Saving Picasso

SUSPENSE/THRILLER:  1940. Peace has settled over Europe, albeit an uneasy one. Richard Clare convinced his editor into sending him to cover the Barcelona Olympic Games for a London newspaper. Broke and restless, this veteran of the International Brigade has ulterior motives for wanting to return to Spain. Two years earlier he left his former girlfriend Montse, and he is hoping to find and reconnect with her once more. In the midst of searching for her, he is approached by old friends who inform Richard that Picasso wants to defect to the west. He soon becomes embroiled in the intrigue, and espionage to find a way to get Picasso out of the country. Once he finds Montse, will he be able to rekindle their love, or will she betray him? Will the plot to get Picasso out of the country be successful or will he fail and end up losing his life? 

Saving Picasso is one of those books where one must pay attention to what one is reading. There is so much going on in the beginning that it gets a bit confusing. Even with all the characters, this story starts out a bit slow. Once the plot to get Picasso out of the country begins, it’s nonstop intrigue, spy games and intensity. One might find the ending a bit anti-climatic after all the intensity, but for Mark Skeet’s first novel, one will find that he has amazing potential, and his book is worth the time to read!

Tonya Smalley