The Titian Committee
Witty Italian art-history crime series featuring English dealer Jonathan Argyll, from the author of the best-selling literary masterpiece, ‘An Instance of the Fingerpost’.
Membership of the prestigious Titian Committee is normally considered a high honour. Normally, that is, until two of its members end up dead and someone seems to be taking the idea of backstabbing a little too far.
Flavia de Stefano of Rome’s Art Theft Squad is sent to find out why. She calls upon the help of dealer Jonathan Argyll, in Venice to buy a picture from the Marchesa di Mulino. But the sudden theft of the Marchesa’s collection sets Flavia and Jonathan on a tortuous trail to uncover the truth.
A further death threatens the very survival of the Committee itself, as well as offering the tantalizing possibility of an undiscovered Titian – a mysterious composition that may have been suppressed for ‘moral’ reasons….
Praise for ‘The Titian Committee’: -
”'An elegant and amusing book, perfect for those who love a clever puzzle.” - Mail on Sunday
”'The real work of art here is the plot, a piece of structural engineering any artist would envy.” - New York Times
Praise for the Jonathan Argyll series: -
'Iain Pears has a superior line in this kind of tale…a divertingly complex, often comic, story in which the art motif is ingeniously central to the solution.' Guardian -
'Superior entertainment.' Allan Massie, Scotsman -
'There is nothing so satisfactory as the deconstruction of a puzzle in the hands of such an erudite and sure-footed author.' The Times -
'Pears is a delightful writer, with a light, ironic touch.' Frances Fyfield, Mail on Sunday -
'Iain Pears writes delightfully witty, elegant, well-informed crime novels.' The Times -
'You don't have to know much about art to enjoy Iain Pears's Italian mysteries. Like a good teacher, he shares his passion unobtrusively and flavours his lessons with wit.' Val McDermid -
'Pears is a delightful writer, with a light, ironic touch.' Mail on Sunday -