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Amazon.co.uk Review
A good working rule for the police is to have as little as possible to do with politicians, but Flavia, acting head of the Rome Art Squad, finds herself deprived of that luxury when the Prime Minister involves himself in the case of a painting hijacked for ransom... Iain Pears' new thriller The Immaculate Deception picks up the story of Flavia and her British art-dealer husband Jonathan at a point where they are thinking seriously about the rest of their lives--Flavia is pregnant and Jonathan is in the process of selling off his remaining stock. The last thing they need is for Flavia to find herself at the heart of a major scandal involving illegal handovers of ransom, the last gasp of 1970s terrorism and a performance artist who has drowned in a vat of plaster. Meanwhile, Jonathan sets out to track down an unattributed painting owned by Flavia's former boss, and uncovers some neat little mysteries of his own... Art scholarship and police work are not that like each other, but Iain Pears wittily explores what analogies between them there are; he is intelligent about art, and marriage and Italian politics. This is a worthy addition to a charming series. --Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘Pears is that rare bird: a crime writer who can grip without gore’ Jane Jakeman, Independent
‘An intricately plotted, entertaining murder mystery’ Peter Guttridge, Observer Review
‘The writing is graceful, the characters are people in whose company it would be a delight to pass an evening. And Pears gives a rich sense of what it is to live in raddled, ever-glorious Rome’ Donna Leon, Sunday Times
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
One morning, a fine May morning in Rome, when the sun was beaming through the clouds of carbon monoxide and dust and giving a soft, fresh feel to the day, Flavia di Stefano sat immobile in a vast traffic jam that began in the Piazza del Popolo and ended somewhere near the Piazza Venezia. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
One morning, a fine May morning in Rome, when the sun was beaming through the clouds of carbon monoxide and dust and giving a soft, fresh feel to the day, Flavia di Stefano sat immobile in a vast traffic jam that began in the Piazza del Popolo and ended somewhere near the Piazza Venezia. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Like Graham Greene, Pears writes both serious, philosophical novels (The Dream of Scipio and An Instance of the Fingerpost) and entertainments--in this case, the fascinating art history mysteries which feature Flavia di Stefano and her boss, Gen. Taddeo Bottando of the Rome police. These quirky detectives from the Art Theft Squad are back in action here, though with changed roles. Bottando is now semi-retired and Flavia, newly married to former art dealer Jonathan Argyll, is acting head of the department.
Life in Pears' Rome never pretends to be simple, and it's always loads of fun for the reader. Here the theft of a priceless painting on loan from the Louvre leads to the Italian prime minister's order to Flavia to find it, but she must not allow the public or the press to know about the theft, she must get it back no matter the cost, she must pay whatever ransom is demanded without using public funds, and she must do this knowing in advance that she will be a scapegoat--that the prime minister will publicly deny everything he's told her. As the search for the painting gets underway, further mysteries unfold, until even Bottando himself is implicated in an art theft.
Influence peddling, payoffs, and old political rivalries are both accepted and taken for granted here as Flavia negotiates the minefields of art and politics. The satire is gentle, and the action is non-stop. The intricacies of the characters' relationships keep the reader constantly challenged and always thinking, and the art history angle, more about provenance than about painters, should appeal to readers with little art background. The surprising conclusion and the major changes resulting to the lives of the main characters are stunning. If Pears continues this series, it will undoubtedly be in new directions. Mary Whipple
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was my first introduction to Pears and I'd read him again. He has a lovely light touch and you might as well be in Piazza Navona the way he gets his Italian setting just right. The story? A mildly diverting caper that turns out to be a bit far-fetched. But the characters are well drawn and the yarn keeps you engaged.
Format:Paperback
Hopefully this is not the last we will hear of Flavia di Stefano and Jonathan Argyll, the ace art theft and murder sleuths who operate from Rome but seem to get around most of Europe (and further afield). But it is the last (to date) in the wonderful series of art history novels created by Iain Pears, and after 12 years of waiting for the next instalment, his fans are beginning to think that it may never arrive. To the book itself - little needs to be said other than The Immaculate Deception is very well titled as the story contains numerous mysteries for our heroes to uncover and the ending has a surprise neither dreamed of at the beginning of their investigations. As usual, Mr Pears has written a fast-moving and entertaining plot, touched with human frailties and humour.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Darker side of Art/
He writes such clever books and his research on Art is faultless.
I have collected all the books as the three main characters are such fun and still solve the crime
I have collected all the books as the three main characters are such fun and still solve the crime
Published 15 months ago by Mrs. S. A. Linsell
Leave this one on the shelf
I bought this book because it was by the author of An Instance of the Fingerpost, one of my favourite books of all time. I now wonder if both books are by the same author. Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2003 by Smallstar
A pleasant surprise
I was forced into reading this as one of my university set texts, so was expecting one of those dire "literary thrillers" and left reading it until the weekend before. Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2001
Predictability
This book can only be something of a disappointment as it deals with an interesting topic in a very dull and predictable way. Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2001
Refreshing
I found both the plot and style of the book refreshing. Although I have to admit I missed becoming closely aquainted with the characters' deep inner thoughts and histories, the... Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2001
nice story, shame about the writing
Have to agree with previous reviewer who comments about shallowness of characterisation. I can hardly believe that this was written by the same author who wrote An Instance of the... Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2001
Enjoyable bit of nonsense
Just to even the score here, I've given the book four stars. It isn't a classic of the crime genre but does deal with an interesting area - art theft - and the characters are... Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2001
Badly written, but good plot.
I only just managed to get to the end of this book because the plot was good. The narrator and almost every single character, good or bad, British or Italian, speak in the same... Read more
Published on 29 July 2001 by Ransen Owen
Small but perfectly formed
As this was the first of Iain Pear's art crime books that I had read, I did not know what to expect. However, I was not disappointed - this book is excellent; a real page-turner. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2001
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