Bets And Scams: A Novel of the Art World

When art collector and real estate speculator Mitchell Fleishig's Beverly Hills business collapses leaving him deeply in debt to the Mafia, he concocts a scheme to have Lodewijk Alstad, his Dutch art dealer, front him a 17th-century masterpiece. Fleishig's plan--have a hit man eliminate Alstad, sell the painting, pay off the Mafia and live happily ever after. Which means Alstad must avoid death, rescue the painting, and somehow find a way to save Fleishig from the Mob. Schwartz, an art historian who lives in the Netherlands provides an entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the often devious world of art sellers and buyers.