Lisa Barr

From the author of the award-winning Fugitive Colors and The Unbreakables, a gripping tale of a young, ambitious journalist embroiled in an international art scandal centered around a Nazi-looted masterpiece--forcing the ultimate showdown between passion and possession, lovers and liars, history and truth. After talking her way into a job with Dan Mansfield, the leading investigative reporter in Chicago, rising young journalist Jules Roth is given an unusual--and very secret--assignment. Dan needs her to locate a painting stolen by the Nazis more than 75 years earlier: legendary Expressionist artist Ernst Engel's most famous work, Woman on Fire. World-renowned shoe designer Ellis Baum wants this portrait of a beautiful, mysterious woman for deeply personal reasons, and has enlisted Dan's help to find it. But Jules doesn't have much time; the famous designer is dying. Meanwhile, in Europe, provocative and powerful Margaux de Laurent also searches for the painting. Heir to her art collector family's millions, Margaux is a cunning gallerist who gets everything she wants. The only thing standing in her way is Jules. Yet the passionate and determined Jules has unexpected resources of her own, including Adam Baum, Ellis's grandson. A recovering addict and brilliant artist in his own right, Adam was once in Margaux's clutches. He knows how ruthless she is, and he'll do anything to help Jules locate the painting before Margaux gets to it first. A thrilling tale of secrets, love, and sacrifice that illuminates the destructive cruelty of war and greed and the triumphant power of beauty and love, Woman on Fire tells the story of a remarkable woman and an exquisite work of art that burns bright, moving through hands, hearts, and history.

Woman on Fire

A delicious, sharp novel about a woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre—a lust for life, art, and steamy sex. “Artful, feminist, and emotionally gripping. The Unbreakables is a remarkable tribute to a woman’s strength in the face of heartbreak and adversity.” — Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient The worst birthday ever might just be the gift of a lifetime… It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret on-line dating site for married and committed couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed…including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town. Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers her essence with painful honesty and humor, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor. As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever...and what it means to be truly unbreakable.

A Novel

The Unbreakables

a novel

Fugitive colors

Goddess of Warsaw

Debut Historical Suspense Novel Wins IPPY Award for Best “Literary Fiction 2014” Stolen art, love, lust, deception, and revenge paint the pages of veteran journalist Lisa Barr’s debut novel, Fugitive Colors, an un-put-down-able page-turner. Booklist calls the WWII era novel, "Masterfully conceived and crafted, Barr’s dazzling debut novel has it all: passion and jealousy, intrigue and danger." Fugitive Colors asks the reader: How far would you go for your passion? Would you kill for it? Steal for it? Or go to any length to protect it? Hitler’s War begins with the ruthless destruction of the avant-garde, but there is one young painter who refuses to let this happen. An accidental spy, Julian Klein, an idealistic American artist, leaves his religious upbringing for the artistic freedom of Paris in the early 1930s. Once he arrives in the “City of Light,” he meets a young German artist, Felix von Bredow, whose larger-than-life personality overshadows his inferior artistic ability, and the handsome and gifted artist Rene Levi, whose colossal talent will later serve to destroy him. The trio quickly becomes best friends, inseparable, until two women get in the way—the immensely talented artist Adrienne, Rene’s girlfriend with whom Julian secretly falls in love, and the stunning artist’s model Charlotte, a prostitute-cum-muse, who manages to bring great men to their knees. Artistic and romantic jealousies abound, as the characters play out their passions against the backdrop of the Nazis' rise to power. Felix returns to Berlin, where his father, a blue-blooded Nazi, is instrumental in creating the master plan to destroy Germany’s modern artists, and seeks his son’s help. Bolstered by vengeance, Felix will lure his friends to Germany, an ill-fated move, which will forever change their lives. Twists and turns, destruction and obsession, loss and hope will keep you up at night, as you journey from Chicago to Paris, Berlin to New York. With passionate strokes of captivating prose, Barr proves that while paintings have a canvas, passion has a face—that once exposed, the haunting images will linger . . . long after you have closed the book. The Hollywood Film Festival awarded Fugitive Colors first prize for “Best Unpublished Manuscript” (Opus Magnum Discovery Award). Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Fugitive Colors

Eram sete da tarde quando Jules Roth percorreu os corredores decadentes do reputado jornal Chicago Chronicle pronta a executar o seu plano: surpreender Dan Mansfield, o repórter de investigação mais temido da cidade, e conseguir um emprego. A redação já deserta revela ser o cenário ideal para impressionar o homem reconhecidamente esquivo e difícil que Jules tanto admira, pois ela consegue um lugar como jornalista e o seu primeiro trabalho de investigação: localizar uma peça de arte roubada pelos nazis há mais de 75 anos, o quadro Mulher em Chamas, a obra mais famosa do pintor Ernst Engel. Mas à medida que o tempo passa, Jules dá por si a acumular mais perguntas do que respostas. Porque é subitamente tão importante encontrar este quadro, tantos anos depois do Holocausto? Quem foi a mulher que posou para o artista? O que está por detrás desta desenfreada corrida contra o tempo? Por que razão lhe foi atribuída a ela, uma jornalista em início de carreira, uma missão tão complexa? Algo, porém, se torna cada vez mais claro: Mulher em Chamas, que resistiu à destruição da guerra, à avidez das paixões e à voracidade da História, não é apenas um quadro. Neste romance pleno de suspense sobre arte roubada, paixões furtivas e segredos bem guardados, será difícil encontrar pessoas inocentes. Como na vida – e na melhor arte – o essencial é invisível aos olhos.

Mulher em Chamas

Jeune journaliste, Jude Roth se voit confier la mission de retrouver un tableau volé par les nazis il y a 75 ans de cela. Mais La Femme en feu suscite toutes les convoitises... Un suspense qui a figuré sur la liste des best-sellers du New York Times, et dont les droits cinématographiques ont été achetés par Sharon Stone. Jeune journaliste ambitieuse, June se voit confier une mission délicate par Dan Mansfield, célèbre reporter d'investigation de Chicago. Ce dernier a promis à l'un de ses vieux amis de retrouver un tableau volé par les nazis : La Femme en feu, dernière toile du peintre expressionniste allemand Ernst Engel. En France, Margaux de Laurent, richissime héritière et galeriste de premier plan, a elle aussi ses raisons pour mettre la main sur l'oeuvre, quel qu'en soit le prix. De la Seconde Guerre mondiale à nos jours, de Chicago à Amsterdam et Berlin, aucun tableau n'aura suscité autant de convoitises, ni fait couler plus de sang... " Histoire, scandale, sexe, mensonges : un roman qui ne vous laisse pas reprendre votre souffle. " Publishers Weekly

La femme en feu

A delicious, sharp novel about a woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre – a lust for life, art, and steamy sex. Sophie Bloom's forty-second birthday promises a night of celebration with Gabe, her devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip: after a secret dating site for married and committed couples was hacked, thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed... including Sophie's 'perfect' husband. Humiliated and directionless, Sophie flees to Paris, where her teenage daughter is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. Heading further south to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Sophie begins to acknowledge her own desires and rediscover her essence with painful honesty and humour, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor. Surrounded by the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. As she allows her true self to emerge, Sophie must decide what is broken forever... and what it means to be truly unbreakable.

Lisa Barr

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