Maria Hummel | STILL LIVES

Plot (via Goodreads):

Kim Lord is an avant garde figure, feminist icon, and agent provocateur in the L.A. art scene. Her groundbreaking new exhibition Still Lives is comprised of self-portraits depicting herself as famous, murdered women—the Black Dahlia, Chandra Levy, Nicole Brown Simpson, among many others—and the works are as compelling as they are disturbing, implicating a culture that is too accustomed to violence against women.

As the city’s richest art patrons pour into the Rocque Museum’s opening night, all of the staff, including editor Maggie Richter, hope the event will be enough to save the historic institution’s flailing finances.

Except Kim Lord never shows up to her own gala

Fear mounts as the hours and days drag on and Lord remains missing. Suspicion falls upon the up-and-coming gallerist Greg Shaw Ferguson, who happens to be Maggie’s ex. A rogue’s gallery of eccentric art world figures could also have motive for the act, and as Maggie gets drawn into her own investigation of Lord’s disappearance, she’ll come to suspect all of those closest to her.

Set against a culture that too often fetishizes violence against women, Still Lives is a page-turning exodus into the art world’s hall of mirrors, and one woman’s journey into the belly of an industry flooded with money and secrets.

Review:

This novel is chilling to the core, mysterious, and is perfectly atmospheric. I couldn't believe that Hummel was able to capture such an essence of Los Angeles within her writing. Even though I have only been to LA once, I was completely brought back to the lights, camera, and action that LA has to offer around every corner. The best part? The plot.

The plot to this one is not only dangerously unique, but released at the most perfect time. There is some fascination with the crimes against women that America really is drawn to and the media has definitely picked up on that. I'm not quite sure what it is, but the books, the movies, the documentaries...so many focus on violence against women and this novel portrays that obsession in the most genius and psychologically alarming way possible. I loved the idea of this artist who is focusing her work on some women in  the past who have been murdered and how drawn these other people are to her work and then she goes missing and it just spirals from there. This novel was obsessive, creative, and beautifully constructed with an ending that just really felt like a punch in the gut.

My only drawback with this one was that while I understand that the art world is something that is well beyond my realm of understanding, I felt as though there were just so many characters thrown at you continuously through this novel. Some would show up and drop a few lines, some would just be mentioned in passing, and others just didn't feel like maybe there was a huge purpose for them. While I really enjoyed the storyline with this one and Hummels dazzling writing abilities, it kind of distracted me while I was trying to get to the bottom of this mystery. Nevertheless, this is definitely one I would recommend for a great day out by the pool or the beach.

Special thanks to Counterpoint for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5