According to Black’s Law Dictionary, The Doctrine of Laches states that the victim of art theft who does not report it in a reasonable time after the theft has no claim to that art if it should appear on the market.  “Equity aids the vigilant and denies those who slack.”  This doctrine provides the underlying theme of my debut novel, Art Appreciation.

In Art Appreciation, Amsterdam, known as Dam, is an art thief operating in the Boston-metro area. Dam realized, years prior as a Midwestern high school graduate who couldn’t speak without stuttering, that his speech defect could be overcome by speaking in a generic English accent. Dam found this a workable solution until the semesters go by and, through studying art history, he learned that self-honesty is vital. Anything less is destructive. As a result of this epiphany, Dam spends a few weeks in England to “earn” his accent. Along the way, he falls in love with the countryside - and the daughter of a preserves magnate.  He also steals a couple of paintings from an art museum.