Death and Restoration by Iain Pears

I picked up this book because I loved Iain Pears' other books, An Instance of the Fingerpost and Dream of Scipio. Unfortunately, this book requires nowhere near the brainpower to absorb that those two did. It's an okay book that touches on a subject dear to my heart (art restoration, art history, all that good stuff), but it's more like "Iain Pears Lite."

Death and Restoration is a mystery immersed in Roman culture and European iconic lore. You have Jonathan Argyll, an art history professor, and Flavia, one of the members of the Italian police art squad. They are engaged to be married, if she can just take off work long enough for them to set a date. Rumors begin circulating that a valuable painting belonging to a monastery will be stolen while a boisterous art restorer is cleaning it. Flavia is on the case, especially when she sees that her old nemesis, Mary Verney is in town. Mary Verney is a retired art thief, or she was retired, until a Mafia guy gives her an offer she can't refuse and sets her on the path to steal not the painting, but the icon displayed in the same monastery. When the icon turns up missing, the crossing and double-crossing begins.Jonathanthon is keen to find out why the icon would be important enough to steal, and that investigation is what really held my attention. He pokes around in the archives to find out the true story of the icon, finds out some nasty secrets the monastery holds and in that, he finds the truth of the mystery.

Despite the slow start to the book, the end is exciting, with all sorts of twists and turns, and is well paced to keep you reading. Once it starts, it keeps rolling until every one is accounted for. I can't help but like Jonathan Argyll; how can you not like an art history professor, struggling with disinterested students and lesson plans, who still has time to dig through dusty libraries in search of the truth about a piece of art most people have forgotten? It's like a dream come true. I couldn't decide whether to fan girl it or just be jealous.

I liked Death and Restoration. It was, after all, about the study of my favorite subject. However, I was expecting something heavier, so I think that might have colored my judgment overall. I was expecting something I would have to read and reread to follow the intricate plot. That was not the case with this book. It's a bit more cultured than your usual mystery, but it's not a brain twister by any means.

Rating: 3 ½ Purrs