Giotto's Hand

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Pears, Iain.

Mystery

Harper-collins Publishers

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...

Death and Restoration

HARPER/COLLINS

First edition. Hard cover. HarperCollins, London (2000) New in new dust jacket. Signed by author. book in new condition and has a band around it stating "signed copy" 273 p.; 23 cm. Collins crime.. Signed by Author, this is a 'gripping murder mystery combined with a fascinating art history puzzle. ' As new, in Brodart non-glare cover.

The Immaculate Deception

HarperCollins, Publishers

Fascinating art-crime novel set in Italy from the bestselling author of An Instance of the Fingerpost. General Bottando of Rome's Art Theft Squad is in trouble: his theory that a single master criminal, dubbed 'Giotto', is behind a string of major art thefts has aroused the scorn of his arch enemy and rival, the bureaucrat Corrado Argan. He needs a result, and the confession of a dying woman may just provide the vital clue. In pursuit of the elusive Giotto, Bottando's colleague, Flavia di Stefano, sets off hotfoot for Florence, and English art dealer Jonathan Argyll is dispatched to London and then on to rural Norfolk...only to discover a body and a mystery which could lead to the greatest art find of his career...

HarperCollins Publishers Canada, Limited

'This book dances with sunlight and colour, faded patinas and shifting standards, with humour and knowledge making easy companions' Mail on Sunday The monastery of San Giovanni has few treasures -- only a painting doubtfully attributed to Caravaggio. So Flavia di Stefano of Rome's Art Squad is surprised to receive a tip-off that a raid is being planned. The raid happens, but the thieves are disturbed and snatch the wrong painting, a curious icon of the Madonna, remarkable only for the affection in which it is held by the local population. Or is this what the thieves wanted all along? Does the legend of the icon's miraculous powers hold any clue? And who murdered the French dealer found in the Tiber soon afterwards? Flavia, with the help of English art dealer Jonathan Argyll, immerses herself in the intricacies and intrigues of monastic and police politics in an attempt to solve the double mystery, but the solution that awaits her is murkier and more complex than anyone could have known.

Scribner

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.

Immaculate Deception

Harper Collins Pb

The Portrait

Riverhead Books

A dark and disturbing novel of suspense, set at the turn of the 20th century, by the bestselling author of An Instance of the Fingerpost. The windswept isle of Houat, off the coast of Brittany, is no picturesque artists' colony. At the turn of the twentieth century, life is harsh and rustic. So why did Henry MacAlpine forsake London - where he had been feted by critics and gallery owners, his works exhibited alongside the likes of Cezanne and Van Gogh - to make his home in this remote outpost? The truth begins to emerge when, four years into his exile, MacAlpine receives his first visitor. Influential art critic William Naysmith has come to the island to sit for a portrait. Over the course of the sitting, the power balance between the two men shifts dramatically as the critic whose pen could anoint or destroy careers becomes a passive subject. And as the painter struggles to capture Nasmith's true character on canvas, a story unfolds - one of betrayal, hypocrisy, forbidden love, suicide and ultimately murder. The Portrait is a darkly atmospheric, psychologically complex, macabre and chilling novel from a master storyteller.

Literature & Fiction

Literary

The Raphael Affair

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 another painting. 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 to the world. But how had he discovered the hidden masterpiece? There is also the curious matter of the forger whose safety deposit box contains some highly suspicious sketches. Then a hideous act of vandalism is perpetrated. Murder follows and General Bottando of Italy's Art Theft Squad faces the biggest challenge of his career. "You don't have to know much about art to enjoy Iain Pears' Italian mysteries. Like a good teacher, he shares his passion unobtrusively and flavours his lessons with wit." VAL McDERMIND.

Contemporary

Harper

Iain Pears combines "articulate characters and erudite art commentary" (The New York Times Book Review) in this sophisticated, suspenseful series featuring art historian Jonathan Argyll and the delightfully clever Flavia di Stefano.In The Titian Committee, the two embark on a daring investigation after a member of a famous research committee is found dead in a Venetian public garden.

The Titian Committee

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

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Books by Pears, Iain.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Pears, Iain.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Giotto's Hand

Death and Restoration

The Immaculate Deception

Giotto's Hand

Death and Restoration

Immaculate Deception

The Portrait

The Portrait

The Raphael Affair

The Titian Committee