The Raphael Affair

I have read most of the books in this series, and this is by far the best. The characters are well-developed, the plot is intriguing and the references to art, art history and the art dealing world are accurate and funny...

To all lovers of Pears, let me recommend another sensational author you will love: Glenn Kleier. His novel, THE LAST DAY is nothing short of brilliant and I believe you will find it just as astounding as I have. It's become my all time favorite novel and I'd like to share the great enjoyment it gave me.

When a young English art student stumbles over an old mystery of a missing masterpiece, the consequences are expensive and deadly.

When an English art student starts looking for a lost masterpiece, the consequences turn deadly.This book was a great book for a plane ride or long trip. It was quite interesting and it tought me plenty I did not know about Mantini and Raphael.

I'm delighted to see that this series is becoming available in the states in paperback; I used to have to search them out in London whenever I was on vacation. This is the first of the series, and it introduces the characters, who admittedly haven't progressed all that much as characters in the next 5 or so volumes. But they are appealing, and the plots are very clever, and you learn about art, Italy, and art fraud. The Raphael Affair ends with the absolute best conference paper on art history that I have ever "heard", and I've sat through a lot of academic conference sessions on medieval and Renaisance art. I think that this series is superior (because it's more fun) to the author's much reviewed and praised An Indication of the Fingerpost which is a stylistic tour-de-force but not very appealing to me.