Death and Restoration

(Paperback)

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Clever and witty art history-mystery featuring scholar and sleuth Jonathon Argyll, from the author of the bestselling masterpiece An Instance of the Fingerpost.
A tip-off without any names and a theft with no obvious motive these are the apparently innocuous matters currently in the hands of Flavia di Stefano of Rome's Art Theft Squad. Flavia is able to disturb the looters of the monastery in San Giovanni but not catch them. And it's a good thing that nothing valuable was stolen because neither she nor art dealer Jonathan Argyll have a clue who the culprits were.

Maybe the truth lies with the item they did get away with not the disputed Caravaggio the monastery is known for, but a curious icon of the Madonna that is said to have strange powers. Such claims are pure folklore, surely but then a connection is made to a French dealer found floating in the Tiber a few days later and suddenly things don't seem so frivolous. Perhaps the icon was what the thieves wanted and is it possible that its powers are miraculous enough to kill for

Reviews

Praise for 'Death and Restoration': 'Pears's tremendous affection for Rome comes through strongly in the book, making the city one of the most engaging characters' Sunday Times 'Iain Pears writes delightfully witty, elegant, well-informed crime novels' The Times '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 Praise for 'The Portrait': 'A wonderful, grimly entertaining novel.' Sunday Telegraph 'A revenge fantasy to relish.' Independent on Sunday 'Genuinely creepy.' The Times 'An exquisite miniature that explores the roles of artist and critic with wit and gore.' Evening Standard 'This is an atmospheric tour de force of historical writing, as it is of narrative skill.' Independent 'Taut, disturbing!full of interesting observations about the late nineteenth -- and early twentieth-century art world!mesmerising.' Spectator

Author Bio

Iain Pears was born in 1955, educated at Wadham College, Oxford and won the Getty Scholarship to Yale University. He has worked as a journalist, an art historian and a television consultant. He is the author of many books, including the bestselling An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Dream Of Scipio.He lives with his wife and son in Oxford.