mareoneonta's review
2.0
Pretty confusing. I had trouble keeping the characters straight. Not my favorite.
brokenspine's review
5.0
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway and I have to admit it was the first book in a long time that truly kept my attention from beginning to end. Several books I've read recently have bored me to tears or have been so difficult to get through I've felt like gouging my eyes out with a spoon, but not with Nevala-Lee's The Icon Thief.
I was hooked right from the Prologue. Nevala-Lee built the tension right from the beginning. With Andrey and the so-called border guards and the introduction of Ilya. The reader knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that this novel is going to be about a painting and the Russian mob, but the question is why and what is the relationship to piece of art.
There is a lot to this novel and it could have easily have been two separate novels, but this is the first novel in a series (which I'm looking forward to). I loved how the two stories were intertwined -- that of the art world and the Russian mob. I haven't had to do research on the contents of what has been written in a novel in a long time (which could be a turn off for some). However, I will say that Navale-Lee does a really good job of giving the reader background as to what he is writing about.
Because there is so much to this novel, I will be reading it again.
I was hooked right from the Prologue. Nevala-Lee built the tension right from the beginning. With Andrey and the so-called border guards and the introduction of Ilya. The reader knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that this novel is going to be about a painting and the Russian mob, but the question is why and what is the relationship to piece of art.
There is a lot to this novel and it could have easily have been two separate novels, but this is the first novel in a series (which I'm looking forward to). I loved how the two stories were intertwined -- that of the art world and the Russian mob. I haven't had to do research on the contents of what has been written in a novel in a long time (which could be a turn off for some). However, I will say that Navale-Lee does a really good job of giving the reader background as to what he is writing about.
Because there is so much to this novel, I will be reading it again.
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