The Lady from Mainz

By: Stephen Glover

Narrated by: Katherine Littrell

A well-intentioned young female art expert is caught in a snow-storm on a train in the Scottish Highlands. At the inn where passengers are forced to stay the night she is approached by a mysterious wealthy foreigner who claims to be a lover of paintings. Will she succumb to his temptations, and who exactly is he?©2015 Stephen Glover (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Interesting

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

This was a very interesting story. Quite different. Interesting short

Clever Little Tale of Allure of Exceptional Art

This short story of the chance meeting between a young art curator traveling to her interview at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh and a foreign man who had possession of a stolen Raphael painting, one that had so captivated him as a young man that he simply had to have it. A wealthy man, he had hired thieves to steal it from the gallery, waited until the news died down and kept the painting secluded away to enjoy for his own pleasure. The woman in the painting nearly consumed him, so much so that he now felt compelled to give it away, as it had so occupied every waking hour of his life. He proposed to give it to the young art expert, the woman on the train, enroute to her interview. Both the man and she were delayed by a terrible snow storm and put up in a local inn until the storm subsided. At first she vehemently disagreed with the older man, proclaiming that art belonged in museums and galleries for all to enjoy . . . but the more she thought of the possibility of possessing the painting herself, the more temptation she felt. Would she accept his invitation to take the stolen painting?

Felt like an undeveloped story

I went into the story hoping for a short moody, wintery mystery, and at first it almost delivered. The snowy train setting had me getting Murder on the Orient Express vibes, and I thought I was settling in for a slow-burn story with atmosphere and intrigue. But then…it was over before it even began. The plot never had time to build, the characters barely took shape, and by the end I genuinely couldn’t tell what the point, or the moral, was supposed to be.

Overall, it felt like an unfinished idea rather than a fully developed story. A cozy setting with wasted potential.