expelled from the Order of the Knights of Malta. Subject to a clandestine hearing, his crime remains a closely guarded secret.
2014. Two bodies are found in a London art gallery – stripped naked, necks bound with wire and legs obscenely contorted. They are twin brothers – successful art dealers – their brutal murder linked to the mysterious disappearance of two paintings by the master Caravaggio.
Investigators are confounded, and it falls to art expert Gil Eckhart to identify the killer before he slays again. But as the search for clues takes him from the glamorous skyline of New York to the fetid catacombs of Palermo, Eckhart finds that in the high-stakes world of art, good and evil are often tarred with the same, blood-soaked, brush.
The Bosch Deception
A Truth Concealed: Brabant, 1473.
A clandestine brotherhood hides a secret that could bring down the Catholic Church. Their chosen hiding place - the art of Hieronymus Bosch.
A Terrible Conspiracy: London, 2014.
An excommunicated priest approaches both the Church and the art world, claiming to possess an artefact that will destroy their reputations.
A Ticking Clock: This man, Nicholas Laverne, is poised to end over 500 years of silence and injustice. Yet, unknown to Nicholas, he has just summoned a killer intent on silencing him.
I read the above three books over the course of a couple of weeks, interspersed with my other reading - its is amazing how quickly you can get through a physical book compared to an e-book.
I started with Caravaggio then Bosch and finished with Rembrandt. Of the three, only the enigmatic Caravaggio held any real interest for me - I just happened upon the other two at the same time as I came across the Caravaggio tome - and thought, why not? All three had been sitting on the shelves of my own personal library for a number of years before I finally picked them off the shelf. I had in the meantime read Connor's The Wolves of Venice, which I really didn't like, and figured - as I was in the midst of a book culling - to finally read a number of tomes that had been gathering dust, especially those that appeared to be a part of a series - or in this instance, similarly themed.
Despite the different cast of characters, artist and mystery, the narrative formula is essentially the same. Past events surrounding a famous artist insinuate themselves into the 20th / 21st Century, requiring the solving / revealing of the said mystery with ensuing high body count.
More historical art mysteries:
> Reader's Digest: 13 Strangest Unsolved Mysteries of the Art World
> Culture Trip: 11 Biggest Unsolved Art Mysteries of All Time
