What do you think?
Rate this book
Cardsharp: A Vincent Ward Adventure
Cardsharp is an exciting adventure book for children set in the art world. Escaping house fires and fighting daring robbers is just the beginning for art researcher, Vincent Ward, and these battles do little to prepare him for the exciting adventure that unfolds. An old journal discovered at an auction in Rome puts Vincent on the trail of an undiscovered painting by one of art history’s most notorious masters, Caravaggio. But paintings this rare and valuable are sought after by more than just collectors and galleries. Vincent soon finds himself on the run from a brutal and lawless policeman, a gang of international criminals, and fighting vicious pirates. There are stings, tricks and conspiracies around every corner, and bullets flying from the shadows. Only The National Gallery, London is safe for Vincent and the painting. But is there a way back? Get ready to be thrown into the world of Vincent Ward, where getting through each day alive just isn’t enough.
132 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 20, 2010
1 person wants to read
About the author
Paul Westmoreland
20Ìýbooks12ÌýfollowersMy name is Paul Oliver Westmoreland and I love writing children’s novels.
Right now I’m 34, live in North London, and work for a digital advertising agency on Baker Street. I got married in March and now we’re getting ready for the arrival of our first child. In my spare time I’m working hard on the next Vincent Ward adventure.
My novels introduce young readers to real subjects through exciting, fast-paced adventures. In Cardsharp, Vincent Ward explores the murky art underworld and the life and paintings of Caravaggio, while battling a gang of international thieves and smugglers. My aim is to leaves readers wanting to know more about Caravaggio and art � maybe even go to the National Gallery and see a couple of his paintings. The Find Out More page on this site offers a few places to get started.
This site is a new venture for me and Cardsharp is the first book I’ve posted online. More Vincent Ward adventures will follow, as well as other novels with new characters, as soon as they’re ready.
If you’d like to know more about me or have any feedback, please drop me a line in the box below.
Thanks for reading,
POW
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 14, 2011
This marked a real departure for me away from the military and fantasy books I usually read. To be totally honest, I never really expected to enjoy it. But I did !
The action and adventure begin immediately. The fast flowing storyline has you engrossed and constantly guessing at what is coming next. I admit to knowing very little about art/artists but the author explains the important details in such an interesting and succinct way that it is woven effortlessly into the compelling plot.
Written in the first person, the narrative draws you in so much that you feel as though you are living the adventure as Vincent Ward. The dialogue is realistic without being laboured and the character relationships all the more believable because of it. The arch enemy (The Wasp) has an air of mystery and menace about him and the technical and geographical aspects have been well researched/are well explained. The small illustrations at the start of each chapter are a fresh approach for me which make the story read more like a comic book caper, which I presume was the author's intention. They break up the writing and pique your interest so that you want to read on.
At some points you are screaming at the hero to, 'pick up a phone and call the Police!' instead of fighting all the battles himself, but at the same time a piece of you is wishing that you were more like him and had his balls.
Negatives? None really. I really enjoyed the book and as it is the first of a series, I will be looking out for the next adventure.
The action and adventure begin immediately. The fast flowing storyline has you engrossed and constantly guessing at what is coming next. I admit to knowing very little about art/artists but the author explains the important details in such an interesting and succinct way that it is woven effortlessly into the compelling plot.
Written in the first person, the narrative draws you in so much that you feel as though you are living the adventure as Vincent Ward. The dialogue is realistic without being laboured and the character relationships all the more believable because of it. The arch enemy (The Wasp) has an air of mystery and menace about him and the technical and geographical aspects have been well researched/are well explained. The small illustrations at the start of each chapter are a fresh approach for me which make the story read more like a comic book caper, which I presume was the author's intention. They break up the writing and pique your interest so that you want to read on.
At some points you are screaming at the hero to, 'pick up a phone and call the Police!' instead of fighting all the battles himself, but at the same time a piece of you is wishing that you were more like him and had his balls.
Negatives? None really. I really enjoyed the book and as it is the first of a series, I will be looking out for the next adventure.
January 6, 2012
I wasn’t really sure what to expect with Cardsharp but when I started it I got pulled into an exciting story that got more exciting and more interesting as it went along.
Cardsharp reminded me a lot of The Adventures of TinTin. Vincent Ward sets off on an adventure and he ends up getting caught up in this world of intrigue and the bad guys have guns and there’s a little bit of violence from them as Vincent tries to get back his precious painting.
I thought that Cardsharp was a fun read but I have to say that it has really bad spelling and grammar errors. I’m not sure if it’s just from the epub version I read or not but a lot of the words had the letters, i, f or t missing and so that really bothered me.
Not knowing much about Caravaggio or art for that matter I found that the explanations were really good and I was still able to enjoy the book with a very limited knowledge of art history and it made Cardsharp a learning experience as well which I always like.
Overall, I would say that Cardsharp was a really fun read and is good for anyone who likes adventure novels. I’d say it’s more in the middle grade genre as it has quite a simplistic writing style to it which makes it an easy book to breeze through.
Cardsharp reminded me a lot of The Adventures of TinTin. Vincent Ward sets off on an adventure and he ends up getting caught up in this world of intrigue and the bad guys have guns and there’s a little bit of violence from them as Vincent tries to get back his precious painting.
I thought that Cardsharp was a fun read but I have to say that it has really bad spelling and grammar errors. I’m not sure if it’s just from the epub version I read or not but a lot of the words had the letters, i, f or t missing and so that really bothered me.
Not knowing much about Caravaggio or art for that matter I found that the explanations were really good and I was still able to enjoy the book with a very limited knowledge of art history and it made Cardsharp a learning experience as well which I always like.
Overall, I would say that Cardsharp was a really fun read and is good for anyone who likes adventure novels. I’d say it’s more in the middle grade genre as it has quite a simplistic writing style to it which makes it an easy book to breeze through.
Read
January 20, 2012Guns, car races, criminal masterminds, daring escapes, ruthless pirates, a pretty woman and one man caught up in the middle of it all: Vincent Ward.
Paintings, the treasures of the world: Vincent Ward sees the beauty in them, as did his parents. The thieves who stole their paintings, burnt their house down and killed them only saw the money in the artwork. Vincent was six when it happened � too young to do anything to stop them. Now, though, with a priceless painting in danger and a master thief on the loose, Vincent finds himself in more danger than he’s ever been in before, in a race to protect what he loves most: art.
I wasn’t expecting to like Cardsharp so much � I’ve never really been one who loves James Bond and such, but I found myself really enjoying this as I read � the non-stop action, the history facts, the car chases� I was on the edge of my seat all the way through, excited to know where the story would go. I loved Cardsharp and Vincent Ward!
Vincent Ward was real cool, a real hero! He was brave, fast-thinking, smart, observational, kind, sneaky and just brilliant! Plus, sort of a lunatic: I mean, who runs after armed thieves when your hands are tied (as in, actually tied together)? He was completely committed to art: he’d die for it, and when a painting was at stake he was as stubborn as a mule. I mean, he was as enthusiastic about art as I am about books � which is saying something!
Jennifer Rorstand, sometimes known as Porcelain Woman, was beautiful, studious, intelligent, brave and tough. I liked that she saved Vincent, so the heroism wasn’t just one sided. She was a kick-butt porcelain specialist!
Now� Who is this mysterious yellow-and-black-striped-tie man? He’s tried to kill Vincent, he’s always hovering� Hmm� ‘He� was the perfect villain: Ruthless, dangerous, heartless and merciless�
The artist this story revolved around was Caravaggio, one of the most famous painters of his generation, before “his spectacular fall from grace�. I loved getting to learn more about him and his oh-so colourful history, especially as I know next to nothing about art!
The action in Cardsharp was non-stop from the word go. Literally. It was awesome- like an action movie with shoot outs, brutal policemen, robberies, car chases� literally everything you need to stay hooked to the book! There were next-to-no breaks, constant twists, danger and action always lurking round the corner. Loved it!
The writing was brilliant: somehow the author managed to get in loads of art history without it being boring! The suspense was non-stop � I was always on the edge of my seat. I just loved the voice � it was really Vincent. The suspense got stronger and stronger, the twists came thick and fast and the villains were pure evil. I loved every new development, every new obstacle. Overall: The writing was awesome! Like a movie in my head (would make such a good movie, btw).
The weakness? I didn’t feel I really got to know Vincent as much as I would have liked � we don’t know why he’s or his parents) were so obsessed with art, how Vincent feels about his parents� deaths. I hope in the next book his character is expanded slightly.
Robberies, villains, priceless paintings and shootouts, Cardsharp was a book that surprised me, had me hooked from start to finish. I loved getting into Vincent’s head, and can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Paintings, the treasures of the world: Vincent Ward sees the beauty in them, as did his parents. The thieves who stole their paintings, burnt their house down and killed them only saw the money in the artwork. Vincent was six when it happened � too young to do anything to stop them. Now, though, with a priceless painting in danger and a master thief on the loose, Vincent finds himself in more danger than he’s ever been in before, in a race to protect what he loves most: art.
I wasn’t expecting to like Cardsharp so much � I’ve never really been one who loves James Bond and such, but I found myself really enjoying this as I read � the non-stop action, the history facts, the car chases� I was on the edge of my seat all the way through, excited to know where the story would go. I loved Cardsharp and Vincent Ward!
Vincent Ward was real cool, a real hero! He was brave, fast-thinking, smart, observational, kind, sneaky and just brilliant! Plus, sort of a lunatic: I mean, who runs after armed thieves when your hands are tied (as in, actually tied together)? He was completely committed to art: he’d die for it, and when a painting was at stake he was as stubborn as a mule. I mean, he was as enthusiastic about art as I am about books � which is saying something!
Jennifer Rorstand, sometimes known as Porcelain Woman, was beautiful, studious, intelligent, brave and tough. I liked that she saved Vincent, so the heroism wasn’t just one sided. She was a kick-butt porcelain specialist!
Now� Who is this mysterious yellow-and-black-striped-tie man? He’s tried to kill Vincent, he’s always hovering� Hmm� ‘He� was the perfect villain: Ruthless, dangerous, heartless and merciless�
The artist this story revolved around was Caravaggio, one of the most famous painters of his generation, before “his spectacular fall from grace�. I loved getting to learn more about him and his oh-so colourful history, especially as I know next to nothing about art!
The action in Cardsharp was non-stop from the word go. Literally. It was awesome- like an action movie with shoot outs, brutal policemen, robberies, car chases� literally everything you need to stay hooked to the book! There were next-to-no breaks, constant twists, danger and action always lurking round the corner. Loved it!
The writing was brilliant: somehow the author managed to get in loads of art history without it being boring! The suspense was non-stop � I was always on the edge of my seat. I just loved the voice � it was really Vincent. The suspense got stronger and stronger, the twists came thick and fast and the villains were pure evil. I loved every new development, every new obstacle. Overall: The writing was awesome! Like a movie in my head (would make such a good movie, btw).
The weakness? I didn’t feel I really got to know Vincent as much as I would have liked � we don’t know why he’s or his parents) were so obsessed with art, how Vincent feels about his parents� deaths. I hope in the next book his character is expanded slightly.
Robberies, villains, priceless paintings and shootouts, Cardsharp was a book that surprised me, had me hooked from start to finish. I loved getting into Vincent’s head, and can’t wait for the next book in the series.
January 26, 2012
Cardsharp is an exciting adventure book with a twist. Vincent Ward works as a researcher at the National Museum in London and has a passion for fine art, especially paintings. When he is given the opportunity to travel to Italy to bid on a diary supposedly written by one of his favourite artists, Caravaggio, he jumps on the chance. This leads to a whole adventure full of mystery and intrigue as he is stalked by international criminals who will do anything, and I mean anything, to get the painting that Vincent is so intent on protecting.
Vincent is a likable character and his passion for art is contagious. This leads to the twist in the story, it centres around a painting, called Cardsharps by Caravaggio. In an among all of the non stop adventure and danger is Cardsharps, a painting of a young man being cheated at cards by two con men. Interesting enough, the whole novel is structured around this painting and what it means.
There is also the life of Caravaggio, which is followed in the novel as Vincent travels around Italy trying to save another painting, and also his life. The author provides fun lessons in history and art restoration. These seem natural in the book and are not forced. It is very clear that Mr. Westmoreland knows his art and the history he presents rings true and is not condescending.
Make no mistake, this book is action packed and has its share of violence as Vincent goes from one bad situation to a worse one with very little break. It will certainly keep the reader turning the pages to find out if an how Vincent gets himself out of his latest jam. I think this book will appeal to middle school and even young adult kids who like their books fast paced. They may not even realize that they are getting an art history lesson at the same time.
This is the first in the Vincent Ward series and I am certainly looking forward to the next one!!
Disclosure: I was given a free copy of Cardsharp in exchange for my honest review, as part of the Lightning Book Promotions blog tour.
Vincent is a likable character and his passion for art is contagious. This leads to the twist in the story, it centres around a painting, called Cardsharps by Caravaggio. In an among all of the non stop adventure and danger is Cardsharps, a painting of a young man being cheated at cards by two con men. Interesting enough, the whole novel is structured around this painting and what it means.
There is also the life of Caravaggio, which is followed in the novel as Vincent travels around Italy trying to save another painting, and also his life. The author provides fun lessons in history and art restoration. These seem natural in the book and are not forced. It is very clear that Mr. Westmoreland knows his art and the history he presents rings true and is not condescending.
Make no mistake, this book is action packed and has its share of violence as Vincent goes from one bad situation to a worse one with very little break. It will certainly keep the reader turning the pages to find out if an how Vincent gets himself out of his latest jam. I think this book will appeal to middle school and even young adult kids who like their books fast paced. They may not even realize that they are getting an art history lesson at the same time.
This is the first in the Vincent Ward series and I am certainly looking forward to the next one!!
Disclosure: I was given a free copy of Cardsharp in exchange for my honest review, as part of the Lightning Book Promotions blog tour.
January 2, 2012
Vincent Ward knows and loves art. A dramatic opening scene in Paul Oliver Westmoreland’s novel, Cardsharp, describes how Vincent came by his lifelong artistic interest as a small child. But Vincent's now an employee in the National Gallery, and his quiet everyday job turns into a frantic race to rescue Caravaggio’s Cardsharps from a team of daring art thieves. Foolishly brave and cleverly resourceful, Vincent wins the day and the privilege of a trip to Italy, where a simple plan to bid for Caravaggio’s journal at auction leads to fascinating art-world details and piracy on the high seas. How does a dealer recognize a master? Who is the attractive woman buying vases? And why does the man in the stripy tie keep popping up? You’ll have to read to find out.
The art world is filled with fascinating and authentic facts in this tale. The action’s frenetic and exciting. And the narrator, Vincent Ward, has a nice straightforward tone, well-illustrated by black-and-white chapter illustrations, that reads easily and keeps the pages turning. The novel is a nice blend of history, information and modern-day action, enjoyably English with a pleasing international flavor, attractively produced and well-designed to encourage young readers.
Disclosure: I was given a free copy of Cardsharps in exchange for my honest review, as part of the Lightning Book Promotions blog tour.
The art world is filled with fascinating and authentic facts in this tale. The action’s frenetic and exciting. And the narrator, Vincent Ward, has a nice straightforward tone, well-illustrated by black-and-white chapter illustrations, that reads easily and keeps the pages turning. The novel is a nice blend of history, information and modern-day action, enjoyably English with a pleasing international flavor, attractively produced and well-designed to encourage young readers.
Disclosure: I was given a free copy of Cardsharps in exchange for my honest review, as part of the Lightning Book Promotions blog tour.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.