Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Good dramatic monologue.

I recently read Pears' most recent work, STONE'S FALL, and thoroughly enjoyed it. His AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST captivated me some years ago and his art history mysteries are a fun, light read. But I had never read THE PORTRAIT until now. It is unlike his other works, as it is a short (211 small pages) dramatic monologue, with everything you read narrated by and from the viewpoint of painter Henry MacAlpine, who directs his words to art critic William Nasmyth, as the latter sits for a portrait. Theirs is a long relationship, revealed through the painter's words, and the book's ending is not to be missed. This type of dramatic monologue has intrigued me since my high school reading of Robert Browning's poem MY LAST DUCHESS. The same feeling of mystery and menace is here in Pears' prose. It's a short, worthwhile read.