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Death and Restoration (Art History Mystery) | 
 enlarge | Author: Iain Pears
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
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Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 105699
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0425190420
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780425190425
ASIN: 0425190420
Publication Date: August 5, 2003
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Condition: Cover wear and may contain some marks or writing. Keen Northwest ships in 2 business days or less. Refunds for any reason if item returned within 30 days of shipment.
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Amazon.com Review
Like IAn Instance of the Fingerpost/I, Iain Pears's IDeath and Restoration/I is grounded in a richly cultured vision rife with references to European history, art, and cuisine. And, though it represents the sixth novel in Pears's Jonathan Argyll series, the author subtly informs new readers of the key relationships and the past histories of his characters within the first three chapters. Once again, Argyll and his soon-to-be wife, Flavia di Stefano, are enmeshed in the Italian art world: Flavia, as a member of the Rome police's art squad and Argyll as a professor of art history. p The suspense of the novel is sustained by the careful revelation of the central art-theft plot; in turn, each major character becomes the narrative center and offers an expanded understanding of the events at San Giovanni. While Argyll is troubled over his fiancee's frequent absences just prior to their wedding, Flavia feels compelled to keep odd hours. She's certain that her old nemesis, Mary Verney, has returned to Rome with the intention of committing a major new theft. And Verney, readers soon learn, is herself in jeopardy. She Imust/I steal a Madonna icon from the monastery--despite the close scrutiny she faces from the Rome police force--because the sadistic Mikis Charanis has kidnapped Verney's granddaughter, 8-year-old Louise, and he will only release the child when Verney has acquired the artifact from San Giovanni. Underlying each character's concerns is the mystery of the Madonna itself. Why does Charanis covet this piece over the more valuable, though still dubious, Caravaggio that is also in the monastery? In the end, the novel is a perfect melding of a tightly composed mystery plot, witty dialogue, and a realistic sense of character, all flowing from an intellectual's appreciation for the finer things in life. For readers who discovered Pears's fiction through IAn Instance of the Fingerpost/I, the Argyll series--particularly IDeath and Restoration/I--offers much to satiate the need for his pleasantly baroque sensibilities. Other works in the Argyll series include IThe Raphael Affair/I, IThe Titian Committee/I, IThe Bernini Bust/I, IThe Last Judgement/I, and IGiotto's Hand/I. I--Patrick O'Kelley/I
Product Description
General Bottando can't believe his rotten luck. He has just been promoted--to a position that's heavy on bureaucratic duties-but disturbingly light on investigative responsibilities. As if that wasn't annoying enough, he's received a tip about a planned raid at a nearby monastery. He's relying on his colleague Flavia di Stefano and her art-expert fiance, Jonathan Argyll, to thwart the plot-but both are beyond baffled. The only valuable item in the monastery's art collection is a supposed Caravaggio that's currently being restored. There are no solid suspects-unless you count the endearing art thief, the flagrantly flamboyant "Rottweiler of Restoration," and the strangely shady icon expert. And there's really no reason to cause an unholy uproar-until someone commits an unconscionable crime...
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 "Hodigitria - She who shows the way" December 26, 2007
Words can be music (Pennsylvania, USA)
"Business meetings are more or less the same all over the world...there is always a dispute, which serves the purpose of making half-felt antagonisms real." This book opens with such a meeting of the Order of St. John the Pietist, in which a decision by a one-vote majority eventually leads to an injury to the head of the order and the disappearance of an icon, of little monetary value but deeply valuable to the parishioners in the order's neighborhood in Rome. The order is at first much more concerned for the value of its "Caravaggio," which is undergoing restoration, but this concern turns out to be misplaced. br /Flavia di Stefano (temporarily standing in for her boss Bottando) and Jonathan Argyll discover the historical and contemporary motives for the icon's disappearance, by way of figuring out who has lured the "sweet-faced criminal" Mary Verney out of retirement to undertake a very risky art theft job. The mystery is complex, as always with Pears, but sketched with great clarity - it surpasses The Immaculate Deception and The Titian Committee in this respect. br /The bonus, for anyone interested in the pursuit of unity in the Catholic church, is the marvelous history of the icon Hodigitria (based in historical fact) as protector and bringer of healing. This is made concrete in the rapprochement between Fr. Xavier and Fr. Jean, in which they both move beyond their ideological positions (modern and traditionalist) to repentance for the way in which each one's intransigence has harmed the order, to genuine reconciliation which points the way to the future - led, not surprisingly, by a priest from Africa who becomes their reluctant, Spirit-filled leader. br /This is the finest of this series I have read so far, not only for its particular locale, but for what it reveals of Jonathan's goodness, for his understanding of what Flavia needs to be happy in her work, and for his encouragement of her career path. It is also wonderful to find a book which portrays priests as the fascinating individuals they are -- in contrast to the predictable stereotyping which has become common in some writers. Even though this book is the sixth in a series, it can stand on its own - I haven't read Giotto's Hand (Mary Verney first appears in this book) and didn't miss the background. br /
The Perfect Heist December 31, 2006
R. Chaffey (Chicago)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Iain Pears has quite a gift for blending his fictional characters and the world of art into a vivid, suspenseful story. "Death and Restoration", one in the series of Pears' art history mysteries, could very well stand on its own. The author deals with the necessary links between books at the beginning and sets the plot in motion for an intriguing romp through Rome, that new readers will enjoy as much as those who have read previous works in the series. br / br /Flavia di Stefano is very likely at a crossroads in her life. She has a week to consider two career moves, to replace General Bottando as head of the Art Theft Squad or to follow him along to his new job. As if that decision weren't time-consuming enough, the squad receives news that a theft will take place at the monastery of San Giovanni, and a former nemesis shows up in Rome to make Flavia even more suspicious of the crime about to be committed. When a theft and near-murder does occur at the monastery, Flavia must recruit the help of her fiance, former art dealer turned professor Jonathan Argyll, and they soon find themselves embroiled in a mystery that is centuries old. br / br /"Death and Restoration" allows readers to see the mystery from various viewpoints, granting insight that couldn't be gained otherwise. The characters are well-drawn and believable, the anxieties they face real and haunting. The mystery comes full circle in the end, and proves to be a delightful and intriguing journey through not only the art world but through possible religious mysteries as well.
 Italian art theft mystery August 4, 2006
Cory D. Slipman (Rockville Centre, N.Y.)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
In "Death and Restoration", Iain Pears composed a concise mystery replete with historical references featuring former art dealer Jonathan Argyll and his significant other Flavia di Stefano. Flavia, a ranking member of Rome's Art Theft Squad had been tipped off to a possible theft at the austere San Giovanni monastery. She was also made aware of the presence in Rome of Mary Verney, a matronly fiftyish Englishwoman, who was nonetheless a noted art thief. br / br /The target of the thievery was an ancient, fairly nondescript looking Byzantine icon known as the Hodigitria. It was alleged to be the holiest of all Eastern icons and imbued with mystical powers. Verney was commissioned to steal the painting by a Greek criminal Mikis Charanis, who had kidnapped Verney's granddaughter to assure her cooperation. br / br /Before Verney could pilfer the icon, Father Xavier, the father superior of the monastery was severely bludgeoned within the confines of San Giovanni and the icon disappeared. We soon learn that Father Xavier through a series of unwise investments, had lost nearly $250,000 of the monastery's money. He was planning to sell the icon to recoup those funds against the wishes of the order of monks. br / br /Within this confusing framework, Pears using his art history background, navigates his characters through a morass of art and religious history to unravel the mystery of the disappearance of the precious icon.
IAIN PEARS, GRAND MASTER OF RHETORIC May 13, 2006
Bookworm (St. George Utah)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
You don't have to be an art history major nor a lover of the mystery genre to enjoy this wonderful novel. This book will satisfy anyone who appreciates a well plotted story and engaging characters. While Flavia de Stefano (police-woman extrodinaire)and her fiance Jonathan Argyll (art dealer turned lecturer in baroque studies)are an interesting couple, the star of this story is the "sweet faced" grandmotherly criminal, Mary Verney. br /You will come away from this reading experience "chomping at the bit" to get to the bookstore to buy another Iain Pears book. He's Jonathan Gash, Wallace Stegner,Agatha Christie and Umberto Eco all rolled into one. You might also want to try Pears, the Titian Committee.
I bought 3 more Iain Pears books 100 pages into this book November 23, 2004
Martin Mulcahey
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I found out that this book is not the first in the series of Pears art history mysteries, but it certainly is not a bad place to start. This is a very fun read, with the right mixture of history, mystery, pace, and humor. You can tell the characters (good mix of male and female too) have been well thought out, as a series gives time for. Not to mention a plot that travels old Byzantium, Rome, Greece, with some political intrigue and all put before a religious backdrop. Pulled of very well!
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