Reviewed by Charles Remington for Readers' Favorite

We first meet Laurel Beacham in the dead of night, engaged in recovering an Old Master from a private gallery housed in a castle turret. Surprised by the owner of the house, she quickly cuts the painting from its frame and escapes by attaching a suction cup to the wall and launching herself through a conveniently placed window. So starts Counterfeit Conspiracies by Ritter Ames, a high octane thriller which finds our heroine next in an Italian palazzo, there to recover another valuable antique. It is during this operation that she first meets the man she describes as a ‘Rhett Butler wannabe in Armani,’ who will feature persistently in the tale, much to Ms Beacham’s annoyance. The action quickly moves from Italy to London where, over a period of two days, she is involved in a breathless chase through the city, during which she barely escapes an attempt to kidnap her. She is shot at in the East End, demonstrates her ability to handle a powerful motorcycle, and finally departs the city via Le Shuttle to Paris, where there is another frantic chase into the French countryside and the final exciting denouement.

Laurel Beacham works for the New York based Beacham Foundation, an organisation set up by her grandfather to recover stolen or misappropriated works of art and return them to their rightful owners. Our heroine was born into money which, unfortunately, was quickly squandered away during her childhood, leaving her no option but to work for a living. She is fortunate, however, in that she loves her work, is intelligent, fit, and attractive, so spends no time at all bemoaning her lot. She does not hesitate to use her considerable feminine assets if it suits her purpose, but does not easily submit to male attentions. I was greatly amused by one scene where she headbutts unconscious her Rhett Butler wannabe, who is becoming a bit of a nuisance - I think that gives you some flavour of the woman. Ritter Ames has created a feisty character and launched her into the glamorous world of fine art, where big money attracts the mobsters and fakers, where crooks and collectors will sometimes be prepared to kill for the next big prize. Counterfeit Conspiracies is the first book in the Bodies of Art Mystery Series, which I am sure will enjoy great success.