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The Colonial Origins of Ethnographic Museums and Rituals of the Dead

The Colonial Origins of Ethnographic Museums and Rituals of the Dead

Since finishing Rituals of the Dead, I have noticed an influx in news reports about the restitution of ethnic artifacts – a topic central to my latest mystery. So we are clear, I am not referring to antiquities such as the Parthenon Marbles (or Elgin Marbles, depending on your nationality). I’m talking about shrunken heads, painted shields, feathered headdresses, carved ancestor sculptures, ritual masks, and the like. The same objects currently filling western museums dedicated to anthropology and ethnography. At…

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Restitution of Nazi-Looted Artwork after World War II: A Dutch Perspective

Restitution of Nazi-Looted Artwork after World War II: A Dutch Perspective

Before moving to Amsterdam, I knew very little about the restitution of artwork stolen by the Nazis during World War II, a topic that plays a central role in my novel, The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery. Sure, I’d read about controversial cases in newspapers and wondered why museums didn’t hand over the artwork immediately when legitimate claimants appeared on the scene, but also why it took the relative of the legal owner so long to submit a claim. Only…

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Mystery Thriller Week update

Mystery Thriller Week update

Mystery Thriller Week has turned out to be the most productive, collaborative event I’ve ever participated in! Many thanks to Vicki Goodwin, Benjamin Thomas and Sherrie Marshall Spitz for organizing such an amazing event! I’m so glad you invited me to participate this year and can’t wait for 2018. If you are an author or blogger who is interested in participating next year, you can sign up on their website now.   Reviews of The Lover’s Portrait and Down and…

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Welcome to Mystery Thriller Week!

Welcome to Mystery Thriller Week!

After blogging about it for weeks, the event to end all events (at least for Mystery and Thriller lovers) has finally begun! ‘Name the Character’ Mega Giveaway To celebrate Mystery Thriller Week, I’ve set up a ‘Name the Character’ Mega Giveaway, giving fans a chance to name a character in my upcoming art mystery thriller The Anthropologist and win this fabulous prize package. Enter now via my blog, Facebook, or Goodreads! Twenty other lucky entrants will win one of my…

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MTW: Historical Mysteries and Thrillers Theme

MTW: Historical Mysteries and Thrillers Theme

Welcome to the third of four themed posts about MysteryThrillerWeek, an annual event celebrating the Mystery and Thriller genres! Over two-hundred authors are participating in this global event. To help readers and authors better connect, a variety of themed lists – sub-categories of both genres – have been created. Today I’m thrilled to share with you eight books from the Historical Mysteries and Thrillers Theme, books which transport you back to Amsterdam during World War Two, Victorian England, the American Revolution,…

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MTW: Art-related Mysteries and Thrillers Theme

MTW: Art-related Mysteries and Thrillers Theme

Welcome to the second of four themed posts about MysteryThrillerWeek, an annual event celebrating the Mystery and Thriller genres! Over two-hundred authors are participating in this global event. To help readers and authors better connect, a variety of themed lists – sub-categories of both genres – have been created. Today I’m thrilled to share with you nine books from the Art-related Mysteries and Thrillers Theme, also known as the Artwork, Relics, Gems and Precious Minerals Theme. Though this category initially…

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Guest post on Women Writers, Women’s Books

Guest post on Women Writers, Women’s Books

How Archival Research added Texture to my Novel I’m so excited to see an article I’ve written about the historical research I conducted while writing The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery, now featured on the front page of the amazing online magazine, Women Writers, Women’s Books! What an honor! I’d love to hear what you think of the article, and what your responses are to the questions I pose at the end of the article: “Fellow authors, do you conduct archival…

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The Lover’s Portrait added to Stedelijk Museum and Jewish Historical Museum libraries

The Lover’s Portrait added to Stedelijk Museum and Jewish Historical Museum libraries

In August 2016, The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery was added to the library collections of two incredible cultural institutions: the Stedelijk Museum and Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam. The Stedelijk Museum, one of the world’s most renown contemporary art museums, decided to include my novel in their collection thanks to my descriptions of the processes involved in the restitution of Nazi-looted artwork. A few weeks later, I received word that the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam was so pleased with their…

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