THE LOST MASTERPIECE

British actor Lucy Rayner narrates Shapiro's novel with reverence for the subject and empathy for protagonist Tamara, a young woman thrust into an international scandal involving the Nazi theft of douard Manet's painting "The Luncheon Party." The action switches between the present and the lush world of the 19th-century French art world, featuring luminaries such as Manet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Berthe Morisot, who was Tamara's four-times great-grandmother. Rayner is more successful with her narration of Tamara's story as she struggles to learn Morisot's fate. The peppering of French expressions and Reyner's over-exaggerated French accent can distract from the action. Overall, it's a compelling novel that lends itself well to the audiobook format. [Published: JANUARY 2026]