LoveReading Says
Goldenacre is a gritty murder mystery focusing on Edinburgh's art world. It's twisty and sharp, with a steady pace from beginning to end, exposing treachery and deception. It features a whole host of unsavoury, ruthless characters motivated by wealth and desire. I could sense the passion driving both investigators, art expert Thomas Tallis and newspaper reporter Shona Sandison, as they linked the history of a legendary painting with a series of brutal murders. I could also sense the author's passion for Edinburgh as he brought the city to life with his vivid sense of place. I love learning something from the novels I read. Goldenacre is peppered with references to some famous artists and their works, and I found myself Googling several of them while I was reading. Some real life events are also mentioned, giving the book its contemporary feel. This book is a gripping exploration of the darker side of modern society.
Victoria Goldman
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The Goldenacre Synopsis
The Goldenacre - a masterpiece by the painter and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh - has been given to the people of Scotland. The beautiful canvas, the last work by the artistic genius, enthrals the art world, but behind it lies a dark and violent mystery.
Thomas Tallis, an art expert with a trouble past, is trying to uncover the truth about the painting's complex history, while dogged newspaper reporter Shona Sandison is investigating a series of shocking murders in Edinburgh.
Both investigators soon become engulfed in the machinations of money, crime and identity in a literary thriller set amid the seen and unseen forces at work in modern Scotland.
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Philip Miller Press Reviews
'outstanding mystery thriller...In a style recalling the brutal dreariness of Le Carre, Miller describes a pivotal character as 'sharp and severe as a snapped bone.' It's also an apt description of this biting tale of society in decline. Noir fans won't want to miss it' - Publishers Weekly (starred)
'A riveting, brutal journey into the high stakes world of legacy art and inherited wealth' -- Denise Mina, author of the Garnethill trilogy and The Long Drop
'A pacy tale of crime and deception set in the world of fine art. Beautifully written, with a brilliantly vivid sense of place and a killer twist, The Goldenacre is one to savour' -- Liam McIlvanney, author of The Quaker and Where the Dead Men Go
'Art, music, politics, and murder, set against a backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world - what's not to love? A complex and compelling plot, with intruiging characters that I very much hope we will meet again. Great read' -- Lesley Kelly, writer of the Health of Strangers series and A Fine House in Trinity
'Phil Miller's Edinburgh is a city of secrets, an introverted place filled with characters so real in their humanity and yet somehow askew, imbued with the touch of supernatural shadows but also unshakeable goodness. Elegiac, moving, but always richly humane, Goldenacre is a welcome addition to Scottish noir' -- Jacky Copleton, author of A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding
