Iain Pears

The Raphael Affair (Jonathan Argyll-art History Mysteries, Book 1) (Library Edition) (Jonathan Argyll Mysteries) Iain Pears Library, Unabridged Library edition

[This is the Library Edition Audio CD in vinyl case.]

[Read by Geoffrey Howard]

Set in Rome, The Raphael Affair features the perpetually beset General Bottando of the Italian National Art Theft Squad; his glamorous assistant, Flavia di Stefano; and Jonathan Argyll, a British art historian. When Jonathan is arrested for breaking into an obscure church in Rome, he claims that it contains a long-lost Raphael hidden under a painting by Mantini. The painting disappears--then reappears in the hands of the top British art dealer, Edward Byrnes. How has Byrnes found out about the hidden masterpiece, and for whom is he acting ? There is also the curious matter of the safety-deposit box full of sketches closely resembling features of the newly discovered painting. A hideous act of vandalism occurs, then murder. Bottando faces the most critical challenge of his career, and Jonathan and Flavia find themselves in unexpected danger.