A first crime novel which introduces General Bottando of the Italian Art Theft Department. The discovery of a previously unknown Raphael portrait rocks the art world, but what starts out as an embarrassment for the Italian government becomes something much worse when murder enters the picture.
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Praise for ‘The Raphael Affair’:
‘An impressive first, promising much.’ The Times
‘Good, clean art scam fun…plot layered as forger’s paint; Italophiles and gallery gazers will love it. A felicitous first.’ Guardian
‘Ingenious…a good read.’ Daily Express
‘Clever thriller… Pears balances politics, love and danger nicely, in a plot that has a cunning and satisfactory outcome.’ Sunday Times
Praise for the Jonathan Argyll series:
‘You don’t have to know much about art to enjoy Iain Pears’s Italian mysteries. Like a good teacher, he shares his passion unobtrusively and flavours his lessons with wit.’ Val McDermid
'Pears is a delightful writer, with a light, ironic touch.' Mail on Sunday
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.From the Back Cover
When English art historian Jonathan Argyll is caught breaking into a church in Rome, he has an astonishing story to tell. He claims that the church contains a genuine Raphael, hidden under a painting by Mantini. Further investigation reveals that the painting has disappeared . . . to reappear later in the hands of top English art dealer, Edward Byrnes.
Soon Byrnes is able to unveil the Raphael before an amazed world. But how has he found out about the hidden masterpiece? And there is also the curious matter of the forger whose safety deposit box contains highly suspicious sketches.
Then a hideous act of vandalism is perpetrated. Murder is to follow . . . and General Bottando of Italy's Art Theft Squad faces the most critical challenge of his whole career.
"Pears is a delightful writer, with a light, ironic touch."
FRANCES HEGARTY ' Mail on Sunday'
"Iain Pears has a superior line in this kind of tale"
'Guardian'
"You don't have to know very much about art to enjoy Iain Pears's Italian mysteries. Like a good teacher, he shares his passion unobtrusively and flavours his lessons with wit"
VAL McDERMID
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First Sentence
Generale Taddeo Bottando walked up the staircase covered in stolen works of art slightly before the bell of San Ignazio struck seven in the morning, as usual. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Generale Taddeo Bottando walked up the staircase covered in stolen works of art slightly before the bell of San Ignazio struck seven in the morning, as usual. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is the first, and one of the most enjoyable, of Pears' Jonathan Argyll art mysteries. Jonathan is an endearingly bumbling hero and Flavia di Stefano a charming detective. The story is funny and gripping, with plenty of twists and turns and a lot of interesting information about art fraud, forgery and restoration techniques thrown in. Great Sunday morning reading, with a latte and a ciabatta to recreate the Italian atmosphere...
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By bellepaese
Format:Paperback
I'm not going to write reams. I just want to say I loved it. Read 5 of them so far and i am hooked.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this AFTER "The Titian Committee" (TTC). Not realising TTC as the second I subsequently tracked down the rest and am reading them in the published order and loving all of them in turn. So far, this is my favourite. Is this the startof an affair... we'll have to complete the series to find out probably.
If you like these you will probably enjoy Christabel Kent, also set in Italy but thrillers that are a little darker but equally engaging.
If you like these you will probably enjoy Christabel Kent, also set in Italy but thrillers that are a little darker but equally engaging.
By nas
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Have to agree with the reviewer from 2001. Very underwhelming - hoped to get a bit of local flavour from the Rome setting, but there's no description, no atmosphere. The chapters lurch from one expositional 'meeting' to another - heck, we don't even get to meet the villain until he's chucked off a tower (unless I missed something - that's how little mark the plot makes!) The only 'action' is in the third chapter from the end - the remaining two lurch to a bathetic conclusion with yet more tedious explanations, mostly centering around information we're not privy to - what's the point of a thriller where you don't get the clues along the way to work it out for yourself? Argyll's audience received his great 'final revelation' in silence...I know how they felt.
4 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I hoped i would read something like Donna Leon stories. But this book dissapointed me really a lot. I wonder even if it is a book. The main characters are completely without personalities and their own life. They say something, eat something but you forget what and when. There is now atmosphere, not tension. It's about Italy, but could be everywhere. The main characters are Englishman and Italian but could be german and portorican or whatever. It seems moreover that this is a book for boys. The action is like in detective stories for teens. Even about art you cannot learn more than that Raphael was a great painter. But I knew that before....
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