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Giotto's Hand by Iain Pears
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Giotto's Hand

by Iain Pears

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315114,830 (3.51)11
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Berkley (2000), Paperback, 288 pages

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Tags:fiction, novel, mystery
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Fifth in the Jonathan Argyll “art history” mysteries, another series that seems to have ended with the last book being published in 2002. Two more to go, and I’ve enjoyed each and every one of them. These feature Jonathan, an art dealer and Flavia, a detective for The Art Squad in Rome, and in this book they’re on the trail of a crooked art dealer regarding a theft that occurred thirty years earlier. The theft came to light in the confession of a dying old woman who played a minor role and wants to come clean before she meets her maker. Bottando, Flavia’s boss, is unsure whether to bother investigating, but as Flavia has business in Florence anyway, she stops by to see the old woman while Jonathan is on a trip to England to see his mentor for some career advice. Since he’s “in the neighborhood” he stops by to see the Englishman they think may be the thief, just in time for Jonathan to discover his dead body at the foot of his stairs, an apparent accident. But is it? Another wide-reaching trek with an interesting case that I did not solve til very near the end. Love this series, thoroughly enjoy the characters, and the little tidbits of information about art history is always fascinating too. ( )
Spuddie | Oct 1, 2008 |  
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General Taddeo Bottando's triumphantly successful campaign towards the unmasking of the shadowy English art dealer, Geoffrey Forster, as the most extraordinary thief of his generation began with a letter, postmarked Rome, that turned up on his desk on the third floor of the Art Theft Department on a particularly fine morning in late July.
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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... (Fantastic Fiction)

Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0425173585, Paperback)

General Bottando of Rome's Art Theft Squad believes a lone criminal mastermind-dubbed "Giotto"-has been stealing priceless Renaissance art for over 30 years. But his theory is scorned by archrival Corrado Argan, a bureaucrat more interested in politics than policing.

Bottando's right hand, the beautiful Flavia di Stefano, quickly locates a possible culprit-but he's in England. Since the conniving Argan considers even a trip across town an unnecessary expense for Bottando's squad, Flavia must rely on her fiancé, Jonathan Argyll. In England on business, he finds the suspect suspiciously dead. That's a pity-especially for Jonathan. Were he not on the scene-raving about art thefts and coincidences-the police may have ruled that the deceased had a few too many and tripped on a loose stair. Now, Jonathan's passport has been lifted until Her Majesty's magistrate is satisfied that he has told all he knows...

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:12 -0400)

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