Review of The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci

[James R Callan]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The Girl who Knew Da Vinci by Belle Ami is a Time Travel Romance. That is not generally the type of book I would select. But the premise, that a woman of today knew Leonardo da Vinci, was too intriguing not to give it a try. I purchased it and began to read. It didn't take long for Belle Ami's story to hook me.

The protagonist is Angela Renatus, an art historian, working at the Getty Museum. She is researching the art of Botticelli, a contemporary of da Vinci. Angela is tormented by dreams about da Vinci and his friendship with Fioretta. A guard reports to Dr. Alberto Scordato, Director of the Getty, that Angela has been sitting in front of a Botticelli, apparently in a trance, talking in Italian to the portrait of Giuliano Medici. Scordato decides Angela must have some mysterious connection with Giuliano. Scordato has spent months in Florence trying to track a rumored missing da Vinci painting, with no luck. Could Angela's trances to Giuliano, patron of da Vinci, possibly lead him to a painting worth millions?

Angela's dreams about da Vinci and Fioretta make her miserable. But when the advances of Scordato become unbearable, Angela quits. She is offered a job by Alex Caine who specializes in recovering stolen art. He needs an expert in Renaissance art, Angela's specialty. When they meet, sparks fly.

She agrees to work with him and see if such a da Vinci painting exists and if so, discover where it is hidden. They fly to Florence and begin the search. Angela's dreams and trances escalate when she is near works of da Vinci. Soon, Angela and Alex believe the story of the missing painting is true.

However, Scordato has people trailing her. While the romance in the story heats up between Angela and Alex, the danger they face becomes more intense.

Belle Ami has fashioned several strong characters, some from the present time and some from the Renaissance era. In particular, Angela, Alex and Scordato are well drawn and the reader sympathizes with Angela and Alex. Scordato, on the other hand, is painted as a selfish and cruel villain who will kill whoever gets between him and the lost da Vinci. Ms. Ami paints Leonardo in a very favorable light. And while she skips from the present time to the later stages of World War II to the time of da Vinci and back, the transitions are handled smoothly and the reader has no trouble making the leap.

The romance between Angela and Alex gradually accelerated throughout the book. There was romances between others as well, but I will leave that to the reader to discover. So, it clearly deserved a rave review. However, at times I felt it began to read like a travelogue and I wanted to skip some of those sections. I didn't. But if the book contains portions I want to skip, that lowers its rating a little. But this book was well written, keeps your attention, has plenty of suspense and romance. So, I give The Girl Who Knew da Vinci 4 out of 5 stars. I have no problem recommending this book. You will enjoy it.