The Immaculate Deception
(IAIN PEARS)
Flavia di Stefano is acting head of the Italian Art Theft
Squad. When a painting on loan for a high-profile exhibition is stolen,
threatening a national furor, the prime minister himself summons her ? only to
forbid either an illegal ransom payment or any kind of public action. She fears
she''s being set up as a scapegoat, and her mentor Bottando, looking forward to
retirement, isn''t eager to get involved. Meanwhile her husband Jonathan Argyll,
a dilettante art historian, is trying to establish a provenance for a small
painting of Bottando''s...
There''s some violence towards the end, but the mood of The Immaculate
Deception is light-hearted ? it''s not an outright comedy, but Pears''
satire is gentle but effective and he doesn''t take himself too seriously. The
plot has more than enough twists and turns to keep us curious, without becoming
too implausible or complex and the characters are convincingly human, never
reduced to farce or formula. The sordid corruption of Italian politics and the
feuds and contrivances of the art world make for a dramatic backdrop.
The Immaculate Deception is the seventh novel featuring Flavia di
Stefano and Jonathan Argyll ? and perhaps, given its conclusion, the last. I''ll
definitely be keeping an eye out for the earlier volumes.
Resumos Relacionados
- False Impression
- The Lost Painting
- La Bella Figura: A Field Guide To The Italian Mind
- La Bella Figura: A Field Guide To The Italian Mind
- The Name Of The Rose
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