We (Tricia and Mike) are thankful for all those who’ve supported our efforts and cheered us on while writing this book. Tricia thanks her wonderful husband, John, and her houseful: Cory, Katie, Leslie, Nathan, and Alyssa. Mike thanks his patient Swiss-born wife, Nicole, who read and reread chapters as they were written. We also appreciate our wonderful agent, Janet Grant, and our editors, Vicki Crumpton and Barb Barnes—three of the best people in the business!
This book could not have been written without Jon Shafqat, who devoted untold hours to reading chapters, offering plot ideas, and making editing suggestions along the way. Jon—a friend of Mike’s from Encinitas, California—had some amazing twists that are woven throughout the story. A doff of the chapeau, as the French say, and this is why the book is dedicated to him.
When I (Mike) was in Paris doing research, John-Paul Fortney, who conducted a World War II walking tour of Paris for Classic Walks, was a fount of information regarding the Gaullists’ takeover of the Préfecture de Police during the insurrection leading up to Libération. John-Paul, an American from St. Louis, had conducted more than two hundred World War II tours since 2008, but he patiently listened as I peppered him with questions about the Resistance and the Nazi occupation. He has since left Classic Walks to form his own tour guide company called Culinary Tours of Paris (www.culinarytoursofparis.com).
Bob Weimann, a retired United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel living in Raleigh, North Carolina, provided much of the background for tank scenes in Paris during Libération. He also advised us on the story’s military details.
Keith and Karen Cunningham of Birmingham, Alabama, were super-sleuths for pesky typos. Keith, a corrections officer, said he loves correcting manuscripts. Karen’s mother, Judy Doyle, grew up in Lausanne, Switzerland, in the 1950s. The Cunninghams hope to take their three children on a family vacation in the Swiss Alps someday.
Swiss residents Carol Bieri of Geneva and Philip Djaferis of La Conversion helped make sure the Swiss sections of Chasing Mona Lisa were up to Swiss precision regarding landmarks. Stephan Stücklin of Basel proved to have a real editor’s eye for French history during World War II as well as Switzerland’s role in that conflict. The Turrian family of Villars, Switzerland, as well as Nicole Yorkey, helped with the French and German dialogue.
Nate Dickinson, who owned an art gallery in Portland, Oregon, helped with the description of how the Mona Lisa was packed in a wooden crate. Nate grew up with Mike in La Jolla, California. Keith Proctor, a friend from Mike’s church who reads one hundred novels a year, offered some great insights. We also loved the ideas shared by Debbie Lambert of Buda, Texas, and Kari Benirschke of Del Mar, California, both early readers. Mike’s aunt, Sandy Smith of La Jolla, proofed the final galleys with eagle eyes.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge several books that were instrumental to our understanding of what Paris was like during Libération as well as the Nazis’ plundering of art. Is Paris Burning?, written in 1966 by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, is considered the quintessential book on the topic and was made into a popular ’60s movie with the same title. The Rape of Europa (1994) by Lynn H. Nicholas described how the Louvre took steps to keep their treasures out of Nazi hands during the dark days of Occupation as well as what happened to the Mona Lisa from 1939 to 1944. The documentary movie of the same name is also well worth viewing.
Göring: A Biography (1989) by David Irving was a fount of information about the German Reichsmarschall. Liberation of Paris 1944: Patton’s Race for the Seine (2008) by Steven Zaloga described how the various Resistance organizations maneuvered for position in the weeks leading up to the liberation of Paris.
And last, Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa (2009) by R. A. Scotti told the fascinating story of how the Mona Lisa vanished from the Louvre on August 21, 1911, which shocked the world until the most familiar and lasting portrait of all time was returned to the Louvre.
So, yes, that century-old story of how authorities were chasing Mona Lisa was completely true.