Recently appointed as assistant curator at the world
renowned Hermitage in St. Petersburg, young Ilena Petrov
loves her job working with the European Masters from the
1850 to 1917 period. Despite being well trained and
dedicated to her job, nothing could prepare her for the
horror she faces when she went to see one of her favourite
paintings, "Self Portrait in a Beret" by Paul Cézanne.
As news of the destruction of one of Cézanne's famous self-
portraits races through the art world, the reporting of a
further acid attack on another Cézanne self-portrait at the
National Gallery in London, England has them reeling with
shock!
Well known for his expertise and occasional unorthodox
police ways, Chief Inspector Jack Oxby of the Art and
Antiques Squad is asked to handle this high profile case.
In a race against time, Oxby and his small team attempt to
pull together small clues and use deductive reasoning to
solve the case before the future destruction of
irreplaceable art occurs. Of particular concern is a
painting owned by an affluent and handsome New Yorker
called Edwin Llewellyn who inherited it from his wealthy
family. Right now he seems more intrigued by his beautiful
new girlfriend than by security measures. As he falls for
her and takes her into his trust and confidence, little
does he suspect her real motives for being with him. Will
he discover the truth before it is too late?
Highly regarded and best-selling mystery writer Thomas Swan
is the author of THE CÉZANNE CHASE and other art mysteries
in a series of books involving Inspector Jack Oxby. First
published in 1997 and then fortunately released again in
November 2012, THE CÉZANNE CHASE is a wonderfully
intriguing and fast paced mystery that is a great stand-
alone book or read as part of the series. Swan has an
elegant hand at character development and while the
characters are diverse and often eccentric, their dialogue
and actions make them come to life. Swan's plot
development is equally strong as he rapidly moved this
story along through to different cities and countries while
giving an intriguing and suspenseful look into the high
stakes world of art collectors and markets and a murky and
dangerous underbelly fueled by money, greed, and
unscrupulous people. Definitely worth reading, so check out
this great story! I am definitely now going to be reading
the other art mysteries in the series!
New Scotland Yard's art crime detective tackles the mystery
behind the destruction of valuable Cézanne paintings,
crisscrossing from St. Petersburg, New York City, London,
Provence, Boston, and Paris.
When Inspector Jack Oxby links the shocking defacing of two
of the 26 extant Cézanne self-portraits in London's National
Gallery to a mysterious death outside London, the chase is
on. The high-risk world of international art is exposed, as
is the ruthless adversary behind the intricate and deadly
crime.
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