The Raphael Affair

by Iain Pears Narrated by Ralph Cosham

Overview

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 whom is he acting for? 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.

Editorial Reviews

Associated Press

"Presents a world of the author knows well in the satisfying way Margaret Truman and Dick Francis set their mysteries in milieus they know..."

Sunday Times

"[A] clever thriler...Pears balances politics, love and danger nicely in a plot that has a cunning and satisfactory outcome."

Houston Post

"Masterful and calls for an encore."

The Guardian

"A felicitous first."

Chronikles

"A better debut could hardly have been made..."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169909234
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	02/27/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged

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