The Objects of Her Affection

June 30, 2014
Debut-author Cobb reveals the depths of one woman’s desperation in this creative twist on the heist genre. Sophie Porter has had trouble reentering the job market since the birth of her two children, Lucy and Elliot. Instead, she and her husband, Brian, must survive on his salary as a Philadelphia Museum of Art curator. The Porters buy a historic Philadelphia row house, believing it will provide them with them safety and security, only to find themselves trapped in a bad mortgage. Since Brian’s job gives Sophie access to the museum’s mass of uncatalogued items, she decides a few thefts would likely go unnoticed, and could keep the family afloat financially. Her desperate measures, however, soon becomes a compulsion. Cobb’s real-life knowledge of the museum acquisition process—she’s married to a curator—imbues this sizzling tale of suspense and moral dilemmas with a heightened sense of realism. Agent: Adam Schear, DeFiore and Company.

August 15, 2014
A wife and mother becomes an unlikely art thief in this debut novel. When Sophie Porter and her museum-curator husband buy her dream home in Philadelphia, she knows it's slightly out of their budget. What she doesn't know, however, is that in a year she'll be in deep financial trouble and unable to make the payments. With her freelancing opportunities all dried up, Sophie isn't sure what she'll do to keep a roof over her children's heads. But when she impulsively swipes an expensive antique mirror from her husband's museum, she realizes that stealing and reselling priceless artifacts is big business. Soon, she's on a first-name basis with a buyer and sneaking art out of the museum in her son's diaper bag. Sophie's able to make her house payments, and she even finds an unsettling amount of personal satisfaction from her new gig as a thief-but how long can she keep going? And once people start to suspect her, can she even make herself stop? Cobb's careful exploration of Sophie's past and motivations makes her actions believable, and Sophie's financial situation will seem all too real to many readers. The museum details are also meticulous and will place readers deep within the art world. The pacing, however, is a bit slow, and Sophie's career as a thief never seems quite as suspenseful as it should. Still, Cobb does a commendable job of painting Sophie as a normal woman who copes with financial and family strain by doing something extraordinary. This look into the life of an unlikely thief builds slowly but creates a believable picture that readers will admire.

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August 1, 2014

Freelance computer programmer Sophie Porter has always wanted to buy a fixer-upper as a home. She finally talks her husband, Brian, a curator for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, into buying a charming 150-year-old house that needs a lot of tender loving care. Sophie is certain she can find enough work to help pay the mortgage, feed the kids, and make repairs. But much to her chagrin, her best-laid plans fall through, and the Porters are soon facing foreclosure. Unable to admit that they are underwater on the mortgage, Sophie resorts to lifting a few Renaissance items from Brian's office. She begins selling these treasures, only to attract the attention of the FBI. VERDICT Fans of heist stories and quirky tales will find much to appreciate in Cobb's debut novel. The author herself is a wife of a curator and gives the reader an alluring look at what happens behind museum walls.--Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2014
Sophie Porter didn't mean to become an art thief. Her husband is a curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and she knows how much effort goes into every acquisition. She never expected to be underwater on her mortgage, either. An admirably low-interest rate turned out to be temporary, and with rising day-care costs and school fees, the family's carefully balanced finances are in danger of collapsing entirely. At least, that's her reasoning behind lifting a gorgeous silver mirror off of a museum storage cart and tucking it into her diaper bag. After she finds an incredibly motivated buyer for the mirror, Sophie's thievery increases. It's not until the consequences start to catch up to her that she fully understands just how fragile her world has become. Feeling left behind in the freelance tech world after the birth of her children and anxious about her carefully planned future, Sophie is desperate. This thrilling, emotional, and tautly paced novel will appeal to fans of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief (2006). Cobb's clear, unburdened prose allows Sophie's innermost hopes and anxieties to shine. Her brilliant first novel is the story of a woman with nothing and everything to lose.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)