The old submarine-chaser USS Hibiscus, re-fitting in a Hong Kong dockyard before being handed over to the Nationalist Chinese, is suddenly ordered to the desolate island group of Payenhau. For Captain Mark Gunnar - driven by the memory of his torture at the hands of the Viet Cong guerrillas - the new command is a chance to even the score against a ruthless, unrelenting enemy. But Payenhau is very different from his expectations....
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"I had never read this author before. It reminds me of Donna Leon with Italian Art to some degree. I was afraid the story was totally predictable, but it turned out not to be fortunately! I will read more of his books" — Karen (4 out of 5 stars)
"I had never read this author before. It reminds me of Donna Leon with Italian Art to some degree. I was afraid the story was totally predictable, but it turned out not to be fortunately! I will read more of his books"
" Didn't finish. Just not following the story. "
" I always enjoy mysteries that involve events from the past! When art dealer Jonathan Argyll sets out to establish the provenance of a painting he discovers that it was mysteriously stolen and rediscovered decades ago and that its current owner General Taddeo Bottando was one of the policemen involved at the time. Bottando is the former boss of Flavia di Stefano who heads the Italian Art Theft Squad and is now also Argyll's wife. Flavia is involved in a tricky political situation due to another art theft and consults Bottando. The plot raised all kinds of suspicions in my mind, many of which were way off. I took this book on holidays with me and it was entertaining reading for a long train journey. "
" Just arrived from Sweden and sent previously by Hayes. "
" Anyone see the irony in that the female protagonist threatens a fight for her position based on women's rights yet she relies on her husband to solve the crimes she is working on? Why can't the author let her be the one to solve the cases? Why does he use a male as the answer guy? At least it's set in the world's most beautiful city and I love to reminisce about my time in Rome as I read the characters' whereabouts. "
" Fun. Didn't realize it was the end of a series... now will have to start at the beginning. "
" Well-written, with fast-moving plot and believable characters. "
" I love it when the good guys profit by not being so good. "
" Very enjoyable summer reading . . . and it gave me the feeling that I might have learned a little something about art in the process. "
" A very interesting end to the series! Long live Jonathan and Flavia! "
" This was fun..Rome, art, mysteries, etc "
" There should be different rating system for mysteries. I think this series is great fun. "
" I liked the idea of this book, and I liked the plot, and I even liked the characters, but, it failed to grip me and I found the prose a little clunky. Pity, because I like the whole Art Crime thing. "
" Ein ganz netter Krimi, mehr muss ich aber auch nicht aus der Reihe lesen. "
" It is very hard for an author who produces a near masterpiece on his first try to match himself in later works. A good yarn but not of the same quality as An Incident of the Fingerpost. "
" This is a fun mystery set in Rome and the Italian countryside, and, thankfully, the art history details aren't too overwhelming to mask the story. "
" Another great read, but the real work of art here is the plot, Pears leads you off into unknown paths, and guessing who done it right up to the very end. Great Stuff!! "
" An engaging and clever art mystery/thriller set in contemporary Rome. This is the first I've read featuring partners in life/partners in mystery Jonathan Argyll and Flavia di Stefano. I could easily get attached to these two and their art capers... "
" Like lying back in a deep, hot bath; very relaxing after a hard day. With twists and turns enough top up the hot water every now and then. "
" This was the first art history mystery that I have read by Ian Pears. It was a fun and intellectually interesting mystery and I'm looking forward to reading more books from this series. "
" Yet another entertaining instalment in the Jonathan Argyll series. "
Alexander Kent is the pseudonym of Douglas Edward Reeman, a British author who has written a number of historical fiction books on the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars. He joined the Royal Navy in 1940 at the age of sixteen and served during WWII and the Korean War. In addition to writing more than fifty novels he has also taught the art of navigation for yachting and served as a technical advisor for films.
David Rintoul, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a stage and television actor from Scotland. A former student of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he has worked extensively with the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has also appeared regularly on BBC television, starring as Mr. Darcy in the 1980 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and as Doctor Finlay in the television series of the same name.
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