The Curator Is for Readers Who Enjoy…

the secrets and rivalries of B. A. Shapiro’s art-world suspense, the identity-driven psychological tension of Lisa Jewell, and the blend of art, crime, and international conspiracy in Daniel Silva’s thrillers.

Readers who like strong female protagonists, dangerous secrets, and stories of reinvention may find much to enjoy in Kate’s journey.

You might like The Curator because the danger is both intimate and sophisticated. Kate is pursued by criminals capable of physical violence, but their most effective weapons are information, identity, money, and public perception.

They do not merely want to kill her.

They want to rewrite her story before she can reveal theirs.

Tell Me More About Kate

She disappeared to save her life. Then her past walked into her gallery.

Kate once lived in a Caribbean paradise, running a successful online business and believing she was finally in control of her future.

Then she witnessed her boyfriend’s murder.

The assassin saw her. Kate escaped, but survival exacted a brutal price: witness protection, a new identity, a transformed appearance, and permanent separation from the life she knew.

She has reinvented herself as Catherine Turner, a gifted curator building a promising career in Washington, DC. Her past is concealed. Her new life is flourishing.

Until a man connected to the murder recognizes her at a gallery opening.

A Strong Female Lead with Everything to Lose

Kate entered witness protection, frightened, grieving, and burdened by guilt over the murder she could not prevent, Kate entered witness protection.

Yet she refused to let fear dictate the rest of her life.

Her decision to return to art is more than a career change. It is an act of reclamation. She studies, rebuilds, and earns her place in a world that once seemed beyond her reach. By the time she prepares her first major exhibition, she is no longer merely the woman who survived.

She is a curator with judgment, ambition, and a distinct voice of her own.

That achievement makes the attack against her especially cruel: her enemies do not merely threaten her life. They try to convince the art world that everything she has accomplished is fraudulent.

The Art of Destroying a Reputation

In the contemporary art world, value depends on more than aesthetics.

Authenticity, provenance, expert opinion, publicity, and reputation can determine whether a painting is deemed priceless or worthless.

The criminals in The Curator understand this perfectly.

They exploit online marketplaces, uncertain attribution, and carefully planted accusations. A false story repeated by the right sources can damage a curator as effectively as forged documentation can legitimize a fake painting.

Kate must therefore defend two things at once: her physical survival and the credibility on which her new life depends.

Helen Dillon and the Search for the Truth

Helen understands Kate’s danger better than most. The assassin pursuing Kate once targeted Helen, and the criminal mastermind behind him is Helen’s own uncle.

She becomes Kate’s guide, ally, and protector—not only because Kate is a witness but because Helen recognizes the emotional toll of living under constant threat.

Together with cybercrime investigator Collin Frey, Helen helps Kate navigate witness protection and the criminal network operating behind the art fraud.

 You may enjoy The Curator if you like:

• A resilient female protagonist rebuilding her life
• The glamorous and competitive contemporary art world
• Cybercrime and online financial schemes
• Reputational sabotage and false accusations
• Psychological tension rather than nonstop physical action
• Multiple layers of deception
• A public exhibition with hidden danger
• Twists involving identity, ownership, and authenticity
• A mystery in which appearances cannot be trusted

About the Helen Dillon Series

The Helen Dillon Series follows a brilliant cybercrime specialist whose investigations reveal the intersection of technology, political influence, financial crime, and deeply personal betrayal.

Each novel features its own central protagonist and conflict while continuing Helen’s struggle against the criminal network that has shaped her life.

The Curator is the second book in the Helen Dillon Series. It can be read as a standalone thriller because the central mystery is resolved, though Helen’s conflict with the larger criminal network continues throughout the series.

The series currently includes:

• The Project
• The Curator
• Nemesis

Read The Curator and step into a world of galleries, hidden identities, and art that may be worth killing for.

Meet the author