Colleen Mondor Reviews The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond
The Frame-Up, Gwenda Bond (Del Rey 978-0-593-59773-6, $10.00, tp, 325pp) February 2024.
Author Gwenda Bond hit the NY Times bestseller list for the Stranger Things tie-in Suspicious Minds and prior to that authored several YA titles (including a trio about young Lois Lane). In recent years she has quietly been carving out a niche in magical romance and her latest, the art heist adventure The Frame-Up, fits nicely into that genre. There is plenty of magic (the success of the heist sort of demands it), a sweet romance, and the fun of good guys versus bad guys (more than one), which keeps the plot rolling along. There is also a surprising amount of family dynamics in the narrative, none of which are obvious or easy. For vacation reading, I think The Frame-Up is pitch-perfect, and it easily provides a few hours of thoughtful escape from whatever drama is brewing in your life.
As a teenager, Dani was part of a highly successful gang of art thieves led by her magically talented mother. Bond provides background on the gang by writing them into the real history of stolen art (this is a fun touch), but unfortunately things have not gone well for the group in recent years. Manipulated by a federal agent after being concerned about many of her mother’s choices, Dani gave her mother up to authorities, which resulted in a long jail sentence. (She is still incarcerated when the book opens.) Ten years later, her mother’s former partner tracks Dani down and offers the chance to have a piece of her past, and maybe a shot at making up with her mom, if she steals a painting for him. The whole deal is very suspect, but Dani is lonely for everyone she lost. She agrees to run the heist and sets off for her childhood home and old friends who have no reason to believe she won’t mess up again.
There is plenty of angst in Dani’s situation, and Bond doesn’t give her a break as she tries to mend fences. Everybody’s angry, including mom, but they also are determined to get the job done. (Their reasons will be explained as the plot unfolds.) As the situation around the heist is revealed, Bond has a lot of fun with supporting characters, who provide opportunities for laughs and to further explain how the magic works in this version of Lexington, Kentucky. (Short answer: The magic folks have always been here; we just didn’t know it.)
The caper planning sometimes takes a back seat to Dani’s much-needed family history research and the true nature of the connection between her mother and the former partner (a man who gets creepier with every encounter). The Frame-Up stays true to the goal of getting the artwork, but a lot more is revealed along the way to the heist, including all sorts of manipulations and secret motivations. As to that, all I will say is that family is complicated, which is why sometimes you have to find one on your own as opposed to staying with the one you start out with. Smart and determined Dani is a pleasure to spend time with, and Bond scores another win for those looking for the best sort of diversion. (The romance is also quite light, so consider The Frame-Up a good crossover for teen readers as well.)
This review and more like it in the July 2024 issue of Locus.
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