The Titian Committee

This is one of Iain Pear's art theft mysteries featuring Flavia de Stefano of Rome's Art Theft Squad and Jonathan Argyll, art dealer. A member of the Titian Committee, the only woman, is murdered in a public garden in Venice. Although murder is normally outside the realm of the Art Theft Squad, but the future of the department is at risk in the next budget cycle so Flavia's boss sends her help out in any way she can--hopefully without ruffling any feathers. That's pretty much impossible as the investigating detective takes umbrage at everything, especially Flavia being involved with his murder investigation. He foists her off by sending her to re-interview the other members of the committee. The committee is state sponsored and charged with locating, inventorying and authenticating all the works of the great painter Titian. Jonathan is supposed to be buying a small collection of relatively unimportant paintings from a Venetian marchesa, except that now her companion/secretary is asking him to get the works out of the country illegally instead of paying the relevant taxes and Jonathan has balked. Then the collection is apparently stolen and to top it off, the dead woman appears to have been very interested in one of the portraits in the collection. When two more members of the committee are dispatched, along with a former member, things go way beyond the local police force's convenient explanation of a mugging gone wrong. Working on separate lines of inquiry, Jonathan and Flavia uncover all the pieces that finally allow the puzzle to be solved. Once again Pears brings his extensive expertise on art and history together in a well-plotted tale that will keep you guessing til the end. See related review: "Italian Mysteries." I also highly recommend his other historical novels, such as Stone's Fall and An Instance of the Fingerpost.