Review | Ripley Underground - Patricia Highsmith

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Tom Ripley was deeply featured in the first volume of the saga of Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Ripley. The second volume, Underground Ripley, does not serve as a direct continuation of its predecessor, taking a six-year time jump, but it does not leave blank the previous events of the protagonist's life.

See too: Review | The Talented Ripley- Patricia Highsmith

The new plot takes place in France, with Ripley married and well off. Part of his income comes from his wife's allowance, and the rest comes from a gallery that sells paintings by Derwatt, an old chick friend of his. However, this gallery is just a scheme, as the painter killed himself a few years ago and Ripley, along with the gallery's owners, decided to continue selling his paintings painted by Bernand, who was a close friend of Derwatt.

Ripley was barely getting his share of this scheme, having helped to plan it and now stays away. But when a buyer discovers a difference in the painting he has purchased, he ends up starting an internal investigation to find out if the painting is fake and puts the operation at risk. Ripley needs to help, trying to "prove" that the painter is still alive and getting the buyer out of the way.

Underground Ripley it already plays the character in the action, since there is nothing more to present about him. With new events, and the old ones being cited at the right times, the narrative deepens risks and makes the protagonist even more deadly and artful.

Of course, both in the previous volume and in this one, there are many events worthy of fiction, the lack of verisimilitude can sometimes irritate those more demanding readers a little, but given the theme, it is necessary to accept poetic freedom and that no investigation will succeed remain plausible in real life.

Published together with its predecessor, this work has a beautiful edition of Intrinsic, in hardcover and with details equal to those of The Talented Ripley, which make perfect for collectors.

Patricia Highsmith does a great job on her storytelling and Underground Ripley maintains the quality. With a plot that starts straight from the events, the book becomes easy and captivating to read, leaving the desire to see the character's next adventures.

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