This was fascinating! I find the world of lost and rediscovered masterpieces (with their questionable identifications, weird provenances, allegations of forgery and the like) absolutely captivating, so it's no surprise I enjoyed this book.

The author does come off as rather biased, though, and while I did not mind it in her descriptions and interpretations of Velázquez's paintings - seeing art through the eyes of someone who obviously adores it and has spent a lot of time thinking about it always makes me appreciate it more - her takedowns of other artists (mostly contemporary to Velázquez) were just bizarre, and some of her speculations did feel rather unsubstantiated. Still, her research into John Snare and his painting is impressively thorough, and she certainly uncovered an intriguing story to tell.