Collection (Charnes)

The Collection  (The DeWitt Agency Files, 1)
Lance Charnes, 2016
Wombat Media Group
ISBN-13: B01LXEL3PW (Kindle); 2940156957736 (Nook)



Summary
Four years ago, what Matt Friedrich learned at work put him in prison. Yesterday, it earned him a job. Tomorrow, it may kill him.

Matt learned all the angles at his old Los Angeles gallery: how to sell stolen art, how to "enhance" a painting’s history, how to help buyers hide their purchases from their spouses or the IRS. He made a load of money doing it—money he poured into the lawyer who worked a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney.

Matt’s out on parole and hopelessly in debt with no way out... until a shadowy woman from his past recruits him to find a cache of stolen art that could be worth millions.

Now Matt’s in Milan, impersonating a rich collector looking for deals. He has twenty days to track down something that may not exist for a boss who knows a lot more than she’s telling. He’s saddled with a tough-talking partner who may be out to screw him and up against a shady gallerist whom Matt tried to send to prison.

His parole officer doesn’t know he’s left the U.S. Worse yet, what Matt’s looking for may belong to the local branch of the Calabrian mafia.

Matt’s always been good at being bad. If he’s good enough now, he gets a big payday with the promise of more to come. But one slip in his cover, one wrong word from any of the sketchy characters surrounding him, could hand Matt a return trip to jail...or a long sleep in a shallow grave. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1960
• Where—Oakland, California, USA
• Education—B.A. University of California, Berkeley; M.S.,California State University, Long Beach
• Currently—lives in Orange County, California


Lance Charnes has been an Air Force intelligence officer, information technology manager, computer-game artist, set designer and Jeopardy! contestant, and is now an emergency management specialist. He’s had training in architectural rendering, terrorist incident response and maritime archaeology, but not all at the same time. His Facebook author page features spies, archaeology and art crime.

Lance is the author of the international thriller DOHA 12, the near-future thriller SOUTH, and the DEWITT AGENCY FILES series of international art-crime novels. All are available in trade paperback and digital editions. He's also a frequent contributor to Macmillan's Criminal Element website. (From the author.)

Visit the author's website.
Follow Lance on Facebook.

Discussion Questions
1. Matt is a cheat and liar. On the other hand, so were many of his gallery clients, except what they did was (usually) legal. Matt only conned people he thought could easily afford it. Discuss Matt’s past and present actions in relation to the hierarchy of criminal behavior. How bad do you think he is?

2. Matt stayed with and tried to care for his severely bipolar wife even as it caused him to slowly destroy his own life. Have you ever had to care for an incurably ill loved one? What sacrifices did you have to make? How far would you go morally or legally in order to keep a sick loved one safe and his/her condition stable? At what point do you say "enough"?

3. How does the depiction of art-related crime in The Collection square with what you’ve seen on television and in films? The use of stolen art as collateral for drug deals is a real phenomenon. What other uses do you think criminals have for stolen or looted artworks?

4. Who was your favorite character, and why? Who was your least-favorite character, and why? Who was the strongest character, and what made him/her seem that way to you?

5. Is Carson’s brusque, profane manner a defensive front or a moral defect? Why do you think she’s this way? Use examples from the text to support your conclusion.

6. In their first dinner in Milan, Matt says to Carson, "I’ve never been around a woman like you. You don’t know how to talk to me? I don’t know how to talk to you either" (p. 83 of the print edition). How much do cultural norms and expectations color your interactions with other people? Think back to the last time you met or worked with someone who, like Matt and Carson, didn’t fit his/her gender stereotypes. How did it affect your interaction with him/her?

7. What do you think really happened to Belknap? Why?

8. Matt accepts Allyson’s job offer because the high pay can help him get rid of his massive debts. However, the work’s potentially dangerous, and he’ll be helping people he finds distasteful or holds in contempt. Have you ever had to make that kind of personal or professional tradeoff—payoff vs. risk or conscience? Was it worth it? What would you have done in Matt’s place?

9. Is Gianna a victim or opportunist (or both)? Why? Whose side do you think she’s really on? Do you agree with Matt that "Gianna’s the nearest thing we’ve got to an innocent in this story" (p. 265 in the print edition)?

10. With which character do you identify with most closely? Why?

11. Would you have a relationship with someone like Matt or Carson? Why or why not?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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