Rome: In the small Baroque church of Santa
Giuliana, a magnificent Caravaggio altarpiece disappears without a
trace in the middle of the night.
Paris: In the basement vault of the Malevich
Society, curator Genevi - ve Delacloche is shocked to discover the
disappearance of the Society''s greatest treasure, White-on-White
by Suprematist painter Kasimir Malevich.
London: At the National Gallery of Modern Art,
the museum''s latest acquisition is stolen just hours after it was
purchased for more than six million pounds.
In The Art Thief, three thefts are simultaneously
investigated in three cities, but these apparently isolated crimes
have much more in common than anyone imagines. In Rome, the police
enlist the help of renowned art investigator Gabriel Coffin when
tracking down the stolen masterpiece. In Paris, Genevi - ve
Delacloche is aided by Police Inspector Jean-Jacques Bizot, who
finds a trail of bizarre clues and puzzles that leads him ever
deeper into a baffling conspiracy. In London, Inspector Harry
Wickenden of Scotland Yard oversees the museum''s attempts to
ransom back its stolen painting, only to have the masterpiece''s
recovery deepen the mystery even further.
A dizzying array of forgeries, overpaintings, and double-crosses
unfolds as the story races through auction houses, museums, and
private galleries -- and the secret places where priceless works of
art are made available to collectors who will stop at nothing to
satisfy their hearts'' desires.
Full of fascinating art-historical detail, crackling dialogue,
and a brain-teasing plot, Noah Charney''s debut novel is a
sophisticated, stylish thriller, as irresistible and multifaceted
as a great work of art.