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A review by hinn_raven
The Titian Committee by Iain Pears
5.0
The Titian Committee is a wonderful mystery novel. It might be the second book in the series, but one does not need to have read The Rafael Affair in order to understand or enjoy this book. The characters are wonderful and realistic, and are all introduced very well, without needing references to previous works. In fact, the introductions work so well that one might not even realize that this is not the first book in the series until one is informed of the fact.
The mystery itself is very intriguing, with plenty of well hidden clues and foreshadowing, yet the answer not being blatantly obvious. The reveal is a bit overdramatic, and yet the story does not suffer for it.
The main characters are Jonathan Argyll, an accident prone and sweet Englishman turned art dealer who is prone to bouts of sarcasm and Flavia di Stefano, a member of the Italian Art Squad with a nose for trouble and good instinct.
With the Art Squad being threatened with closure in order to save money on the budget, Flavia is sent to Venice in order to assist the investigation of the murder of the only female on a committee that studies Titians and declares them either authentic or fakes. Jonathan, however, has already been in Venice for some time, and is currently in the midst of making a deal for a small collection of paintings, but is having trouble as the personal assistant of the woman who owns the paintings is being difficult.
Flavia asks for Jonathan’s assistance in the matter, interviewing the rest of the committee about the murder victim. Here too, the characters are spectacular. Some of them are very wonderful characters with clear flaws, others are people who truly deserve the loathing that Flavia feels upon meeting them.
The story shows the culture of Venice very clearly. The descriptions are quite clear and breathtaking, and the method of reasoning applied by both Flavia and Jonathan is easy to follow, and yet not predictable.
The case gets even more complicated when the leader of the Titian Committee is discovered dead in a canal soon afterwards. The death is dismissed as an accident by the local carabinieri (the Italian Police Force), but Flavia’s instinct informs her that it was not. Soon afterwards, while walking with Jonathan, discussing the case, Jonathan manages to trip and falls into the canal himself, revealing it to be not very deep at all. Flavia’s suspicions aroused, she continues her investigation.
When the paintings that Jonathan had finally managed to get a deal to buy gets stolen, he is framed as the main suspect, pulling the head of Flavia’s department down into Venice for good measure. The three of them look into the affair, and discover that there might be more corruption in the Titian Committee than they ever could have imagined.
All in all, a wonderful read, and an excellent mystery.
The mystery itself is very intriguing, with plenty of well hidden clues and foreshadowing, yet the answer not being blatantly obvious. The reveal is a bit overdramatic, and yet the story does not suffer for it.
The main characters are Jonathan Argyll, an accident prone and sweet Englishman turned art dealer who is prone to bouts of sarcasm and Flavia di Stefano, a member of the Italian Art Squad with a nose for trouble and good instinct.
With the Art Squad being threatened with closure in order to save money on the budget, Flavia is sent to Venice in order to assist the investigation of the murder of the only female on a committee that studies Titians and declares them either authentic or fakes. Jonathan, however, has already been in Venice for some time, and is currently in the midst of making a deal for a small collection of paintings, but is having trouble as the personal assistant of the woman who owns the paintings is being difficult.
Flavia asks for Jonathan’s assistance in the matter, interviewing the rest of the committee about the murder victim. Here too, the characters are spectacular. Some of them are very wonderful characters with clear flaws, others are people who truly deserve the loathing that Flavia feels upon meeting them.
The story shows the culture of Venice very clearly. The descriptions are quite clear and breathtaking, and the method of reasoning applied by both Flavia and Jonathan is easy to follow, and yet not predictable.
The case gets even more complicated when the leader of the Titian Committee is discovered dead in a canal soon afterwards. The death is dismissed as an accident by the local carabinieri (the Italian Police Force), but Flavia’s instinct informs her that it was not. Soon afterwards, while walking with Jonathan, discussing the case, Jonathan manages to trip and falls into the canal himself, revealing it to be not very deep at all. Flavia’s suspicions aroused, she continues her investigation.
When the paintings that Jonathan had finally managed to get a deal to buy gets stolen, he is framed as the main suspect, pulling the head of Flavia’s department down into Venice for good measure. The three of them look into the affair, and discover that there might be more corruption in the Titian Committee than they ever could have imagined.
All in all, a wonderful read, and an excellent mystery.