"Death and Restoration"
by Iain Pears
Scribner, 1996
Notes by Travis Simpkins
Death and Restoration, the sixth installment in the Jonathan Argyll and Flavia di Stefano art crime / mystery novel series by Iain Pears, combines art theft with religious beliefs and long-held convictions within the quiet monastic life. The story picks up where the previous novel, Giotto's Hand, left off. British art dealer Jonathan Argyll is living in Rome with his girlfriend, Flavia di Stefano, of the Italian art theft squad. Under pressure from the bureaucratic administration, General Bottando is out of the picture and Flavia is in charge. Her skills are put to the test when a small, seemingly mundane Icon of Our Lady disappears from the monastery chapel and a monk is found bludgeoned nearby… the situation is further complicated when a prominent expert on Icons is found murdered. The investigation leads from the monastery, through the streets of Rome, and ventures off in visions of ancient Constantinople. In addition to finding clues related to the murder, Flavia and Jonathan may have discovered the long-lost Hodigitria- the Mother herself, painted by the hand of St. Luke guided by God, and a true image of her likeness rendered from life. Full of details derived from the imagination of a keen art historian, Iain Pears' work is masterful and creates a wondrous 224-page literary sojourn.
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| Death and Restoration. Iain Pears: Monastery, Rome |
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| Death and Restoration. Iain Pears:Saint Catherine by Caravaggio |
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| Death and Restoration. Iain Pears |
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| Death and Restoration. Iain Pears:Monastery, Rome |
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| Death and Restoration. Iain Pears: Icon. The Hodigitria |
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| Death and Restoration. Iain Pears |
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| Death and Restoration. Iain Pears |
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| Death and Restoration. Iain Pears |
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| Death and Restoration. Iain Pears |
