Giotto’s Hand

Witty and clever art history-mystery featuring Jonathan Argyll, from the author of the bestselling masterpiece ‘An Instance of the Fingerpost’. General Bottando of Rome’s Art Theft Squad is in trouble: his theory that a single master criminal, dubbed ‘Giotto’, is behind a string of major art thefts has aroused the scorn of his arch enemy and rival, the bureaucrat Corrado Argan. He needs a result, and the confession of a dying woman may just provide the vital clue. In pursuit of the elusive Giotto, Bottando’s colleague, Flavia di Stefano, sets off hotfoot for Florence, and English art dealer Jonathan Argyll is dispatched to London and then on to rural Norfolk – only to discover a body and a mystery which could lead to the greatest art find of his career…

Praise for ‘Giotto’s Hand’: ‘An elegant and amusing book, perfect for those who love a clever puzzle’ Mail on Sunday ‘Iain Pears has a superior line in this kind of tale… A divertingly complex, often comic, story in which the art motif is ingeniously central to the solution’ Guardian ‘’Giotto’s Hand’ provides a wry and illuminating portrait of the often devious world of fine art’ Val McDermid Praise for 'The Portrait': 'A wonderful, grimly entertaining novel.' Sunday Telegraph 'A revenge fantasy to relish.' Independent on Sunday 'Genuinely creepy.' The Times 'An exquisite miniature that explores the roles of artist and critic with wit and gore.' Evening Standard 'This is an atmospheric tour de force of historical writing, as it is of narrative skill.' Independent 'Taut, disturbing…full of interesting observations about the late nineteenth – and early twentieth-century art world…mesmerising.' Spectator

Iain Pears won the Getty Scholarship to Yale University and worked for Reuters in Rome. He is the author of the bestseller ‘An Instance of the Fingerpost’. He lives with his wife and son in Oxford.