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FOR THE MINDS AND WILLS OF MEN by Jeff Lanier

FOR THE MINDS AND WILLS OF MEN

by Jeff Lanier

ISBN: 978-1-63337-609-0
Publisher: Boyle & Dalton

In this novel, an insurance agent in the 1950s attempts to track down a stolen painting by Jackson Pollock and gets pulled into the murky world of American espionage.

Will Oxley isn’t a typical insurance agent—he heads a one-man art division at All American Insurance, an idea of his own concoction. Elaine Carter, a gallery owner, charges him with tracking down a stolen painting by the up-and-coming Pollock intended for an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. The work is an odd choice for a theft—it’s not among the most valuable paintings that were available and, given the size of the canvas, not the easiest to purloin. As Will quips, “You can’t tuck that under your coat.” In fact, the motive for the theft of that particular painting is exasperatingly unclear to Will, who doggedly pursues its recovery nonetheless. In the process, he meets Liz Bower—who heads the Bower Foundation, the well-funded organization behind the exhibition. She hails from a very prominent family—her father, Frank, owns a massive manufacturing company that, among other things, supplies the United States military with uniforms and gas masks. Will and Liz begin a romantic affair, but he becomes suspicious that she might have ties to subversive Communist groups—a weighty concern since the “House Un-American Activities Committee was holding trials at an unapologetic pace.” Lanier intelligently limns not only the American obsession with Communist infiltration in the wake of World War II, but also the emergence of abstract expressionism in the U.S. Moreover, Will is a captivating protagonist—he turns to art for solace after a traumatic experience fighting as an infantryman in the war: “The war stayed with me when I returned. We all came back different, broken. I find solace in paintings. I need them. Paintings help quiet the memories. I can spend time in front of one and be taken away from the images of bodies and trenches.” This is an exceedingly intelligent and unpredictable story, one that astutely combines a love of art with an exciting tale of intrigue.

A mesmerizing spy thriller, thoughtful and dramatic.