Landscape of Lies by Peter Watson: an intruiging mystery set in the British art world.

Isobel Sadler is a farmer trying desperately to keep her family farm afloat after her father’s death. Her family can lay claim to one famous ancestor, William Sadler also called “Bad Bill” so when some papers of his come up cheap at a local auction, she decided to buy them. For some reason, though, the papers go for far more than she would have expected.

While there, she is approached by a dealer, Molyneux, who later offers her money for a picture that has been in her family for generations. She turns him down, but is awakened a few days later, though, by a buglar who is trying to steal the painting. Isobel takes the painting to an art dealer, Michael Whiting, trying to find out if it’s worth something. He says no, but after spending some time studying it, finds out that it’s a “puzzle map.” The figures and images on the painting themselves are actually clues to unearthing a treasure trove of items worth millions of pounds. Thus begins Isobel and Michael’s adventure to decipher the riddle and find the treasure before Molyneux does.

The coolest thing about the book, though, was the cover which was actually the “Landscape of Lies” painting - the one that the whole book was about. I loved flipping to the cover whenever something was discovered so I could see exactly what they were talking about. It was a stroke of genius, in my opinion, to use the painting that way and really made me feel move involved in the book.

All in all, I found the book to be quite enjoyable. There was mystery, romance, intrigue, and the hidden meanings used in the painting as symbols, which I found the most fun to read about. Well worth checking out.