Luke is obsessed with the history of the Mona Lisa, mostly because it intertwines with his own family history. His great-grandfather was arrested for stealing the painting, and Luke has been compiling facts about the case for years. He gets a communication from someone in Italy who says that his great-grandfather’s journal has surfaced, and was left to a library there with other papers. Luke wastes no time in flying to Italy to read the journal, and maybe, at long last, to discover an important secret about the painting. The story vacillates from past to present many times. At times, the author, in trying to build suspense, plays “the pronoun game,” and readers won’t know who some of the new characters are for many chapters. Still, it quite an exciting book, combining known history with what may have happened. The author does a good job of developing his characters, both past and present ones, and placing them in an intricate plot. This suspenseful novel will keep you turning pages until the very end. Luke does meet a woman, (after all, he is in Italy!), an American who is reading in the same research library as he is, but the author does not turn this into a romance, for which I am grateful, although he leaves his readers with a hint of love in the air. ( )

I really enjoyed this novel based on a historical event. A modern-day art professor is obsessed with his grandfather's theft of the Mona Lis, a crime he served prison time for. A recently discovered journal gives him some important information, but a number of shady characters are after the information as well. It has many twists and turns. ( )

Aug. 1911 the Mona Lisa is stolen from The Lourve by an Italian worker, Vincent Perugia. It disappears for 2 years and replicas of the painting are created and sold as the originals by con artists. Luke Perrone investigates the mystery to clear his great grandfather's name. INTERPOL gets involved along with a beautiful woman who is playing both sides. FICTION ( )

Art crimes are an intriguing branch of the international crime tree, and in The Last Mona Lisa Jonathan Santlofer ably fulfills their potential. He begins with a real crime that took place in 1911, when a man named Vincent Peruggia was fired from his job at the Louvre, then hid in the museum overnight and stole the Mona Lisa. The destitute but patriotic Peruggia wanted to return the painting to his native Italy, and doubtless make a little money too. The painting resurfaced two years later in Florence whereupon the Italian police arrested him.
Santlofer’s novel features an American named Luke Perrone, fictional great-grandson of Peruggia. Since childhood, Luke has researched his notorious ancestor and the rumors he kept a diary during his months in prison. Luke is a frustrated painter and college history of art professor, and an upcoming school break gives him a chance to follow up a new lead. Apparently, his great-grandfather’s journal was donated to Florence’s Laurentian Library among the papers of a recently deceased art scholar.
Other people are just as interested in the diary as Luke is. Another library patron, the luscious Alexandra Greene, is just too friendly, except when she’s not. Interpol analyst John Washington Smith suspects the painting in the Louvre may not be authentic. During the Mona Lisa’s two-year disappearance, several copies were made and sold as originals. Perhaps the one hanging in the Louvre is one of these. Smith knows about Luke’s new lead and the trip to Florence, and if it pans out, it could revive his sagging career. A stop-at-nothing collector is also keenly interested and believes Luke can tell him whether “his” Mona Lisa, hidden in a vault, is the real thing.
Maybe I read too many thrillers, but I thought Luke was a bit slow to realize he’s experiencing too many coincidences and too many people dying around him. Chapters about Luke and Smith in the present day are interspersed with Vincenzo’s story, as told in his diary. These atmospheric historical chapters give resonance to Luke’s quest. ( )

One of the most amazing paintings in the world, the Mona Lisa, was stolen in 1911 by Vincenzo Peruggia. I was fortunate to see this painting at The Louvre in 1978, so I was interested in this historical fiction novel.
Told in 2 timelines, 1911 vs present day, it follows art professor and great grandson of Peruggia, Luke Perrone as he tries to discover the story of the theft and what happened to the painting.
Along the way, people Luke encounters end up dead. He also meets a beautiful woman, Alex, but is she helping out hurting him.
The story speculates whether the real Mona Lisa hangs in The Louvre, or is it a forgery? Does a ruthless and unscrupulous art lover own the real painting?
This is an interesting story imagining what might have happened with the painting.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Early Reads program for the book! All opinions are my own and freely given. ( )