Monday, June 24, 2019

Spirit River Dam, by Susan Daly

"Spirit River Dam," by Susan Daly, in The Best Laid Plans, edited by Judy Penz Sheluk, Superior Shores Press, 2019.

There is art forgery, of course, but there is also art fraud.

What would you do if you found a painting that appears in every way to be a fine example of a painting by a famous (and profitable) artist - except for the tiny detail that it is dated a few years after his death?  What if that date is in pencil and easy to erase?

That's the dilemma faced by art dealer Imogen when her ex-husband shows up with a painting he inherited from his late mother.  Just a little erasure will make the painting a treasure!  What could possibly go wrong?

For an answer, please see the title of the anthology.

The story has a very clever surprise.

3 comments:

  1. Totally awesome, Robert, thank you so much! I had 71 submissions, with 20 stories to select. Susan's was one of the first ones I selected without a second guess. Loved the premise, loved the story. Did you know Susan won an Arthur Ellis Award (Crime Writers of Canada) for Best Short Story before?

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  2. Thanks, Robert. I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. And felt moved to post about it.

    Cheers.

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