Welcome to the Blog Tour for The London Forgery by Heidi Eljarbo, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: The London Forgery
Series: A Fabiola Bennett Mystery #1
Author: Heidi Eljarbo
Publisher: Independently Published
Release Date: August 29, 2023
Genre: Historical Cozy Mystery, Dual Timeline
1973. Art historian Fabiola Bennett sees herself as a prudently observant deer who becomes a daring and even mischievous lioness if the situation calls for it. And thatās exactly whatās required when greedy criminals steal, forge, and tamper with treasured artwork. When the crooks add murder to their list of crimes, the chaos is complete.
A mysterious note is delivered anonymously at the door of the National Gallery in London, and the director immediately calls Fabiolaās office in Oslo and pleads with her to come without delay. The message is confusing, but it seems one of her favorite eighteenth-century portraits is in trouble.
Fabiola hops on the first plane and meets up with her vibrant side-kick Pippa Yates and the ever-loyal Detective Inspector Cary Green from New Scotland Yard. But she is not naĆÆve enough to think untangling the purpose and meaning of the mysterious note will be as simple as a walk in Hyde Park. These things never are.
1750. Newly married Robert and Frances Andrews, members of the landed gentry of Suffolk, England, hire young and talented Thomas Gainsborough to paint their wedding portrait. Their desire is a lovely conversation piece showing their wealth and class, an artwork to remember them by for generations to come.
Little do they know the gifted artist portrays their personalities exactly how he perceives them, and the artistic symbolism is not as flattering as theyād hoped for. Even the looming clouds in the distance promised a troublesome future.
This is the first book in a new dual timeline series by Heidi Eljarboāan intriguing spin-off from the much-loved Soli Hansen Mysteries.
Fans of Lucinda Riley, Rhys Bowen, Kathleen McGurl, Kate Morton, and Katherine Neville will love this cozy historical art mystery, which takes the readers back to the nostalgia of the groovy seventies and the classical Georgian era of the eighteenth century.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub
About the Author
Heidi Eljarbo is the bestselling author of historical fiction and mysteries filled with courageous and good characters that are easy to love and others you don’t want to go near.
Heidi grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children and fifteen grandchildrenāso farāin addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier.
Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.
Heidiās favorites are family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.
Connect with Heidi by visiting heidieljarbo.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.
Excerpt
THE MORNING FOG had cleared by the time Fabiola stepped out of the black cab on
Trafalgar Square.
āThank you,ā she said as she grabbed her small suitcase and leather shoulder bag and stepped onto the pavement to pay the fare through the driverās window.
āHave a pleasant day, luv.ā The driver put the car in gear and eased between a red double-
decker bus and another taxi.
Fabiola turned and looked up at the towering column of Admiral Nelson. Four impressive
lions at the base embodied the admiralās heroism. In fact, the whole square was created to
commemorate the British victory against NapolĆ©onās navy on the southwest coast of Spain.
Fabiola knew the plaza with its fountains, steps, and statues like the back of her hand. She
must have been there a thousand times. She gave the admiral a quick nod as if greeting an old acquaintance, then took a deep breath and headed toward the commanding, neoclassic
building. The National Gallery was the main reason she frequented London. Whether she
visited in the role of an experienced art historian or of a citizen tourist whoād come to stroll
from room to room and delight in six hundred years of artwork, Fabiola grinned every time
she walked up to the main entrance with the soaring Corinthian pillars.
The museum director, a white-haired gentleman nearing retirement age, stood to the side in
the main hall as she entered. With his hands clasped behind his back, he seemed to be
watching the visitors streaming through the doors. He acknowledged Fabiolaās approach with a tilt of his head, then came toward her, his hand outstretched. Fabiola set her suitcase down and greeted him.
āAh, Mrs. Bennett, there you are, suitcase in hand.ā
āMr. Wilson. How are you? You made it sound urgent, so I came straight from Heathrow.ā
āI was at my witās end, so I called our favorite art expert.ā Mr. Wilson bent down and grabbed
the suitcase. āHere, let me carry this for you.ā Inclining his head toward the office area, he
added, āWe must speak in private.ā
Tour Giveaway
(2) winners will win a print copy of “The London Forgery”, an eBook “Of Darkness and Light” and a $10 Amazon gift card!
The full tour schedule is linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight on September 26, 2023, and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 3, 2023. The winner will be notified within 2 weeks of the close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of the prize. No shipping restrictions. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
The giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
