Don’t you love when life imitates art? Today’s headline in Southern Arizona tells about the return – after significant restoration work at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles – of a de Kooning painting worth over $100 Million. The delivery was kept secret due to the value of the painting, and it was accompanied by uniformed police and Homeland Security officials.
Did we write this? Well, not quite. Our little heist from a fictional small town Nebraska museum was on a far smaller scale. We never created an actual value for the (again fictional) trio of “priceless” Impressionist paintings involved; we did, however, develop so much detail in describing them that they feel real to me. Unlike the de Kooning painting, ours were never defaced and needed no restoration. I suppose I’m giving away the happy ending of finding them, but it’s a romance, so you knew that anyway!
You can read more about how the De Kooning painting was stolen and recovered at this link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/16/woman-ochre-de-koonings-painting-from-theft-to-its-return-home.html. I was fascinated to know how close we came in our story to creating the variables that make such a heist possible—but then Mr. Kraft is a criminologist, so we had a leg up. If you’d like to read more about how we stumbled onto our story, check out our release announcement from 2014: https://adrianakraft.com/?p=6076
A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.
BLURB
A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.
Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.
Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?
BUY LINK http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LNE7366
REVIEWS
Five stars at Goodreads: “The sex is hot and I loved the phone sex scenes. Never did I expect the ending. It was brilliant. The Heist is a winner!” Sheila G.
Five stars at Amazon: “From the start, the perspective of Kara, the museum’s director and the thieves are cleverly interwoven… rich in detail… held my interest and kept me reading forward.” Gaele “Very hot…engaging, entertaining, funny and serious, well written and extremely enjoyable to read.” Donna H.
EXCERPT
“I and my staff have already done fairly thorough background checks on all the museum employees,” Ted said.
“Oh.” Kara scowled. “I’m not sure I like that.”
“But you expected it?”
“Of course. At some point.”
“I believe in being efficient. Even before certain added incentives.”
“I can always change my mind. I don’t know a thing about you.”
“You know enough. I have large hands.” Ted chuckled when she winced. “I’ve worked for the Upper Midwest Arts Council for five years.”
“And before that?”
“I was a Chicago cop.”
“Oh.”
“I went into the army right out of high school and completed my BA degree at U.I.C. while on the force. Funny, isn’t it? While you were working on your MA at the University of Chicago, I was patrolling the streets of Hyde Park and South Chicago.”
“Really?”
“That’s right.”
“Maybe we bumped into each other.”
“I highly doubt that. I wouldn’t forget bumping into you. Remember?”
“Oh, right.” Kara’s flush returned.
So much for all the anticipation about the new millennium. Merry Delaney’s life is still in a rut and shows no signs of changing. Sex? A fading memory, gone long before her husband actually died. Excitement? Hardly the hallmark of an accountant’s life. At forty-two, what can she look forward to?
Wow, what an incredible book! Not only is The Merry Widow a gripping romantic suspense, but the heat level is hotter than Death Valley… The ending took me by surprise and I was a little sad to see it end. I grew attached to the characters and wanted to stay in their world a little bit longer. The Merry Widow will be on my keeper shelf and one I will be re-reading again and again. Highly recommend! 
