Iain Pears Books

When art dealer Jonathan Argyll arrives in Los Angeles to drop off a painting, he discovers that there are a few devils loose in the City of Angels

The Dream of Scipio follows the fortunes of three men. The story of each man is woven through the narrative, linked by each man's love for an extraordinary woman.

'A fictional tour de force which combines erudition with mystery' PD James Set in Oxford in the 1660s - a time and place of great intellectual, religious, scientific and political ferment - this remarkable novel centres around a young woman, Sarah Blundy, who stands accused of the murder of Robert Grove, a fellow of New College. Four witnesses describe the events surrounding his death: Marco da Cola, a Venetian Catholic intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion;Jack Prescott, the son of a supposed traitor to the Royalist cause, determined to vindicate his father; John Wallis, chief cryptographer to both Cromwell and Charles II, a mathematician, theologian and master spy; and Anthony Wood, the famous Oxford antiquary. Each one tells their version of what happened but only one reveals the extraordinary truth. Brilliantly written, utterly convincing, gripping from the first page to the last, An Instance of the Fingerpost is a magnificent tour de force. 'Anyone who reads this will want to tell their friends about it... This is a novel that combines the simple pleasures of Agatha Christie with the intellectual subtlety of Umberto Eco, don't let it pass by unread.' The Times

The book was first released in hardcover in Great Britain by Faber Faber and Faber Ltd. in 2015. It showcases a unique narrative style and explores themes that resonate with contemporary readers, offering a fresh perspective on its subject matter. The publication marks a significant addition to the literary landscape of that year.

Set against a rich historical backdrop, this novel weaves a vast and intricate mystery that showcases the author's ambition and complexity. Following the success of "An Instance of the Fingerpost," the narrative promises to engage readers with its dazzling storytelling and multifaceted plot, inviting exploration into a world filled with intrigue and depth.

The attempted sale of an obscure 18th-century painting goes murderously awry in this newest mystery starring impoverished art-dealer sleuth Jonathan Argyll, from the bestselling author of The Raphael Affair and The Titian Committee.

Flavia di Stefano of Rome's Art Squad receives a tip-off that a raid is being planned on the monastery of San Giovanni. The raid takes place, but the thieves snatch the wrong painting, an unremarkable icon of the Madonna. Soon afterwards a French dealer is found murdered in the Tiber.

When an important, politically sensitive painting is kidnapped in Rome, Flavia di Stefano, acting head of the Italian Art Theft Squad, is told to get it back at all costs – without causing any embarrassment to the country and without paying the ransom. Put in an impossible position, she turns for help to her old mentor General Taddeo Bottando, who casts a wholly unexpected light on the crime. In the meantime, her husband, English art historian Jonathan Argyll, embarks on an investigation of his own. As a gift to Bottando, he decides to establish the provenance of a small Renaissance painting, an Immaculate Conception, currently hanging on the wall of the general's apartment. Absorbing and ingeniously plotted, The Immaculate Deception is both a fascinating art-history puzzle and a gripping murder mystery as the search for the truth uncovers shocking secrets from the past and leads Argyll and Flavia into the path of some very dangerous enemies indeed.

Flavia di Stefano of Rome's Art Theft Squad and art historian Jonathan Argyll have charmed mystery readers around the world. Their latest case is baffling to the extreme, when clues from a Titian researcher's death by mugging point to murder -- and a criminal conspiracy...

English art scholar Jonathan Argyll was amazed to find himself arrested for vagrancy-while searching for a long-lost Raphael in a tiny Roman church. Although General Bottando of the Italian National Art Theft Squad has little confidence in Jonathan's theories, Bottando's lovely assistant, Flavia di Stefano, is intrigued by the idea of a lost classic, and by Jonathan himself. But in the midst of the painting's discovery and the resultant worldwide publicity, a new chain of events is set into action. First vandalism, then murder, surround the painting. And as new facts about its true nature emerge, Bottando sends Flavia and Jonathan to investigate--little knowing that the pair will be on the run for the truth... and for their very lives.