by ThatNewGuy
actually enjoyed it , not so sure it belongs in LW, Yes i know it has his ex wife in it and she cheated but that's kind of pushing things as far as the story line goes. However the mystery side of the story and the forging as you said not completely accurate gave for a very good read.
keep up the good work.
That was a riveting story and I enjoyed the way it panned out, with him ruining his ex-wife's career and getting his revenge on her lover. I wish he'd got together with Carina again though, the romantic in me was hoping that they'd get a happy ending.
5* obviously.
You receieve extra stars for the welcome change of pace. Its been nonstop garbage of late it seems.
Very well written. Descriptive thoughts and sentences. Good story line, one that most might overlook. Tasteful and erotic sex scenes, and a riveting story line. Good Job!
I know nothing about Art but definitely an enjoyable story. Look forward to more P
Well written, wngaging and original. Looking forward to more of your work.
Great story line with some nice twist and turns. Enjoyed it immensely.
I hope this one isn’t over a follow up and a rematch of these characters would be wonderful.
Loved it. Great characters and very interesting plot. Would be great to have a sequel, romantic in me would love for them to get together.
This is “you could make a living writing fiction” level work. Don’t see that much on Lit.
My only question is, why was she asking around for that particular date newspaper? Wouldn’t any date near that work?
So, many stories with former SEALs and Mafia-connected stooges getting blatant revenge, and this nerd stops a million-dollar heist, costs his cheating ex-wife her job, and he gets rid of both the other guy's relationship with ex-wife, and his job. Novel, and very well-written and paced. Having Carina in that room though, seems unlikely. A true master forger would never get close to people who could easily ID them later.
I think it rather interesting that your fourth story was on forgery, you claimed to know nothing about it but wrote an intriguing tale about it. Which was the true forgery?
Outstanding story and such a change of pace from the majority of the drivel we find on LW. You might consider a bit of a series with Adam -- the character is strong and intrigue,sex, consequences in the artistic world, the plethora of insane characters that populate that world -- it could make for a great template.
There have been too many terrible stories in LW lately. Not all of course, some of the better writers still post worthy stories but too much garbage has to be sorted through to get to them. Thank you.
This is a great story. There were no "special forces" or "BTB". Just a great storyline.
No, it's not a great short story written by a master. But it is an admirable attempt at forging one. ;-) Thoroughly enjoyed! Well done!
Very enjoyable
Rather impressive given the amount of research required to write such a fine story just for fun. It was fun to read, too. As far as the comments from 'the category police,' you should choose whatever you feel like it belongs in. Great job. You're now on my fav list, and I want to see more.
This was delightful. A mixture of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, written in a style reminiscent of Chandler and Hammett.
The research alone would score 4*, and the lightly flat touch to the writing deserves another 4* - but 5 is all I have.
Well done, sir/ma'am!
I am so tired of these overused....
Sorry, bad habit from commenting on some of the recent dreck that shows up in LW.
This is awesome. 5*. Knocked it out of the park.
5* Riveting original story with a very nice BTB on the ex and her lover along with Carina by using a forgery. And he got a massive jump up in his career. Write on!
Not the end, I hope
I'd love to read more about the world's greatest art forger and the leading forensic art forgery detector (especially since he got his FFT infrared spectroscope).
Nice change of pace - could see this becoming a series or chain.
Aside from some of the scientific items (they really have minimal impact), I found the ending a bit rushed. Still, I rated this a five.
Nice change of pace. Thx!
Technically, the writing is excellent. Very creative plot. Criticism: At the beginning the plot was dragging...it wasn't obvious that anything of interest was going to happen. That's partly the consequence of the long sex narrative. Notice that The Hall of Fame stories are long on clever plotting and action OTHER than sex descriptions, which are inevitably tedious. There is a cadre of wankers on this site that are "entertained" by long descriptions of who did what to whom, but I suspect most just scroll through that type of thing. IMHO, this effort would have been improved is the sex twaddle had been dramatically shortened, and the drama among the MC, Carina, and Lauren had been more fully developed. Still, it was easy to give this a 5.
I appreciate it when authors do research and try to be accurate about some uncommon subject. 5*
The character development in this story is strong enough to merit a second chapter. Also would be interesting to find out Carina's real backstory.
One of the best stories here in a long time. I don't know much about the art world, but it rang true and because it's fiction - that's good enough for me.
I look forward to reading some of your previous works, you're a fine writer, keep it up.
Eh, glad that others liked it but i was little board with it, i don't know i guess plot just wasn't that interesting to me and characters were ok but also not that interesting, so it wasn't bad story at all but i also didn't really liked it either.
This is a most unique contribution to this category on this site! I enjoyed it immensely. Well written and the characters were extremely well developed for the stories length.
Thank you for sharing
Ed
I read the story and gave it a five because it was entertaining and different. Wish I could write as well. Not only did I enjoy the story but the author's comment at the end gave me a chuckle.
Adam still a lonely man , he was being used but fell in love with carina. She had feelings for him. He exposed her fraud,they both moved on. Still we could use a part 2 does he ever find a mate. He was a honest and honorable man. Almost impossible to find today . Well we have a choice coming up in politics Biden is one such person vs the biggest liar in our politics today! Lol America .
Well written but kinda pointless.
Unless you’re here for riveting art forgery drama.
Niche market.
The most frustrating thing for an art forger is Is having to listen to the world praise the original artist while they labour in obscurity producing something that they believe is equal to or better than the original. The only way that they gain fame is by getting caught.
If this were a movie, ending it as you did would be the perfect set up for a sequel.
Very much enjoyed the story. Fairly sound but particularly enjoyed the twist of the moon status to prove it a forgery without the other forensic evidence.
Although, I don't think this story belongs in the LW category this was a story that got me hooked from the get go. Great reading regardless of any scientific validities presented as facts.
5 stars.
Very well written and totally beliveable from the art forgery point of view which I know nothing of either, but it was fun to read.
Thank you
I have no knowledge of art, or if art forgery. Your story sounds right to me, but I would bet money that there will be a couple of forensic investigators among the LW readership who will tell us where you went wrong. That said, I really enjoyed the story as written. I figured that somehow he and Carina would blow up Lauren, but your twist was a complete surprise. Kind of a Thomas Crown vibe to it, and it would make an excellent movie. Very well done NewGuy.
The complex plot with its turn arounds is enthralling.
I guess revenge on an Ex makes it a loving wives story - barely. The story itself was a good read. I do wish he had fried more asses in the end. Either gotten his Ex fired or turned Carina in by exposing her in dramatic fashion. A good script writer could probably turn this into a movie. Unfortunately guys like Harrison Ford and Sean Connery are too old for the lead. Thanks for the effort. I look forward to more of your stories.
4 stars
What an enjoyable addition to the usual drivel in the LW collection.
Congratulations on your imaginative foray into this topic, as well as the sparkling 'confession' in the Authors Note. Dazzling stuff, that.
BRAVO, TNG!
If Todd172 has good words for you, you did good, Boy. Do look at his stories and notice that he develops great characters and has good plot-lines. You won't find the puerile "stroking stuff" cluttering his pages and boring his readers. You have real talent. I hope to see much more of your work.
There are very few stories on this site that you hate for them to end. This was worth the wait.
You are a very good writer. Be happy to beta read. (I have a minor in literature).
Very unique spin on fidelity and it's unintended consequences, at least unintended by one party. Very enjoyable read, with a certain artistic flair not often seen in such stories. I agree with some of the other posters, I'll certainly read your other work!
Keep it up.
I doubt that many of our readers are experts in artistic painting frauds so your presentation was interesting and refreshing. I particularly enjoyed the smooth flow of your story. Thank you for sharing. Five stars from me.
A decent story, real characterisation, good storyline, such a pleasant change from all the dross submitted lately.
Very interesting story with some erotica and quite a bit of twists and turns. Please keep writing. Thanks a lot for sharing it. 5* for your work
I gave this work a 4 because I could not give it a 4.6. I don't know how constructive that is but I will read you again and again. Thanks for a story that had just enough sex and enough plot to keep it interesting.
Finding this was a breath of fresh air for me, after flipping through mindless wannabe cuck stories! The plot is wonderful and relevant, the science intriguing, and the writing which moves well. There is sex and adultery in it, justifying it being in the LW category, but it was not overabundant, yet tastefully done without crucifying the story line. I give it five stars!
Loved it. Well written and great plot. You obviously know a lot more about art than I do since it all seemed plausible to me.
Almost noir-ish and the writing, the style and technique, reminded me of Hammett and Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden (without the magic). He gets his revenge on the ex wife and the jerk who seduced her and also finds in a way he can move on. Whether Carina was totally using him or she felt for him, he kind of comes out the winner IMO.
Would love to see more stories with Adam in it, lot of fun. Maybe he will run into Carina and find love ,would be an interesting lw tale of a professional cheat turned into a loving wife.Look forward to more stories.
This could easily become a series of stories! The relationship between your hero and Corina reminds me of the Sherlock Holmes/Irene Adler love/competitiveness.
I’ve read some articles recently that have suggested that there are a large percentage of the paintings in museums may, in fact, be forgeries.
And it was not that long ago that the statue that was the ‘centerpiece’ of the Getty, out in L.A. turned out to be a forgery!
So, Watson! The games afoot!
At last an interesting, compelling story in LW that does not involves page after page of graphically descriptive sexual acts and and the main male character revealing a long-hidden tendency or desire for cuckoldry. Bravo!
Refreshing to read something entirely new with excellent execution. By far the most interesting discreetly well delivered comeuppance encountered here.
Well done and Thank You.
I wish my stuff was near as good as yours. But then I suffer from "not give a shit syndrome" which cost me stars in the voting. If you like to get more good scores like this one, don't take a stand on anything in comments like I do.
That said, I liked your story. Gave you a 5.
These characters are very intriguing and compelling. It is inevitable their paths will cross again. I hope you have the inspiration and energy to make their next meeting even more dramatic and entertaining. So Many Possibilities. I hope you exploit several of them.
Congratulations.
I liked this story. It was well told, held plot well enough to capture my attention (I couldn’t stop reading it) and was fresh. I don’t think you needed to make yourself an expert, there was enough information to make it believable. Great job.
An enjoyable read, very well crafted and written.
I look forward to reading more of your work.
Real good read, nice change in storyline from the typical one finds here
It’s so refreshing to find great talent in Lit. E. Thank you for entertaining us
In such an original and realistic way.. Please don’t stop writing
I believe be very word you wrote. For someone who says he doesnt know about art forgery, you convinced me that you seen expert. Brilliant story.
This one, while vaguely about a "Loving Wife", was interesting nonetheless. I cannot assail what you wrote about forensics, art or art forgery - but I didn't find anything of what you wrote to be jarring or out of place.
Thank you for sharing your imagination with us.
My father had a painting from his collection deemed a forgery and returned to him. It wasn't in the same price league as the ones discussed above.
I was surprised to read of Modigliani selling canvases. I knew that Dali did that a lot.
For someone who claims to know so little about the subject, you put together a very credible story.
I did enjoy this, but would we slot this in Loving Wives?
This was very good...expand it into a novel...introduce the concept of why forgers forge and build on the characters.
For someone who admits to knowing nothing about art forgery and/or forensic studies you certainly had me enthralled. You carried the story well and avoided the pitfall of riding off into the sunset with the forger, either as her accomplice or lover. The real pay off was the subtle gotcha to the ex and her lover splitting up. I see more "art forgeries" in the future?
ThatNewGuy = ThatNewTalent!
Excellent read! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!
Indeed worth a sequel. Carina stated in her letter that they certainly meet again - in the little world of art forgers and forensic art experts.
Excellent plot, and the writing maintains tensoin through the story.
Probably because it has a cheating ex-wife in it that gets a belated btb...
Don't know how I feel about him squealing on Carina. Did he do it out of his sense of right and wrong (Carina's attempt at theft). Out of feeling betrayed by Carina by her deception of him, similar in a way to being betrayed by Lauren. To show off his own abilities? Of course, there is the possibility to get back at Lauren and get the job himself as well.
Why we do what we do is as, if not more, important as what we do. Everything else in the story was perfectly done. I can assume he did it out of sense of right and wrong, but that would be an assumption. He had too many other, more selfish, motives to know for sure.
Very well done!
Such an entertaining story. Great plot twist, and loved the ending!
More, please!
Great story. I would love to see a follow up story. This had better not be the end. It read like a brilliant cat and mouse game. Bravo!
This wasn't quite the typical BTB story but that makes it more enjoyable and interesting. It was a well-written story with fascinating quality. Keep it up!!!
T.T.
Like a good tale with a little mystery to it. Good job. Kept me interested.
When can we expect the rest?
It would be as if f Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler had had more encounters - possibly working together on occasion to prevent Major Bad Things...
Or maybe Batman and Catwoman.