My Review (4 stars out of 5)
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it’s an entertaining and light-hearted read. Set in the real 17th-century National Trust property of Ham House, we meet a team of mature volunteers who, in some cases, feel somewhat invisible to the public in general. However, it occurs to some of the team that such invisibility could prove useful if they had a yearning to pull of a daring art theft. The whole novel has a happy-go-lucky feel to it with lots of chit-chat amid the everyday goings-on within the house. There’s also an underlying layer of properly British humour that keeps things rolling along as the story unfolds.
The author herself is a volunteer at Ham House, and her detailed knowledge proves fascinating in relation to the technicalities of the artworks on show at the house, and the techniques utilised by the artists. Having said that, I felt the plot took a while to get going and found if difficult not to skim forwards to find out what happened next.
A well-researched and entertaining book that will please art-lovers everywhere.
Author Bio
With a BA in English and Philosophy, Genevieve worked for eleven years at the Weekend FT, where she helped create and launch How To Spend It magazine.
She volunteered for years as a National Trust guide at Ham House. This became the setting for her debut art heist novel, No Oil Painting, which was listed for the inaugural Women’s Prize Trust and Curtis Brown Discoveries, and was published by Burton Mayers Books on 10th October 2025.
Her writing uses dark humour to probe the difference between our perception of people and their true selves. The gulf between what is said and what is meant. She considers people watching an essential skill for any writer; overheard snippets of conversation or a bonkers exchange at a bus stop are like gold nuggets. She’s been known to follow people to catch the end of a juicy conversation or argument. Women aged over fifty are essentially invisible anyhow and she views this as a kind of superpower. Unlike her protagonist Maureen, she hasn’t used this to commit art theft. Yet.
Social Media Links
NB This post first appeared as part of the Blog Tour for No Oil Painting, via Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources.
Colin Garrow 