The Immaculate Deception [Mass Market Paperback]

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.

‘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.

New art-history mystery from the acclaimed author of the best-selling literary masterpiece An Instance of the Fingerpost. ‘Superior entertainment’ Allan Massie, Scotsman

When an important, politically sensitive painting is kidnapped in Rome, Flavia di Stefano, acting head of the Italian Art Theft Squad, is told to get it back at all costs – without causing any embarrassment to the country and without paying the ransom. Put in an impossible position, she turns for help to her old mentor General Taddeo Bottando, who casts a wholly unexpected light on the crime.

In the meantime, her husband, English art historian Jonathan Argyll, embarks on an investigation of his own. As a gift to Bottando, he decides to establish the provenance of a small Renaissance painting, an Immaculate Conception, currently hanging on the wall of the general's apartment.

Absorbing and ingeniously plotted, The Immaculate Deception is both a fascinating art-history puzzle and a gripping murder mystery as the search for the truth uncovers shocking secrets from the past and leads Argyll and Flavia into the path of some very dangerous enemies indeed.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

When an important, politically sensitive painting is kidnapped in Rome, Flavia di Stefano, acting head of the Italian Art Theft Squad, is told to get it back at all costs – without causing any embarrassment to the country and without paying the ransom. Put in an impossible position, she turns for help to her old mentor General Taddeo Bottando, who casts a wholly unexpected light on the crime.

In the meantime, her husband, English art historian Jonathan Argyll, embarks on an investigation of his own. As a gift to Bottando, he decides to establish the provenance of a small Renaissance painting, an Immaculate Conception, currently hanging on the wall of the general's apartment.

Absorbing and ingeniously plotted, 'The Immaculate Deception' is both a fascinating art-history puzzle and a gripping murder mystery as the search for the truth uncovers shocking secrets from the past and leads Argyll and Flavia into the path of some very dangerous enemies indeed.

"Pears is a delightful writer, with light, ironic touch."
FRANCES FYFIELD, 'Mail on Sunday'

Pear's tremendous affection for Rome comes through strongly, making the city one of the most engaging characters."
DONNA LEON, 'Sunday Times'

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Iain Pears won the Getty Scholarship to Yale University and then worked for Reuters in Rome. He is the author of The History of Modern Painting, in addition to An Instance of the Fingerpost and six Italian-based crime novels, and lives with his wife and child in Oxford.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.