Michelangelo's Notebook (Finn Ryan, #1) by Paul Christopher

Michelangelo's Notebook (Finn Ryan, #1) Reviews

• 
  Rachel

  Boobies boobies boobies dead body dead body boobies dead body boobies boobies.
  
  There, I just summed up the fist 100 or so pages for you. Moving on...
  
  Basically this book follows Dan Brown's formula of attractive hero/heroine + art mystery = $$$. Except this is an even lamer version of Dan Brown. As a matter of fact, a character in this book even comments on page 304 (of my copy at least) that this is "getting into Dan Brown territory" or some variation of that quote.
  
  Which makes me wonder, first Brown wrote about a famous artist, and then went even further into religion with Angels and Demons. And Mr. Christopher's next book with Finn is titled The Lucifer Gospel...sounds like we're delving even more into religion! The parallels are uncanny!!!
  
  In addition to this, well let's say there's "descriptive" and then there's "beating a dead horse". I would read pages and pages and forget what the heck the point was.
  
  Add in little annoyances like the fire escape that led up to the roof (because in case a building's on fire, boy howdy I know I wanna climb to the roof!) and an object clicking "decisively to a stop like a cork in a bottle" (I always thought corks in bottles made "pop" or "poomp" sounds, but maybe I'm crazy, maybe they click and I just hear what I want)...*sighs* the lameness of this book doesn't even deserve my sarcasm.
  
  That's about five hours of my life I'll never get back.
• 
  Melissa

  Nazis, Stolen Art, SS, OSS, New York City Present, Vivid Sex oh and there was also a mystery child, and murders so many murders...
  
  As a College Graduate, with a Germany History background I somehow keep winding up with books like this. I thought it was about Michelangelo, ha fooled was I. Here come the Nazis again.
  
  I actually did enjoy this book, to an extent. It had an overload of characters. I found myself having to go back and re-read sections to figure out who was whom.
  
  Funny I kept telling myself it had a Dan Brown twist to it hidden somewhere and one of the characters goes and name drops him on p.304 "...it sounds like we're moving into Dan Brown territory here: weird cults, Catholic Conspiracies, Leonardo da Vinci painting in code."
  
  I also definitely have a new Metaphor for World War 2. From p. 151, "The Ruskies were east, the Allies were to the west and they were being squeezed like a pimple." A pimple, the Nazis got squeezed like a pimple! I love it.
  
  Finn Ryan is also a pretty believable character, I feel like I might actually have known her in some other life.
• 
  Lisa Lap

  I liked the quick pace style of this book, however I found the chapter changes between past and present to be a bit confusing. I think the point was to reveal to the reader the origin of the mystery that is being discovered in present day by introducing us to the characters that started it all but there wasn't any kind of date or time referenced at the beginning of those "jump back in time" chapters that it sometimes fell flat. There was also a big build up of this boy child that the Vatican was determined to keep quiet and yet the final reveal of this boy child (now an old man) was so anticlimatic that it undermined all the suspense up to that point. I also felt that the sudden end that dropped off into an author's note was choppy and unfinished.
  
  This had great potential but I felt it was rushed and a bit sloppy making it hard to get invested in Finn for further installments.
  
  Until next time
  ~Lisa
• 
  Jamie

  The novel wasn't bad. Certainly not as bad as some of the reviews, but there were a few cheesy lines and gratuitous sexual comments designed for cheap book promotion. Most of the novel was based on the simple thriller strategy of Eric Ambler of an ordinary main character in an extraordinary situation. Finn, a beautiful 24 year-old art student is the "ordinary" character from Ohio in this novel. She finds herself being hunted after discovering a sketch at the art gallery she works at that is not supposed to exist. After going to Michael Valentine (a friend of her Father's) for help they penetrate an art smuggling ring going back to the last days of WWII. The novel has a strong ending and is an easy read.
  
  I would give this novel 3 and a half stars if Goodreads would allow half stars, which would be a far better rating system. The author did a fair amount of historical research despite some of the seemingly simple parts of the novel. This is my second Paul Christopher novel and I would be willing to read another.
• 
  Stephen

  NOW THAT IS A SATISFYING STORY! This book takes WWII facts, art theft, Catholic history, and intrigue to a whole new level. I'd come across one of the Finn books by accident and enjoyed it, but I didn't realize it was part of a series. I finally took the time to look into it and am so glad I started from the beginning. If you liked the fast paced deep rooted intrigue of The Davinci Code, you just might enjoy this one. Personally, I thought it was better.
• 
  Sarah

  Finn Ryan is studying art history and scraping by in New York City when she stumbles upon a long-lost mythical Michelangelo drawing. Immediately after finding it, her life changes forever. People around her are murdered violently and someone is after Finn herself – for no reason she can see. She heads to her last resort for safety – a mysterious man named Michael Valentine who she is only supposed to contact in extreme emergencies. Together, they attempt to find out who is behind the murders and how it is tied to a child raised in a convent in Italy during Hitler’s reign, and a tight circle of art enthusiasts who have a suspicious link to rare and thought-to-be-lost works of art.
  
  I pictured this book being one of those novels which tried to feed off of the Da Vinci Code frenzy, but possibly cooler because it didn’t involve the Catholic Church and did involve one of my favorite artists – Michelangelo. Unfortunately, what I discovered was one of the worst books I’ve read in a great while. It DOES include the Catholic Church and hardly involves Michelangelo at all.
  
  The entire book feels piecemeal in plot. As if the author picked three big plotlines and attempted to find ways to connect them only after they had started writing. Finn herself isn’t bad as a character, although we hear way too much about how pretty she is (including an entire chapter describing her nude – uhhh, no thank you!) Unfortunately, she is the only interesting person in the entire book. The chapters jump back and forth in time – and we have no way if determining if we are in World War II, at the end or the beginning of that war, or in the present day – or somewhere else entirely.
  
  I struggled through most of this, to keep my attention focused on what was going on. And past the first three or four chapters, I stopped caring about anything but finishing the book. I never thought I would praise Dan Brown’s writing, but this author tries and fails so spectacularly to mimic it that I almost wished I had picked up “Angels and Demons” instead.
• 
  LJ

  MICHELANGELO'S NOTEBOOK (Amateur Sleuth-NYC/Germany-Cont/WWII) – NR
  Christopher, Paul (aka Christopher Hyde) – 1st under pseudonym
  Onyx, 2005-Paperback
  Art history student, Finn Ryan, comes across a drawing she is certain came from the lost notebook of Michelangelo. When she confronts her boss, he fires her. She and her boyfriend are attacked in her apartment and he is murdered. Finn calls a number given to her by her mother for emergencies, and is brought to Michael Valentine, a mysterious book dealer with whom she joins forces.
  *** Fortunately, this book was published in paperback, so I only wasted $8 on it. The plot is completely implausible with holes large enough to fly the shuttle through. There is no character development, the author's view toward women is sophomoric, and there are only about two pages of suspense at the end of the book. Take a pass on this one.
  
• 
  Adi

  Ok...so quite frankly the novel is not groundbreaking. The author obviously did some research on the topic, but the story was a bit vague and the characters were not really developed. In fact, Finn Ryan is the main character, but she hardly did anything throughout the whole novel. She seemed to be there just for the sake of having a female character.
  The plot wasn't very complex, and I did not enjoy the sudden jumps between the different sub-stories. I was also expecting a bit more action, however I was disappointed. There was some action in the beginning of the story, and there was some action in the last 10 pages... The rest though were mainly conversations and discussions.
• 
  vioLET

  Մեծն Միքելանջելո։։։ Միթե կա մեկը, ով չի ճանաչում նրան։։ Միթե գեղեցիկ չեն նրա ստեղծագործություններն ու մարմարե քանդակները։։Անցել են հարյուրամյակներ,բայց նա չի մոռացվել ու չի մոռացվի։։։
  
  Քանի ապրում է արվեստը ,ապրում է նաև մարդը
• 
  Rosalyn

  enjoyed this had good pace and a reasonable story
• 
  Patti Whitfield

  Yes, it's derivative. Yes, Mr Christopher describes his seemingly dream girl as a protagonist. (But doesn't everyone?) Yes, older man, younger woman relationship was predictable. However, the plot and storytelling was entertaining.
• 
  Ed

  I have to say I liked the story as a whole. It is a great premise. I was kept wondering about the connections between everything throughout the story. Paul Christopher writes in a very descriptive style. He makes it easy to picture what is happening.
  
  Now for the criticisms (and they contain spoilers).
  
  First off, I think the relationship between Finn and Valentine came to a head way to quick. I feel the sexual tension should have been drawn out longer. Really, he simply touches her leg while they are questioning someone, and that is enough that she shows up in his room half-naked that night? The end of the story just seems to trail off, the entire resolution seems forced. The "child" being linked to the art also is very forced. Why would the Vatican faction that wanted his existence hidden even worry about it? There is no proof of the connection, and the "child" is not out there trying to make a claim about his parentage. In addition, Michelangelo's notebook barely even features in the story. Finn finds a single page and the reader has to assume that the page was part of the art cache. Beyond that, it has no relevance to the story. It could have easily been any missing art work, the fact that it is from the lost notebook does not matter.
  
  As I said, I enjoyed the premise and Mr. Christopher's writing is fun to read, even if his plot structure needs some help at times. I do intend to read more of this series. I am hoping some of the mistakes made in this book do not continue.
• 
  James Sorensen

  A young art student,Finn Ryan, is working at inventorying the stored collection of artwork at the Parker-Hale museum in New York City. While doing the job she stumbles across an apparent piece of art work torn from the mythical notebook of Michelangelo. She takes a photo of the piece on her phone before being discovered by the museum's curator, Alex Crawley. When confronted about finding the page Finn's internship is terminated after she disagrees with Crawley about who drew the picture.
  
  Stunned and upset about losing her job she heads home to take care of another problem; getting rid of her live-in boyfriend whom she really doesn't care for. Upon arriving home she is attacked by someone tearing up her apartment and during the struggle her boyfriend come home and is attacked and killed. Not long after this event Alexander Ceawley is also found dead.
  
  Finn will eventually meet up with antiquarian book dealer Michael Valentine and together they will work to find the mystery of Michelangelo's Notebook.
  
  This book seems to have a wide range of ratings and I guess that is based upon the fact that Mr. Christopher is actually novelist Christopher Hyde and this book does not live up to his Hyde novels. Having never read any Christopher Hyde I did not have any preconceived expectations. Maybe that is why I enjoyed it. Is it a great book: No. Does he strain the plot some what: yes. But sometimes a book can just be fun to read, which I thought this book was. Choose for yourself, but I'm sure this book is a good foundation for his future Paul Christopher novels.
• 
  Marcie

  There are reviews that sum this book up as boobs, boobs, dead body, boobs, etc...and they are correct. That's the formula in place. There are also some incredibly detailed descriptions which prove pretty unnecessary to the forward movement of the plot. I guess you could argue the scenery is a character of sorts, but it's just not that intriguing.
  
  Overall, though, I read this with a brain-candy expectation and actually felt there was more depth to this book than many of those types of novels that I pick up. The writing style isn't flawless, but is redeemable. The story itself involves some Dan Brown-style tracking (with a nod to that author being directly pointed out), but without relaying the drama and trauma to quite the same caliber.
  
  A good book. Not a particularly sophisticated one, but then that's not what I was looking for!
• 
  Matt

  
  
  This one left me a lot unfulfilled. The ending sucked. It seemed that instead of a satisfying finish, the author appeared to be on a deadline and felt that tossing together an ending as quickly and haphazardly was the best answer. Not!
  
  I think the characters were flat and all the jumping around made it confusing and hard to follow.
  
  In the end the author rushed his way through the entire book, tossing too much stuff at you without making the effort to tell a good tale.
  
  PS: It got 2 stars instead of 1 because I only give a book one star if I am unable to finish it.
• 
  Matt

  A great intro book to Finn Ryan and her character. i thoroughly enjoyed this my first Paul Christopher novel, although the premise was a little... shall I say, weak? I expected some grand Dan Brownsian adventure with information hidden in the notebook, but was left slightly.... unsure of how I felt about it all.
  
  
  
  Christopher has built an interesting base on which Ryan can build and I hope she does, as red heads always have intrigued me.
• 
  Rob Frazier

  This book was great. There wre times that things were skimmed over or the author made you go look elsewhere for the detailed information which is a method I like when telling any type of Artifact/Historical Fiction. Finn is now one of my favorite characters and I have only read the first book.
  
  There were times in the story that things seemed a bit disjointed but a great read none the less.
  
  Enjoy!
• 
  Rick Bavera

  I liked the book, but would have liked it better if...well, I am not sure. It didn't leave me "satisfied" as a 4 or 5 star book would, but I did enjoy the read......
  
  Maybe it just didn't end with as big an ending as I wanted or expected.
  
  And the romantic angle between the two "heroes" didn't really do anything to progress the plot......felt as if it was there just because the author thought it should be there to please readers who like that.....
• 
  Paula Howard

  Finn Ryan is an intern in a museum. As she is working, she stumbles across a drawing that she is sure is a Michaelangelo. Not only his but from his lost notebook. Thinking that she won't be noticed, she makes photographs of the drawing and also some sketches. Her boss is furious and fires her. It only gets worse from that point. Murders begin to happen and Finn calls the number that her mom gave her only for an emergency.
• 
  John

  A quick and energetic read. I have a few minor qualms with some of the early elements of the books-especially as an art history major, but for the most part is was fun to read. I also agree with the comment that there are too many names to keep up with. I had to review segments to find out how each victim was. Otherwise, though, it was quick and fun.
• 
  Jennifer Eckel

  A good yarn, somewhat loose jointed and connected. Loved the links to looted art, and the Nazis. The author interspersed the modern tail with the wartime story. I had problems with how quickly the murderer moved his locations, and was never quite sure which side tried to kill the heroine. A good beach read.
• 
  K.J. Montgomery

  Overall I liked the premise, but the execution of believable relationships didn't quite live up to my expecations, but this is a novel written by a man, so I think it might be that "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus" thing. LOL
  
  I will continue to read other Paul Christopher novels as he seems to think up historical connections that may be plausible.