General Bottando can't believe his rotten luck. He has just been promoted--to a position that's heavy on bureaucratic duties-but disturbingly light on investigative responsibilities. As if that wasn't annoying enough, he's received a tip about a planned raid at a nearby monastery. He's relying on his colleague Flavia di Stefano and her art-expert fiancé, Jonathan Argyll, to thwart the plot-but both are beyond baffled. The only valuable item in the monastery's art collection is a supposed Caravaggio that's currently being restored. There are no solid suspects-unless you count the endearing art thief, the flagrantly flamboyant "Rottweiler of Restoration," and the strangely shady icon expert. And there's really no reason to cause an unholy uproar-until someone commits an unconscionable crime...
"Articulate characters and erudite art commentary...high style." -New York Times Book Review
"Pears again achieves a delicate, sure balance with a book simultaneously witty and instructive."- Publishers Weekly
Iain Pears is the author of the bestsellers An Instance of the Fingerpost,The Dream of Scipio, Stone’s Fall, and Arcadia, and a novella, The Portrait, as well as a series of acclaimed detective novels, a book of art history, and countless articles on artistic, financial and historical subjects. He lives in Oxford, England.
View titles by Iain Pears
General Bottando can't believe his rotten luck. He has just been promoted--to a position that's heavy on bureaucratic duties-but disturbingly light on investigative responsibilities. As if that wasn't annoying enough, he's received a tip about a planned raid at a nearby monastery. He's relying on his colleague Flavia di Stefano and her art-expert fiancé, Jonathan Argyll, to thwart the plot-but both are beyond baffled. The only valuable item in the monastery's art collection is a supposed Caravaggio that's currently being restored. There are no solid suspects-unless you count the endearing art thief, the flagrantly flamboyant "Rottweiler of Restoration," and the strangely shady icon expert. And there's really no reason to cause an unholy uproar-until someone commits an unconscionable crime...
Reviews
"Articulate characters and erudite art commentary...high style." -New York Times Book Review
"Pears again achieves a delicate, sure balance with a book simultaneously witty and instructive."- Publishers Weekly
Iain Pears is the author of the bestsellers An Instance of the Fingerpost,The Dream of Scipio, Stone’s Fall, and Arcadia, and a novella, The Portrait, as well as a series of acclaimed detective novels, a book of art history, and countless articles on artistic, financial and historical subjects. He lives in Oxford, England.
View titles by Iain Pears