An ordinary woman becomes a thief of Renaissance
art in order to pay the bills in The
Objects of Her Affection, an engrossing novel by Sonya Cobb that focuses on themes
of want and need.
The Porters are a young, seemingly idyllic Philadelphia
family. Beneath the surface, however, Sophie Porter and her husband Brian want
different things. Brian, a workaholic curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
is focused mainly on his career, constantly traveling. Sophie, feeling
neglected and at a professional standstill as a web developer, thinks being
approved for a hefty mortgage on a 150-year-old fixer-upper house will empower
her life and give the couple's two children the childhood she herself never had.
Brian sees all the problems with the house,
while Sophie sees a perfect future. When their approved adjustable-rate
mortgage suddenly skyrockets and the Porters can't pay the bills, Sophie panics,
yet she keeps the financial anxieties a secret. While visiting Brian at the
museum one day, she discovers a trove of small, poorly stored, valuable works
of art. Sophie 'accidentally' makes off with a Renaissance decorative mirror. Fearful
of having to return it and thinking it might pay off some debt, she sells it to
an art dealer who befriends Sophie while pulling her into a life of crime.
"She only wanted what was best for her
family," Cobb writes about her deeply flawed, risk-taking protagonist with
whom some readers will empathize. The thought-provoking, suspenseful plot will also
hold crossover appeal for fans of thrillers as well as those intrigued by the
lives of ordinary people misguided by their decisions and desires.
Sourcebooks Landmark,
$14.99 Trade Paper, 9781402294242,
337 pp
Publication Date: August 1, 2014
To order via INDIEBOUND
link HERE
Note: This review is a reprint and
is being posted (in a slightly different form) with the permission of Shelf
Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (8/1/14),
click HERE
