An Instance of the Fingerpost

"The Riddle of Raphael" is the first novel in the delightful intellectual detective series by Ian Pearce about crimes in the world of art, investigated by English art expert Jonathan Argyle, investigator Flavia di Stefano, and General Bottando. Ian Pearce’s detectives are an exquisite feast for the soul and the mind.

Young English art expert Jonathan Argyle believes he has discovered an unknown painting by Raphael in a crumbling Roman church. But while he’s working on his investigation, he is arrested for vagrancy—what a small detail! Meanwhile, the painting is sold into a private collection and transferred to a national museum, and our hero suspects that fraud on an especially large scale has taken place. To investigate, he joins forces with a special unit of the Rome police—and then events spiral so violently that the entire art world shudders… Blood, lies, and forgeries in the most cultural detective story of the year—"The Riddle of Raphael."