Woman with Eyes Closed 
     by Rue Matthiessen

Publication date: June 17, 2025

U.S. Distribution: Ingram

Hardcover:     978-1-957607-33-7          $29.95

Paperback:      978-1-957607-32-0          $19.95

eBook:              978-1-957607-34-4           $9.99

Publicist: Sharon Bially, BookSavvy

Latah Books contact: jon@latahbooks.com

​​Book Description:

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On a full moon night in Rotterdam, three Dutch thieves break into a major museum and steal four masterworks—two Monets, one Picasso, and a small, controversial painting, Woman with Eyes Closed. British MI-5 agent Kit Hobbs, at a delicate point in his career, is mystified to find himself assigned to the case. Based on a tip that the missing Monets are in the bunker of a Russian mobster—who lives in a beach house in Sagaponack, New York—Kit is propelled into the insular, glamorous art world of the Hamptons.

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A few houses down from the Russian mobster, beautiful Perrin Clayton is newly married to Jack Triplett, hugely successful fabricator and art star. Perrin and Jack have “everything,” and at the same time, everything is not quite enough. Kit’s connection is Jack’s gallerist, and they all meet at a party at the Russian’s beach house. Kit immediately sees that the Russian is besotted with Perrin and devises a plan to seduce her into helping him infiltrate the Russian’s house.

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Back in the Netherlands, the thieves are squabbling and running from the law while caught in a web of misinformation, most of it from inside their own ranks. As Kit and Perrin begin to realize that what they are feeling for each other is more than an infatuation, a hurricane barrels toward the Atlantic seaboard. Amid rising tensions, switchbacks, revelations, and a major weather event, the fate of the Woman with Eyes Closed stays in play, as well as what the future will be for all. 

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Author Bio:

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Rue Matthiessen is based on the East End of Long Island. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize twice, her essays and short fiction have been published in numerous literary journals. Her memoir, Castles & Ruins, about growing up in Sagaponack, NY, with parents of ardent literary ambition, was published by Latah Books in February 2024. Her art-theft novel, Woman with Eyes Closed, set in Sagaponack, London, and the Netherlands, will be released by Latah Books in June of 2025. Recently, Rue was featured in the Bridgehampton Museum's Distinguished Lecturer Series, and Longhouse Talks in East Hampton. See more at ruematthiessen.com.  

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Praise for Castles & Ruins:

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"Rue Matthiessen’s memoir is unforgettable, a true testament to human will and the healing nature of understanding and owning one’s truth, even while wishing that things might have been different."

     --Story Circle Network

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“Matthiessen’s powerful storytelling vividly portrays her childhood and coming-of-age years…. thought-provoking and moving.”

     --Edith Wairimu, Readers’ Favorite

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“Rue Matthiessen's heartfelt memoir, Castles & Ruins is, in essence, configured like a Celtic cross.... we see how the figure of the circle is at the very center of Matthiessen’s being. Celtic tradition calls for both mourning and celebrating at death. Precisely the emotions and the rituals that Rue Matthiessen gives the reader in this complex, deeply felt work.”

     --Lou Ann Walker, The East Hampton Star

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"Castles & Ruins is inspired by a summer Rue Matthiessen spent in Galway with her husband and son, when she returned to the place of one of her most idyllic childhood memories, hoping to recapture the magic with her own child. As soon she arrives back in Ireland, trying to search out the area where she spent a summer with her parents (writers Peter Matthiessen and Deborah Love), she finds that it’s much more than a vacation with an end point, it is a trove of memories—a Pandora’s box. Rue’s feelings about having lost her mother rise to the surface afresh, as well as memories of her moody, intense father, who was just then on the cusp of a major literary career. The sixties, and her parents’ passionate, always crumbling marriage become vivid, like a film reel before her eyes. But will she be able to rediscover the castle of her childhood memories? Or will she find only ruins?"

     --Mom Egg Review

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“Castles & Ruins is a masterpiece, a must-read for anyone who sees beauty in the broken, finds solace in the unraveled, and believes that stories, like ancient stones, hold the power to illuminate the paths of the present.”

     --Midnights Book Tours

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“Prepare to be transported through the vibrant landscapes of Ireland as Rue Matthiessen unravels a captivating tale in her memoir, Castles & Ruins. This enchanting narrative goes beyond the ordinary, immersing readers in a world where the past and present converge in a lyrical dance of memories, familial bonds, and the enduring legacy of literary brilliance.”

     --Twins Reading Books

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