Jose Carlos Somoza
British Pbk Original - Abacus (2004) |
 |
The Art of Murder
Translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor
Murder is not a science It’s an art form.
Welcome to an art scene where realism has gone one step further, where each painting is literally alive, where the model for each masterpiece is the canvas itself. And for the beautiful men and women queuing up for the privilege - to be painted and posed, bought and rented by collectors - there is one artist they are all drawn to: the mysterious Dutch master, Bruno van Tysch.
Then a young female model, Annek Hollech, is abducted and killed, viciously murdered in a most gruesome fashion. The detectives assigned to the case, April Wood and Lothar Bosch, may have little interest in modern art, but they are going to have to acquire an appreciation extremely quickly. Because van Tysch is about to launch a major exhibition in Amsterdam - the imitation of thirteen of Rembrandt’s masterpieces - and the rumours are that the killer is about to strike again ...
By the author of The Athenian Murders, The Art Of Murder is a darkly absorbing, atmospheric thriller of high culture and low morals.
Praise for The Athenian Murders
‘Extremely subtle and intelligent ... totally absorbing’ Evening
Standard
‘It works, superbly’ Independent on Sunday
‘This fascinating story, which reads like an authentic classical translation, is both a work of scholarship and a thriller of great originality, with a detective in Heracles to rival Chief Inspector Morse as one of the cleverest in crime fiction’ Sunday Telegraph
‘This cerebral murder mystery, which will appeal to fans of Eco, is brilliant ... [Somoza] weaves suspense, gore, a particular corner of Plato’s philosophy and layer upon layer of tantalizing reflexivity with ease and obvious relish’ The Times
‘One of Plato’s pupils is found dead. Heracles Pontor, the Decipherer of Enigmas, moves through the underworld of Athenian aristocracy to investigate this and other fatalities. Meanwhile, a modern-day translator of the text who tells this story uncovers signs that the author has hidden another meaning in his writing. Worse, the text seems to address the translator personally - in an increasingly alarming fashion. Terrific’ Observer
‘An ingenious ancient-Greek whodunnit from this Cuban-born, Madrid-based author - but one with several handles to its vase .. . A delightfully paranoiac read on both ancient and modern planes, with enough literary cunning to satisfy fans of Nabakov’s
Pale Fire as well as of The Name of the Rose’ Independent
‘A witty and ingenious novel with a mystery within a mystery ... Thoroughly entertaining’ Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph
‘[Somoza’s] erudite mix of ancient crime and modern detection transcends the usual confines of the historical whodunnit’ Marcel
Berlins, The Times
The Athenian Murders
In classical Athens, one of the pupils of Plato's Academy is found dead. Suspecting this wasn't an accident, his teacher asks Herakles, the 'Decipherer of Enigmas', to investigate. A second plot unfolds in parallel through the footnotes of the translator of the text.
About The Author
Jose Carlos Somoza was born in Havana in 1959 and now lives in Madrid. A doctor of medicine and a specialist in psychiatry he had been writing full-time since 1994. His most recent novel, The Athenian Murders won the 2003 Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger Award.
Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.
The Art of Murder
(Abacus Pbk,
2004)
Pbk Aug 04
The Athenian Murders
(Abacus,
2002)
Abacus Pbk Jan 02
The Art of Murder
by Jose Carlos Somoza
