Olson, Neil – THE ICON

[LJ Roberts]

THE ICON (Amateur Sleuth-NYC/Greece-WWII/Cont) – G Olson, Neil – 1^st
book
Harper Collins, 2005- Hardcover

Matthew Spear is of Greek heritage and a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Matthew is asked to view the art collection inherited by Ana Kessler, he is drawn to an con, the Holy Mother of Katarini. Matthew is planning to purchase it for the Museum, but is asked by his godfather to encourage Ana to sell the icon to the Greek Orthodox Church. But there's a history to the icon which places Matthew between his grandfather and godfather and connects to a former Nazi and a village in Greece during World War II.

I found this slow to get through. Many of the characters are known my more than one name, which was confusing, and I didn't feel I got to really know any of the characters well and there were points I wasn't certain I cared. There were opportunities for the story to really draw the reader in, but they just weren't realized. Finally, you learned the true importance of the icon in the last quarter of the story but it was a long time getting there. The book is good but, for me, it's not a page-turner and it could have been so much better.