Just Finished Reading The Van Gogh Deception by Deron Hicks

A few weeks ago Melissa and I were walking through Ollie's, a discount store located at Main Street and Northeast 23rd Avenue here in Gainesville.  They have a large book section and I picked out The Van Gogh Deception, a 2017 teen adventure novel by Deron Hicks...for just $1.99.  I just finished reading it and thought it had all the features necessary for an exciting yarn...sympathetic protagonists, mysteries to solve, a wily and ruthless mastermind enemy, many close calls, a suspenseful ending...plus the addition of educational value as great works of art are presented as well as a guide to much of Washington, D.C. A boy is discovered in the National Gallery of Art sitting in front of a sculpture...he has no memory of his identity or why he is there.  Taken into protective custody by the police, he is handed over to Mary Sullivan, a young editor for a publishing firm, for temporary foster care.  Mary has a daughter, Camille, who herself assumes a protective role over "Art", as she calls him.  Meanwhile Dorchek Palmer, a wealthy adventurer-turned-master criminal along the lines of Superman's Lex Luther, uses his high-tech skills and henchmen to track down the young boy, who seems to be the central figure in a grand art hoax scheme with $183 million dollars at stake.  The author presents the narrative from different characters' perspectives, each section headed by the precise time and location...I liked that.  But what I liked the most about this book was how Deron Hicks inserted barcodes alongside the text whenever an art work was mentioned...using a QR reader app on my phone I was able to view the actual works on my phone screen: really cool.  And I thoroughly enjoyed the convoluted way at the end in how the story was resolved.  Two thumbs up from me on this story...I wonder what else Mr. Hicks has written...