From internationally bestselling author Iain Pears comes the seventh in his Jonathan Argyll series -- an intriguing mystery of love, loss, and artistic license. For newlywed and Italian art theft squad head Flavia di Stefano, the honeymoon is over when a painting, borrowed from the Louvre and en route to a celebratory exhibition, is stolen. Desperate to avoid public embarrassment -- and to avoid paying a ransom -- the Italian prime minister leans hard on Flavia to get it back quickly and quietly. Across town, her husband, art historian Jonathan Argyll, begins an investigation of his own, tracing the past of a small Renaissance painting -- an Immaculate Conception -- owned by Flavia's mentor, retired general Taddeo Bottando. Soon both husband and wife uncover astonishing and chilling secrets, and Flavia's investigation takes a sudden turn from the search for an art thief to the hunt for a murderer.
From Publishers Weekly Jonathan Argyll, accompanied by his new wife, Flavia di Stefano, makes his seventh appearance in this confusing case of a stolen painting, murder and intrigue, following 1998's well-received An Instance of the Fingerpost. Antonio Sabauda, the Italian prime minister, asks Flavia, now acting head of the national art squad, to recover Claude Lorraine's Landscape with Cephalis and Procris, stolen from an Italian museum while on loan from the Louvre. Flavia, however, must not use public money for the requested ransom. As Flavia's former boss, Gen. Taddeo Bottando, has told her, "Prime ministers? Oh, they can ruin your life." She finds this is true on many levels. Meanwhile, Argyll, the art expert, is snooping into the provenance of a small painting owned by Bottando. Soon Argyll and Flavia find that almost everyone they talk to in their respective investigations has a hidden agenda. Who is behind all the shady goings-on in the art world? Is it Prime Minister Sabauda, General Bottando or another person with something to protect? Ultimately, as people's motives become clearer and one corpse after another turns up, Argyll and Flavia find that they have to make some very disturbing choices involving their own sense of morality. A personal secret that Flavia harbors until the end adds some intrigue. While the author nicely portrays the Italian art world, readers looking for a scintillating mystery will have to seek elsewhere. Views: 34
In Jonathan Kellerman’s
gripping novels, the city of Los Angeles is as much a living, breathing
character as the heroes and villains who roam its labyrinthine streets.
Sunny on the surface but shadowy beneath, this world of privilege and
pleasure has a dark core and a dangerous edge. In True Detectives,
Kellerman skillfully brings his renowned gifts for breathless suspense
and sharp psychological insight to a tale that resonates on every level
and satisfies at every turn.Bound by blood but divided by
troubles as old as Cain and Abel, Moses Reed and Aaron Fox were first
introduced in Kellerman’s bestselling Bones. They are sons of the same
strong-willed mother, and their respective fathers were cops, partners,
and friends. Their turbulent family history has set them at odds,
despite their shared calling. Moses—part Boy Scout, part bulldog, man of
few words—is a no-frills LAPD detective. Aaron, sharp dresser and
smooth operator, is an ex-cop turned high-end private eye. Usually they
go their separate ways. But the disappearance of Caitlin Frostig isn’t
usual. For Moses, it’s an ice-cold mystery he just can’t outrun, even
with the help of psychologist Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis.
For Aaron, it’s a billable-hours bonanza from his most lucrative client.
Like it or not, Moses and Aaron are in this one together–and the
rivalry that rules them won’t let either man quit till the case is
cracked.A straight-arrow, straight-A student from Malibu,
Caitlin has only two men in her life: her sullen single father and her
wholesome college sweetheart, who even the battling brothers agree seems
too downright upright to be true. Reluctantly tag-teaming in a
desperate search for fresh leads, Moses and Aaron zero in on Caitlin’s
white knight as their primary “person of interest,” hoping that, like
most people in L.A., he has a secret side.But they uncover more
than just a secret as they descend into the sinister, seamy side of the
City of Angels after dark, populated by a Hollywood Babylon cast of the
glamorous and the damned: a millionaire movie director turned
hatemongering eccentric; a desperate Beverly Hills housewife looking for
an exit from the fast lane; a heartthrob actor being eaten alive by
personal demons; a hooker who’s probably seen it all . . . and might
just know too much. And at the center, a dead young woman whose downward
spiral and brutal end loom over Moses and Aaron like an omen of what
may come to be if the dark end of the street claims another lost soul. Views: 34
When two frozen hearts collide…Emma Reed closed her heart to love years ago after a lifetime spent getting kicked around foster homes and bad relationships. Now she's on a mission to prove she deserves her recent award to paint a mural for a research base in Antarctica. Nothing and no one is going to get in her way. After months working in recovery zones around the world, Hunter Wilson planned to escape everything this holiday season by rebuilding a lab at the Kiwi Research Base. Alone. No to family, no to fun. It’s isolation not intimacy he’s aching for. But when he sees the determined artist, that ache becomes an urge – after all, shouldn’t someone show her what two people can do with twenty-four hours of brilliant sunlight?
In the coldest place on earth, even the most frozen hearts can melt. Views: 34
Fatty's disguises are better than ever. No one recognises him as a balloon seller, or as the old man in the village. Burglaries are going on and the police are baffled. It's a new mystery for the Five Find-Outers and Dog! Views: 34
It's autumn in Sea Harbor, and as the tourists leave, a mysterious guest arrives. When she's implicated in a crime, the Seaside Knitters must quickly table their knitting project and search out a motif for murder. Fall is usually a relaxing time in Sea Harbor, but it's turning out to be a busy season for Izzy Chambers Perry. Not only is she helping the Seaside Knitters make a magnificent throw to celebrate the fortieth wedding anniversary of her aunt and uncle, but she and her husband are finally selling the cottage she lived in before she got married and had a darling baby girl. To Izzy's surprise, newcomer Julia Ainsley seems determined to buy the home—although she's never set foot inside. But on the day of the open house, things take a dark turn. A body is uncovered in the cottage's backyard. When the police find Julia's name and phone number in the victim's pocket, this slender thread of evidence makes her a person of interest. Soon the... Views: 34
For the Amish of Pontotoc, Mississippi, faith can open minds—and hearts—to create surprising bonds for a lifetime . . . Independent-minded Leah Gingerich has always been outspoken. And even though she is now a progressive Mennonite, she's rediscovering the joys of family traditions back in her Amish hometown. Yet she can't help but clash with her handsome new Amish neighbor, Jamie Stolzfus. He's too hard-headed and old-line to see that his traumatized young nephew, Peter, needs faith and help—or that a woman who stands up to him may be what he needs to heal . . . After a devastating tragedy, Jamie moved to Pontotoc with his nephew for a fresh start. Holding fast to his beliefs is the only way he feels he can aid Peter—and himself. But somehow, Leah's freethinking ways and feisty challenges are sparking a happiness he's never felt before. Soon, Jamie can't imagine his life without her. But are their... Views: 34
The author of Loving a Lawman invites you back to the ranch... As cowboys, the Langston brothers of Cattle Creek, Texas, know it's easy to mend a fence. Mending a broken heart, however, takes time... Rancher Jake Langston prides himself on being the sensible type. But five years after the loss of his wife left him to raise their daughter alone, he indulges in a one-night stand with a sexy stranger. He thought he'd never see the woman again. Four months later, though, she's standing in his drive with a big surprise. Bryn Talbot wants nothing from the hunky cowboy who got her pregnant, but her Southern nature demands she at least tell him about it. When Jake's family persuades her to stay for a while, she's soon won over by their charms—and by Jake. But with the losses the two of them have suffered in the past, neither is sure if they're ready to take the leap to forever... Views: 34
