A review by kittykornerlibrarian
The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis

4.0

I liked this quite a bit. It has the dual timeline plot going on; between 1928-1930 and 1974-1975. The unifying factor is the place; which is New York City. I thought choosing both of these periods in the same novel was a terrific choice; there's such a contrast between the prosperous, glittering New York of the 1920s and the rundown, dirty New York of the 1970s. As the title indicates, there is an art plot going on in both story lines. It was fascinating to learn that there was an art school in Grand Central Terminal in the early part of the 20th century; and this plot element worked well with the struggle in the 1970s to preserve the Grand Central building as a historic monument. The main characters were both women who were struggling in different ways. I enjoyed the way the plot lines came together at the end. This was a well-executed book that was full of interesting history.