Salty souls, but debut a diluted stew

THE ART THIEF. By Noah Charney. Atria Books. 294 pages. $25.

"In the absence of something genuinely profound," says a character in "The Art Thief," "always say something quotable."

There's a whole lot of quoting going on in Noah Charney's debut novel, a pleasant if diluted stew of police procedural, art history and mystery writing.

When four paintings are stolen from three different countries, a motley collection of experts and cops is called upon to find the criminals.

The experts are refined, highly trained and passionate about their work. The cops are comical bumblers. The experts lecture on artsy facts such as iconography and the lives of Kasimir Malevich, Caravaggio and other famed painters. The police follow facile clues to an unsatisfying conclusion.

Despite the lengthy lectures and underwhelming plot, Charney sparkles when he concentrates on his characters. There's the saggy old Brit Harry Wickenden, who tracks down stolen art through plodding police work. In contrast, the flamboyant Jean-Jacques Bizot has a love of puzzles and food matched only by his hatred of the Internet.

Other memorable characters include Genevieve Delacloche, a specialist from the Malevich Society, and mercurial art investigator Gabriel Coffin.

Charney's obvious love of art, and his protagonists, save "The Art Thief" from becoming a by-the-numbers crime story.

If the author wants his book to act as a lightweight, teasing introduction to the artists and characters he describes, then he's succeeded.