Stephanie Sullivan: Review - The English Masterpiece

TITLE: The English Masterpiece (audiobook)

NARRATORS: Saskia Maarleveld and Fiona Hardingham

RATING: ★★★★

RELEASE DATE: June 10th, 2025

Summary (from Goodreads): Set in the art world of 1970s London, The English Masterpiece is a fast-paced read to the end, full of glamour and secrets, tensions and lies, as one young woman races against the clock to uncover the truth about a Picasso masterpiece. Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Ariel Lawhon.

As the recently promoted assistant to the Tate's Modern Collections keeper Diana Gilden, Lily helps plan a world-class Picasso exhibit to honor the passing of the great artist--and she's waited her whole life for this moment. The opening is beyond anyone's expectations--the lighting, the champagne, the glittering crowd, and the international acclaim--until Lily does the unthinkable. She stops in front of a masterpiece and hears her own voice say, "It's a forgery." The gallery falls silent.

Lily's boss, Diana, is polished perfection, schooled in art, and descends from European high society. She's worked hard to become the trusted voice in London's modern art scene and respected across the Continent. The Tate's Picasso Commemorative is to be her crowning achievement, featuring not only the artist's most iconic and intimate works, but a newly discovered painting--one she advised an investor to purchase. But when Lily makes her outrageous declaration, suspicion and scandal threaten everything Diana has achieved, as museums and collectors across Europe, already doubting most post-war acquisitions, fall into chaos and rumors of a world-wide forgery run wild.

All Lily has ever wanted is to follow in Diana's footsteps and take the art world by storm in her own right. Yet one comment puts not only her own career at risk but also her mentor's. Unless . . . Was she right? With the clock ticking and the clues starting to pile up against her, Lily must uncover the truth behind the Picasso before she loses not only the career she's always wanted, but her freedom.

REVIEW: After a very long month recovering from surgery, I was so excited to get back to reading. You would think being off work and home healing from surgery would give me a lot of time to read, but unfortunately that wasn't the case between doctor visits and whatnot. Anyway...this was my first time reading Katherine Reay's work, and what a wonderful story! If you've read any of my reviews, then you already know that I'm a huge fan of historical fiction, especially when I have the opportunity to learn something new, and I really enjoyed the interesting facts about the art world that Reay sprinkled in throughout this book. The plot was very intriguing and kept me guessing the entire time. There's mystery, romance, drama...you get a little bit of everything with this story. The fact that it was narrated by one of my favorite narrators, Saskia Maarleveld, was an added bonus. Fiona Hardingham is quite incredible too. It was my first time listening to her, and I adored her soothing British accent. Between her and Saskia, I was thoroughly enraptured in this book from beginning to end. I would highly recommend it to everyone, and I can't wait to read more of Katherine Reay's work.

(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own).