"'Parisian Heist' is my 14th novel," says Piazza, leaning forward to show off an embroidered sweater that says "In my Parisian Era". "My fifth novel that I've set partially in Philly. Guys, I gotta tell you: 'Parisian Heist' is my best one yet. I love this book so much I'm in my Parisian era!"
Part of the story is set around Emma, a Philly girl who falls in love with art as a child at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where she discovers Vincent Van Gogh's painting ,"Sunflowers."
"She loved them the same way I did when I was a kid. I tried to touch them in the 80s and I remember the guard being like, nope!" says Piazza.
Emma moves to Paris with a dream, but then her life takes a high octane turn, meant to right a wrong...and steal a fortune.
"You have an all-woman art heist in the Musee D'Orsay, with three struggling artists trying to take down the largest art dealing family in the world. So, you have billionaires behaving badly, clever women taking down the patriarchy. It's amazing," says Piazza.
The other half of the book turns on the little known story of Jo Van Gogh, Vincent's sister in law.
Her husband, Theo, was Vincent's brother and agent, but never sold a picture, though he went to lengths to prop up the dreams of his fragile sibling.
It is Jo, widowed with a newborn, who single handedly saves Vincent from being forgotten.
"She made it her life's work to create the entire mythology and story around Vincent. She's the reason he is so famous," says Piazza.
Does Emma pull off the heist? Does her star-crossed romance survive? What is the secret that ties these two stories together?
"The Parisian Heist" is a summer story this juicy, my bet is you'll soon be able to compare the book and the movie.