Becky Farwell is only a teenager when she finds her calling in life. It was as a high schooler in Pierson, Illinois, living with her father and watching as his business is slowly slipping away that Becky decided to take a stand. She takes over the books herself and encourages him to let go of his showroom and sell his tractors and farm equipment out of their barn, the one in the backyard. The money he saves on rent and the professional accountant makes the difference, and the business is saved.
Around this same time, Becky finds a painting that catches her eye. She buys it, hangs it in her bedroom, and lets herself be completely captured by it. And just like that, she is hooked.
Becky is smart. Her math teacher wants to help her find a good math school, get a scholarship, encourage her in the direction of a solid, happy future. But Becky knows that she can’t leave her dad. It’s because of her that his business isn’t failing, and if she were to leave, it would all fall apart again. Instead, after graduation, Becky gets a job as an accounting clerk at City Hall, and continues to live at home and help her dad with his business nights and weekends.
It turns out that she has a real head for numbers and rises quickly at work. Meanwhile, in her spare time, she is devouring art magazines and researching galleries, trying to find a way into the art world, making plans, dreaming and scheming. And she finally does. After a disastrous showing at an art expo in Chicago, Becky found herself nursing too many drinks in a nearby bar. That is where Mac found her, decided to call her Reba, and from there takes her under his wing.
Under Mac’s tutelage, “Reba” learns how to talk to gallery owners, what to wear, where to live, and how to be a part of the art scene. She can’t move away from Pierson—that’s her life. But maybe she deserves a second life, one that Pierson doesn’t need to know about. One with art auctions and deals, designer clothes, and a condo in Chicago. This lifestyle isn’t cheap, but if she repays the town when she can, no one besides her will know if Becky borrows a little money here and there.
The one thing that Mac doesn’t need to teach her is taste. Her eye for art is first rate, and she learns quickly how to maneuver through the art world. As Becky’s reputation grows, as her collection grows, as her debt grows, the struggle to keep up with her two separate lives becomes more and more difficult. How long will she be able to pull it off? Just how brilliant is Becky Farwell from Pierson, Illinois?
The Talented Miss Farwell is a powerful tale of a woman destined for greatness but stuck in a small town. The choices she makes, the sacrifices she opts for, the way she behaves in her relationships are a fascinating character study. Watching Becky go through the years of her life, the cycles of the art economy, the decades of a small town kept me reading these chapters with intensity and fascination. Author Emily Gray Tedrowe brings Becky and Pierson to life through each page, detailing the art of living as well as the crime of stealing.
I was so excited to read The Talented Miss Farwell, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. When Becky’s story started in the claustrophobic small town, I wasn’t sure I wanted to take the ride. But I stuck with it, and the more Becky blossomed, the more I became enraptured with her story. This book may start a little slow, but then you’re in and you are not going anywhere until you get to the very end. This is a lovely page-turner of a novel, and I think any crime reader will love it along with me.
Egalleys for The Talented Miss Farwell were provided by HarperCollins Publishers (Custom House) through NetGalley, with many thanks.
