THE SHADOW ARTIST by Lisa Barr

5 stars!

This fantastic novel of historical fiction, the latest from the phenomenally talented Barr, centers around the real story of a Ghost Army during WWI that had over 1,000 soldier artists who created what looked and sounded like from afar as a huge U.S. force poised to strike the Nazi. Via the use of fake tanks and soldiers, loud recordings of troop movements, and other deceptive art, the Nazis were fooled enough to detract from a real invasive strike coming from a different direction. This little-known piece of war history, kept secret for 50 years after WWII ended, gets brought to life by Barr with the vibrancy of a thriller.

Marlowe Steele, the daughter of two CIA agents, finds herself on the run undercover after her new, gorgeous British art student boyfriend slashes her parents’ throats while home with her for the holidays.

Paralyzed with their loss and the betrayal by her new love, Marlowe stops teaching and eventually starts working out her grief via spray paint art graffiti on buildings, recreating the scene of their murder. Her anonymous graffiti under the rebellious and angry name “Dirt Bitch” goes viral. Marlowe, fearing for her safety and wanting to keep her anonymity, flees to Denver.

Separately, we learn of emotionless Lamia, who runs from Europe an anonymous assassin squad comprised of contractors and hired by the uber wealthy. At the novel’s outset, Lamia both appears as a mysterious model in Marlowe’s art class. She also turns on her partner she views as betraying her and takes as penance the help of his artist brother Declan, Marlowe’s boyfriend who Lamia set up as the killer ofher parents. Lamia forces Declan as a talented artist communicating with assassins via secret messages embedded in his graffiti work around the world. Turns out Lamia’s latest client, a billionaire German skinhead is out for revenge on behalf of his Nazi grandfather.

Meanwhile, Bill Colton, who’s ex-CIA and ran Marlowe’s parents as agents, has tracked Marlowe in his quest to find the secret cabal behind her parents’ murder. No one at the CIA believes Bill, and so he’s gone rogue to uncover the terrorists behind the murders.

Lastly, there’s Bill’s grandmother Emmanuelle, now elderly but still fierce, who as a French resistance fighter took down a powerful Nazi via seduction, and by distracting him set up the Ghost Army for success. Marlow’s chosen graffiti nickname echoes that taken by Emmanuelle who referred to herself as “Dirty Jewish Bitch” as she took down the Nazis.

Art itself plays a major character in the book, as a vehicle for rebellion, communication, deception, illusion, and redemption. This overlays with all the Jewish art misappropriated by the Nazi’s as part of their greedy looting and hiding away of masterpieces belong to Jewish families.

Barr’s extensive research for the novel shows, wrapped in a compulsive plot in which layers and layers of secrets unravel, and the courage of women heroines comes to light.

Thanks to Lisa Barr, Harper Perennial, and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.