3 out of 4 stars
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The Girl Who Knew da Vinci by Belle Ami is a book about Angela Renatus. Angela is a young woman having her internship at an art museum. Working at Getty Museum had been a dream job which turned into a nightmare for Angela. Her creepy boss, Dr. Alberto Scordato, harassed her sexually at every opportunity he had. Angela had intense insomnia and she often sleepwalked. She often dreamt about couples who lived in the ancient times. One of the couples was friends to the renowned genius and artist Leonardo Da Vinci. She often dreamed about their lives, their loves and the tragedies they suffered. Unknown to her, she often communicates with these couples during her sleepwalk. She met Alex Caine, an ex-soldier who later became an art collector and a private investigator. Alex needed to employ Angela as a Renaissance expert to aid him to find one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting lost in time.
Angela and Alex discovered the visions Alex had been seeing were visions of their past lives. They were lovers in the past and their love always met a tragic end. They tried finding the missing painting Angela had hidden in her past life and at the same time, they tried to stop history from repeating itself. Alberto Scordato, the director of Getty Museum would stop at nothing to acquire the painting even go as far as to murder anyone who stood in his way. Alex and Angela uncovered secrets as they grew more intimate with each other. They discovered they needed each other to uncover the mystery of the missing painting and to get rid of Angela's visions.
The story is a narration told from the third-person point of view. It is a crime book mixed with mystery and romance. The author took the reader back and forth in time going through the earlier and current lives of Alex and Angela. Alex was a wealthy guy who served in the army in Afghanistan. Angela was a very intelligent girl who worked hard in college, and she also worked hard to obtain a competent job to improve her résumé. The story is adventurous. The plot is fascinating and thrilling. The story is clearly a fiction, but the idea is thought-provoking. The writing style is direct and straightforward.
However, the romantic conversations between Angela and Alex felt forced. The sexual innuendos were dry and awkward at times. I found the chemistry between Alex and Angela cliché. Alex said he had never brought a woman to his home until he met Angela. I found this line cliché and common in romantic books.
I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I discovered one error in this book. The book is well-organized, and the plot is well written. The writing style is direct and straightforward. I recommend this book to those who like crime, thriller and romantic books. I do not recommend this book to young readers because of the vividly described sex scenes.
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The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci
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