The Forger A Novel [Paperback]

On the eve of World War II, David Halifax, a young American painter, receives a scholarship to come to Paris and work under the tutelage of the mysterious Russian artist Alexander Pankratov. But as Nazi forces encroach, Halifax realizes the true purpose of his visit: to forge masterworks of the Paris museums, and with the aid of a wily art trader, barter the fakes to Hitler's legion of art dealers. What develops is a riveting cat-and-mouse game that moves through Paris's silent streets, through the tunnels beneath its museums, and eventually into the war-torn countryside of Normandy.

Eerily moving . . . Watkins has generated a complicated plot full of suspense and action . . . Exceptionally good. Leonard Michaels, The Washington Post Book World

A well-thought-out thriller, with lots of action and historic and geographic authenticity. Kathleen Daley, Newark Star-Ledger

Suspenseful . . . elaborate . . . While Watkins's themes are familiar, they are deftly handled, the writer's painterly eye for detail matching that of his protagonist. Publishers Weekly

Paul Watkinsis the author of seven novels, all published by Picador, includingThe Story of My Disappearance, and the memoirStand Before Your God. He lives with his family in Princeton, New Jersey.