Official Review: The Accidental Art Thief

[stoppoppingtheP]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Accidetntal Art Thief" by Joan Schweighardt.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Accidental Art Thief is a fictional book written by Joan Schweighardt and is published by Twilight Times Books. It belongs to the Other Fiction genre although it does have some aspects of Romance and Humor as well. The theme of the book is a look at the characters' emotions when they are put through changes and tests in their life, it is also about friendship, love and growing up and finding out who you are.

Kathryn, also known as Zinc to those closest to her, has always been different. Known as an agoraphobic, she is a socially awkward person which means she has a fear of crowds and uncontrollable situations, added to that are her strange grey eyes which always seem to garner so much attention, the one thing that she does not want. For the past twenty-five years Kathryn has been living a comparatively idyllic lifestyle as a caretaker for an old man, which means she has not had to really face her fears of interacting with people. This all comes to an end one day when the old man suddenly passes away. Marge, the old man’s daughter, takes charge of his possessions and gives Kathryn two weeks to find herself a new place to stay, a new job and a new life.

The old man, Thomas Quickwater, was an avid art collector, and when Kathryn leaves she steals one of the paintings. So at forty-five years old, Kathryn leaves her safe haven, taking with her Paddy and Orlando her two dogs, her meager possessions and a stolen painting.

Not knowing who to turn to, she stops off at a clairvoyant that Thomas used to go to. Here she gets a message about the painting. Next she goes to her brother Frankie, who owns an auto repair shop, for help.

The book follows Kathryn’s journey into the real world and the struggles she goes through. The other characters in the book such as Frankie and Marge go through their own changes and address some of the emotional baggage that has been holding them back throughout the years.

I could identify a lot with the main character Kathryn’s feelings of apprehension of her environment, and I also found that the budding romances in the story to be amusing.

The issues in the book affected me to some degree in that the main character, Kathryn realizes that she needs to take charge of her life, something that resonated with me deeply. The book is a look at the emotional and personal changes that the characters go through in order to find themselves and to develop as people. I found the book to be an enjoyable and leisurely read and would give the book four out of four stars.

Although the title of the book is the “accidental’ art thief, it was no accident. Kathryn made a hasty yet conscious decision to steal the picture, so perhaps the title of the book is not totally on point. But otherwise it is a well written book and all the characters are well developed.

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[bookowlie]

Great review! I like books where the characters experience personal growth. The cover artwork is stunning.

[LivreAmour217]

Very nice review! I don't think I've ever read a book with an agoraphobic main character, it sounds very interesting! I also agree with Bookowlie about the cover art.

[stoppoppingtheP]

Yes, it was very interesting, and well worth the read.

[gali]

Sounds like a good book. Thank you for the interesting review.

[B3cca 3ll3r]

Wonderful review stoppoppingthep! The book sounds great. Congratulations Joan Schweighardt, sounds like you made something really special!

[stoppoppingtheP]

Thanks!

[kimmyschemy06]

Nice review! The story sounds interesting. I like the part where the main character left her 'safe haven'. I think a lot of people need to do that, leave everything they know in order to rediscover themselves.

[stoppoppingtheP]

Yes. I think that part of the story really reverberated with me because I can be a really introverted person at times.