Review
‘An elegant and amusing book, perfect for those who love a clever puzzle.’ Mail on Sunday
‘Iain Pears has a superior line in this kind of tale… A divertingly complex, often comic, story in which the art motif is ingeniously central to the solution.’ Guardian
‘Pears’s tremendous affection for Rome comes through strongly, making the city one of the most engaging characters.’ Sunday Times
Review
Product Description
By the author of the acclaimed bestseller, An Instance of the Fingerpost.
When Louise Masterson, a member of the famous Titian Committee, is found stabbed to death in a Venetian public garden, General Bottando of Rome’s Art Theft Squad sends Flavia di Stefano to Venice to assist the local carabinieri. But it seems they don’t want her help or expertise, and are convinced a Sicilian mugger is responsible for the killing.
Flavia has other ideas and calls upon the services of English art historian Jonathan Argyll, who is in Venice to buy a picture from the Marchesa di Mulino’s collection. When another member of the committee is found dead and the Marchesa’s collection is stolen, Flavia and Argyll follow a tortuous trail to unearth the truth behind both the killings and the theft. In the process, not only do they stumble across another murder, but come close to unravelling a mystery from Titian’s own life.
From the Back Cover
When Louis Masterton, a member of the famous Titian Committee, is found stabbed to death in a Venetian public garden, General Bottando of Rome’s Art Theft Squad sends Flavia di Stefanoto Venice to asist the local carabinieri. But it seems they don’t want her help or expertise, and are convinced a Sicilian mugger is responsible for the killing.
Flavia has other ideas and calls upon the services of English art historian Jonathan Argyll, who is in Venice to buy a picture from the Marchesa di Mulino’s collection. When another member of the committee is found dead and the Marchesa’s collection is stolen, Flavia and Argyll follow a tortuous trail to unearth the truth behind both the killings and the theft. In the process, not only do they stumble across another murder, but come close to unravelling a mystery from Titian’s own life.
“A divertingly complex, often comic, story in which the art motif is ingeniously central to the solution”
GUARDIAN
“Mr Pears does some lovely brushwork on the minor characters who contribute to the subtle tones of this elegant mystery … but the real work of art here is the plot, a piece of structural engineering any artist would envy”
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
About the Author
Iain Pears won the Getty Scholarship to Yale University and worked for Reuters in Rome. He is the author of the bestseller An Instance of the Fingerpost. He lives with his wife and son in Oxford.
