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Review: Domina by L.S.Hilton 0

Domina by L.S Hilton is the second book in the series, and is a sequel to the first book Maestra. The novel is a racy thriller about a young English woman Judith Rashleigh whose mother was a poor cleaner. However Judith wanted to improve her life, and she learned how to use men to further her career and life. She initially works in reputed art house, yet she is forced to move to Italy under a new name Elisabeth Teerlinc, hoping to leave behind her rather murky past which includes murder and theft of a painting which was considered valuable. The main passion of Elisabeth Teerlinc is art, and she hopes to make a living selling art pieces at her gallery on behalf of relatively unknown artists .

However Judith Rashleigh/Elisabeth Teerlinc makes the mistake of using the same name for her art gallery in Venice as the name she used for her gallery in Paris, Gentileschi. Slowly her past catches up with her, as she is contacted by a russian oligarch Yermolov to assess the value of his collection of valuable paintings by some of the most reputed names in the world. However after she does not agree to the terms and conditions of the russian, not taking photos, and returns to Venice, she finds that her life has changed for the worse, adversely affecting her peace of mind.

She is subjected to “home intrusions” a technique allegedly perfected by KGB, the russian secret service of entering the house, when the person is away and moving things from their original place or stealing low value items. The intruder is aware of the fact that the break in is too minor for the victim to file a police complaint, however the home instrusion can cause a lot of mental stress. The estranged wife of Yermolov , Elena also meets Elisabeth teerlinc and as she wants a good deal from her husband after the divorce, she wants to get hold of some valuable paintings which Yermolov owns. Initially Elisabeth thinks that Yermolov is responsible for the home intrusions

Elena is looking for a painting by Caravaggio, an Italian artist of the sixteenth century. The remaining part of the book is the story of how Elisabeth teerlinc traces the painting and includes a generous dose of crime, sleaze and gore. It shows the hollow and fickle world of relationships in the rich elite social circles, Carlotta a friend is engaged to be married to Hermann, however when Hermann is sent to jail, she is quickly married the wealthy elderly Franz, who would support her lavish lifestyle. Many like Alvin who come close to discovering the murky past of Elisabeth Teerlinc are mercilessly killed by her, as she tried to cover up her past.

The book gives a glimpse of the murky world of art dealers, the demand for and trade of valuable paintings by the rich, and the dark side of human nature. The extremely wealthy are smart enough to diversify their investment as they are aware of the fact that when there is a war or any kind of disturbance, the value of currency will fall, and valuable paintings are considered a better investment in these conditions. Hence there is a some demand for skilled art dealers who can assess the value of paintings, especially older paintings accurately and detect whether a painting is original or not.

The book Domina is set in various countries in Europe like England, France, Italy, Monaco, provides detailed information about life in these countries and travel in Europe. It is a well written readable book, offering an insight into the life of ambitious young women in Europe with no scruples, the art market and the demand for rare paintings as an investment

Domina
Author : L.S.Hilton
Publisher: Zaffre Publishing, 2017
Pages: 403
Author review copy received from Bloomsbury Publishing as part of Goodreads giveaway

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