B.A. Shapiro, “The Collector’s Apprentice”

Author of “The Art Forger” and “The Muralist,” B. A. Shapiro has made the historical art thriller her own. In “The Collector’s Apprentice,” she gives us an unforgettable tale about the lengths to which people will go for their obsession. It’s the summer of 1922, and 19-year-old Paulien Mertens finds herself broke and alone in Paris. Everyone in Belgium believes she stole millions in a sophisticated con game. To protect herself, she creates a new identity, a Frenchwoman named Vivienne Gregsby, and sets out to prove her innocence. When an eccentric art collector offers Vivienne the perfect job, she is soon caught up in the Parisian art world—including Gertrude Stein and Henri Matisse, with whom Vivienne becomes romantically entwined.