Review: Somber but interesting and very well written
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 7, 2011
The only woman Maroch has loved since the death of his wife lies dead on the museum's floor at the foot of Van Gogh's last painting. A Van Gogh painting that the museum's Director can't remember seeing before hangs on the museum's wall. Maroch takes in the scene as his deceased wife comments on it in his mind, or is she only his imagination?"There is pain in beauty," his wife said. As Maroch reviews the events that led to this day, we see that pain. It is reflected in Van Gogh's disturbingly beautiful paintings and in the lives of the characters as they embark on a remote viewing project to find an as yet undiscovered work by the artist.This is a paranormal love story in which the mysteries of the mind parallel the mysteries of the action. Each tantalizing clue brings the past into clearer focus and leads Maroch closer to a surprising solution.The book is somber until the ending, unlike what I normally enjoy reading, but I appreciated Douglas Smith's insight and truly masterful execution of the plot. I wholeheartedly rate Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by Van Gogh, 5 stars. Included are excerpts from many of Smith's other stories, some of which sound equally enticing.