The Lost Madonna: Kelly Jones

When the River Arno overflowed it banks in 1966 it swept through the ancient city of Florence with a destructive force that no one was prepared for. It left piles of mud in houses and businesses all over the city and in the process caused damage and in some cases destruction to an unbelievable number of art works. In the aftermath of the flood the citizens of Florence were given assistance from all over the world. Many of the foreign students in the city at the time worked tirelessly to restore and catalog the damaged pieces. One of those students was Suzanne Cunningham who developed a love for art, and a Florentine art-restorer that would change her life and set her in a new direction.

Suzanne was a born and bred Idaho girl who never planned for anything larger then to become a high school gym teacher. When she graduates from high school and comes into a trust fund left by her grandmother she decides to take time off before going to college. She travels to Europe with her best friend, Roxie, and takes the usual student tour. It isn't until she reaches Florence that her life takes a turn. The River Arno floods its banks just a few short days after they arrive and Suzanne and Roxie throw themselves into the rescue operation along with the other foreign students. They work long hours in the rain and mud to recover the valuable paintings and books that have been damaged.

Suzanne is tapped by Stefano Leonetti to help him with the Uffizzi paintings and finds herself falling for him. They begin an affair that ends badly less then a year later and Suzanne goes home to Idaho, broken-hearted but determined to study art history and make it her life's work. When Suzanne discovers an article in an art journal that details works lost in the flood she recognizes one of the pieces. It was a painting that she worked on personally with Stefano but has apparently disappeared and been marked lost. When Suzanne is offered a temporary position at a Florentine university she takes it eagerly, intending to discover what really happened to the lost painting. Her investigation will lead not only to the painting but also to many unanswered questions from the past and a possible future that she wasn't anticipating.

While this book was a bit more romancey then I usually like it was very good. It wasn't an edge-of-your-seat thriller but it did keep you guessing until the end. I was a little disappointed in the ending only because I wanted to know more. The characters were well-written and the author's knowledge of Renaissance art is impressive. All in all it was worth the read.
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Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley (February 6, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0425214192
ISBN-13: 978-0425214190
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