PAINTING IN THE DARK

British Reviews

"A terrific, cultured tale of crime for the sake of art"
said - Marcel Berlins in The Times
when he recommended it as one of his 3 choices in 'Summer Books 2002'.

"Try not to miss this original, cleverly devised novel. After its bizarre hook - dwarf burying a body in a darkling wood - you soon begin to see that you are being treated to a multi-layered tour de force. Uppermost is a first person apologia by a British woman, sometime friend of Goering and house guest of Adolf Hitler. Miss Keene, an old lady now, is introduced as the sister of Naomi Keene, whose informally posed portraits of leading Nazis have become very collectable. Intertwined with her fluent review of her life is a third-person account of rent boys and squatters in central London - the link between them is an avaricious art dealer's employment of a lonely and fire-mutilated thief to hunt down the remaining Naomi Keene paintings. The old lady's mild, persuasive, upper-middle-class English voice is perfectly produced, her seductive non sequiturs slip by ... Painting In The Dark is a novel which prompts a dozen questions about our own attitudes to the past. But it reaches further into dark areas of the present, not dissimilar to the darkness in which the fascism of the 1930s was born.
- Donald James in Time Out

"This is the one book that you have to read. Promise!
Painting in the Dark (Do not Press) is political but does not preach, weaving a tapestry around the halcyon days of the German 'court' in the 1930's where we see grotesque humans such as Hitler and Goebels/Goerring through the eyes of an ordinary woman and her artistic sister, to a soon-to be dictator, albeit on a lesser scale: Tony Blair on the eve of the 1997 election. It sounds dull but it isn't. I hate books set in this era but this one held me entranced. I wanted to know about the sisters, one's art and, decades later, their fate. I wanted to know whether the homeless child would be safe or whether the bogey man would get him. It made me want to read on - and regret when there was nothing left to read.

This book is not about anything but about everything. Oh, that sounds empty but it's too good to describe. And the best thing? It's available on Amazon so you don't even have to move.

Believe me, Painting in the Dark is an eye-opening, page turner. And it's fun."
Fiona Shoop, assistant editor of Shots magazine

"James cleverly interweaves the past and the present to unfold a sophisticated, chilling story of deceit and betrayal. A thoroughly gripping, multi-layered novel from an acknowledged British master of hard-edged crime."
- The Mail On Sunday

"Ambitious, imaginitive, almost-true story of nazi-loving Brit sisters Naomi and Sidonie Keene, who, in the 1930s, took up with Hitler and Co - genuinely because they saw them as charismatic makers of gem-hard, gem-bright new Europe - and as a result became known as the Traitorous Toffs ... Extremely shrewd mingling of near-fact and fiction, with memories of the Mitfords (Unity actually puts in an appearance) tincturing the narrative ... James really scores when he sticks to his political might-have-been. His dark imaginings are potent, gripping and memorable."
- Philip Oakes in The Literary Review

"His masterpiece to date, eclipsing much of contemporary British mystery writing with its compassion, meticulous plotting, historical relevance and chilling subject matter. A complex tale of art treasures in which the present has to face the horrors of the past, in particular those of Nazi Germany, this is a courageous and ambitious novel."
- Maxim Jakubowski in the Guardian

"This has got to be James's best book to date. He builds his story expertly, the characters are great and he enters an area which most writers fear to tread ... By setting the story against two very opposite governments in two different periods in English history James needed to tread a fine line. This is done with care and it works. I think it would hard for the author to top this work."
-Mike Stotter in SHOTS magazine

"Painting in the Dark is a complex, satisfying thriller, that's something of a departure from James' previous works of London noir. Set during the General Election of 1997 during which Tony Blair's New Labour swept to power in a wave of zeal, it bounces back to the 1930s, when another charismatic leader was rising in Europe. There are flashbacks to the life of Nazi sympathiser Sidonie Keene (now 85) and her painter sister, who was an intimate of Hitler and Goering. In the present day the art dealer Gottleisch and his unscrupulous assistant, Ticky, are convinced that Sidonie has a hoard of her sister's ever-increasingly valuable paintings and are determined to get them by whatever means necessary. This is a long book (over 300 pages) but never does the pace falter and you are hooked to the end, when the last twist in the tail leaves you breathless. This book was recommended to me by a colleague at work and I was delighted to discover one of the finest thrillers I have ever read ."
Reader's recommendation on Amazon (Tony Brandon, 9 December, 2000)

"A compelling plotline involving Gottfleisch, an unscrupulous art dealer, and his belief that a little old lady is hiding intimate portraits of Hitler and his inner circle. It's a dark, complex tale which takes in the outer limits of human unpleasantness as Gottfleisch sets out to steal the paintings. Moving backwards and forwards in time, Painting is unsparing in its depictions of criminals and their victims"
The Big Issue

"I really liked it, specially the ending which I didn't see coming. I wondered in fact, why a big publisher didn't take it on with an advance commensurate. Now I know. I could shoot the bastards. I've reviewed it for the Good Book Guide and put it into the Independent On Sunday as one of the best of 2000 ."
Mark Timlin, author of the rollicking great Nick Sharman series.

"Fans of Russell James will be enthralled by Painting In The Dark... This book is more than just a sophisticated and polished modern crime caper set in the art world. It gives wonderful insight into the horrors of the Second World War, as seen through the eyes of the Keene sisters; it peels back the layers of hindsight that cloud people's perceptions of this period and shows how normal everyday individuals were beguiled into fighting on both sides... He has the power to move his readers and make them feel as if they are part of the unfolding action... This book satisfies both as a mainstream work and as a crime novel with a terrific and eerie finish."
Jared Cade, author of Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days.

"An above average, excellent read. Highly recommended must read."
- Denise Scott in the South Edinburgh Echo

"I was immensely impressed. A perfect example of publishing's generalised failure of nerve and utter failure to recognise quality, clear, crisp writing (and amazing research - must've taken you months?) and a smart, sharp plot. I didn't spot the switch at all before it came - and Cy was one of the best anti-heros I've read in a long time - the ultimate in lethal innocence - you should use him again, he's gorgeous...."
- e-mailed from the author Manda Scott