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!