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Raphael Affair, The
by Pears, Iain
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992
Number of Pages: 191
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Genres:
Mystery
Review(s):
This is the first novel in the Jonathon Argyll art historian series. General Bottando of the Italian Art Theft Squad and his beautiful assistant Flavia di Stefano are told an outrageous story. A long lost Raphael was hidden under a painting by second rate artist Carlo Mantini. Unknown, it has been hanging in an obscure Roman church for over two hundred years. English art scholar Jonathon Argyll has figured this out. Before he can recover the Raphael, it disappears and he is arrested for breaking into the Santa Barbara church. Someone else knew about it; the valuable painting was purchased from the church by a well know art dealer, Edward Byrnes. Authenticated by experts, the newly discovered Raphael goes up for auction and is acquired by the Italian government for an astronomical sum. The painting is installed in Rome’s National Museum. It is Bottando’s job to protect it. When the Raphael is vandalized and someone is murdered, Jonathon is a prime suspect. He and Flavia join forces to uncover the real culprit; however, their investigation puts them in life threatening danger. Meanwhile General Bottando follows his own clues and line of reasoning, which leads to surprising results.
Reviewed by:
Sharon Weinberg on 11/19/2004
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A Glancing Light by Aaron J. Elkins
Listing Generated: 2/9/2010