Rating: 
Summary: Slump
Review: After reading Instance of a Fingerpost, I ran out and bought three early books of this series of art mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed the first, The Raphael Affair; however, this was a step down.The two main characters, Flavia and Argyll, did not seem to progress from the earlier book and actually seemed somewhat flat. Too much of the book was driven by Flavia's boss's bureaucratic battles and intrigues. The plot was okay, a bit hokey. Still, the cultural setting was very good and lifted the book from mere ordinariness. Although not as good as the first in the series, I will read some more...I think the potential is still there and I still want to like the two main characters as much as I did in the first book. Besides, the art world scene as portrayed is interesting enough to bring me back. Also Pears writing is good. All in all, this was an amusing fairly light read.
Rating:
Summary: Slump
Review: After reading Instance of a Fingerpost, I ran out and bought three early books of this series of art mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed the first, The Raphael Affair; however, this was a step down. The two main characters, Flavia and Argyll, did not seem to progress from the earlier book and actually seemed somewhat flat. Too much of the book was driven by Flavia's boss's bureaucratic battles and intrigues. The plot was okay, a bit hokey. Still, the cultural setting was very good and lifted the book from mere ordinariness. Although not as good as the first in the series, I will read some more...I think the potential is still there and I still want to like the two main characters as much as I did in the first book. Besides, the art world scene as portrayed is interesting enough to bring me back. Also Pears writing is good. All in all, this was an amusing fairly light read.
Rating:
Summary: The least impressive of the Jonathan Argyll mysteries
Review: First, a note to those of you who read Instance and are looking for more: The Argyll mysteries are not very similar. The only real connection is clever solutions. However, I would also say that if you are an Instance reader and you want to try the Argyll mysteries, don't start here. This is probably the least impressive of the 7 books. My reccomendation is to start with the first, which is called The Raphael Affair and go from there. Now for the book itself. Giotto's Hand is a decent mystery in the tradition of the other books in the series, weaving intrigue and introducing various twists well. However, there are a few faults with the book. Firstly, as it is not set in Italy for the most part, the Italian charm and flair that distinguishes the other books is not present. Secondly, the first 100 or so pages of the book are fairly hard-going and difficult to get into: I only really got into this book when I forced myself to sit down and reading it; the best mysteries force me to do so themselves. Thirdly, it is rather cliched in the way it presents one solution at the end which seems to be the clever conclusion, scraps it promptly replacing it with another (this is a good twist), and then goes to far by scrapping this too an introducing a third as the final truth. Additionally, while we all know Argyll is a moral sort of guy, it's taken a bit far with the decision he makes at the end of the book. Overall, still worth a read, but probably the least good in a well above-average series.
Rating: 
Summary: Clever Cozy
Review: I approached this book with a certain amount of resolve, as my only other outing with Iain Pears was "Instance of the Fingerpost" which while fascinating, was quite complex. "Giotto's Hand" was instead, a very nice diversion. Mr. Pears proves he cannot be pigeonholed into one writing category. Jonathan & Flavia are a delightful twosome headquartered in Rome, but over half the action takes place in a small village in England. The author is obviously well grounded in the style and flavor of both places. His descriptions of the wiles of Italian bureaucracy are priceless. He has a fine ear for dialogue (see following) and wittiness in comparison between the English vs. Italian spirit: Flavia: "Why would anyone sneer at someone being charming?
Jonathan: "Because this is England, my dear, and that's what we do here."
F: "Why? I like people to be charming."
J.: "But you're Italian. In this country charm means you're superficial, have a tendency to flattery, are probably a bumptious social climber and, moreover, the term carries very distinct implications that you like women."
F: "What's wrong with that?"
J: "A ladies' man," Argyll said darkly. "Few things can be worse. It suggests a propensity to slobber over people's hands and pay compliments like some continental. You can do that sort of thing with dogs, but not with the opposite sex." It is rare that a mystery makes me laugh aloud and even rarer that I want to, but Mr. Pears succeeds on all counts. My only problem with the book was most of the characters had a fastidious disinclination to become involved in the plot. I kept thinking I must get them back on track some way or another. Also, Mr. Argyll was so full of moral considerations, I feared for Flavia's financial well-being. What Jonathan would or would not do with ill gotten gains ratcheted up the suspense for me considerably. This is a fine, clever and cunning read. Recommended as a mood lifter.
Rating:
Summary: Clever Cozy
Review: I approached this book with a certain amount of resolve, as my only other outing with Iain Pears was "Instance of the Fingerpost" which while fascinating, was quite complex. "Giotto's Hand" was instead, a very nice diversion. Mr. Pears proves he cannot be pigeonholed into one writing category. Jonathan & Flavia are a delightful twosome headquartered in Rome, but over half the action takes place in a small village in England. The author is obviously well grounded in the style and flavor of both places. His descriptions of the wiles of Italian bureaucracy are priceless. He has a fine ear for dialogue (see following) and wittiness in comparison between the English vs. Italian spirit: Flavia: "Why would anyone sneer at someone being charming?
Jonathan: "Because this is England, my dear, and that's what we do here."
F: "Why? I like people to be charming."
J.: "But you're Italian. In this country charm means you're superficial, have a tendency to flattery, are probably a bumptious social climber and, moreover, the term carries very distinct implications that you like women."
F: "What's wrong with that?"
J: "A ladies' man," Argyll said darkly. "Few things can be worse. It suggests a propensity to slobber over people's hands and pay compliments like some continental. You can do that sort of thing with dogs, but not with the opposite sex." It is rare that a mystery makes me laugh aloud and even rarer that I want to, but Mr. Pears succeeds on all counts. My only problem with the book was most of the characters had a fastidious disinclination to become involved in the plot. I kept thinking I must get them back on track some way or another. Also, Mr. Argyll was so full of moral considerations, I feared for Flavia's financial well-being. What Jonathan would or would not do with ill gotten gains ratcheted up the suspense for me considerably. This is a fine, clever and cunning read. Recommended as a mood lifter.
Rating: 
Summary: huge let down
Review: I had read an excerpt of Pears' "An Instance of the Fingerpost" a while back. It intrigued me enough that I wanted to read the book. While I have still not read that book, when I saw this one for a dollar at my local Half Price books, I decided I would give Pears a try. I found this book to be severely lacking in character development and found the plot to be thin. I now understand why they had the book priced at a dollar. The book tries to cover too much, which is evident in the subplot of the book involving the conflict between the aging detective and the scrappy new detective. This sub plot is tedious and detracts from the main mystery of the book. Overall the story line is weak, there is too much detracting from the main plot, and the character development leaves much desired. I do still want to read "Instance", but it will be a while before I pick up any other Pears book again. Don't waste your time and energy on this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Shallow Read
Review: I have lived in Italy for over 20 years during the Summers. I had recently bought CITY SECRETS ROME. An excellent guide book. The recommended reading in this book listed Iain Pears mysteries set in Italy. I bought GIOTTO'S HAND and THE RAPHAEL AFFAIR. I found them both extremely disappointing. If the previous reders found the books filled with the cultural and sights of Italy perhaps they might like a trip to San Jose. I am at a complete loss as to why authors of CITY SECRETS ROME thought visitors to the city would benefit from Giotto's Hand and The Raphael Affair. They won't in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: More Mystery Than Art History
Review: I think that the best word to describe this book would be 'pleasant'. It's a pleasant diversion, and has enough depth to keep the reader interested, but I felt something was lacking in the content by the time I finished the novel. The plot concerns a letter sent to Rome's Art Theft Squad headquarters, claiming to have information on a stolen painting from 30 years previous. This letter, written by an old woman with a checkered past, reminds General Bottando, head of the Art Theft Squad, of someone he nicknamed 'Giotto', who stole several pieces of art and got away with it. Investigating the connection could cause him potential problems, as he is being usurped by Argan, a man who wants his job. So, he surreptitiously sends Flavia, one of his assistants, to interview the woman, and this leads to Flavia sending her boyfriend, art dealer Jonathan Argyll, home to England to interview the man. However, after Jonathan makes an appointment to see the man who could be 'Giotto', he instead finds the suspect, Forster, dead in his own home. What follows is an investigation both professional (Flavia) and casual (Jonathan) to discover if Forster was indeed Giotto, and if so, what happened to the stolen art? Many of the characters are fleshed out nicely, but even though there's a nice twist at the end, the novel runs out of steam, and there's some muddled elements that seem thrown together. Bottando, Argyll, and Flavia are worth reading about again, hopefully in a deeper plot.
Rating:
Summary: More Mystery Than Art History
Review: I think that the best word to describe this book would be 'pleasant'. It's a pleasant diversion, and has enough depth to keep the reader interested, but I felt something was lacking in the content by the time I finished the novel. The plot concerns a letter sent to Rome's Art Theft Squad headquarters, claiming to have information on a stolen painting from 30 years previous. This letter, written by an old woman with a checkered past, reminds General Bottando, head of the Art Theft Squad, of someone he nicknamed 'Giotto', who stole several pieces of art and got away with it. Investigating the connection could cause him potential problems, as he is being usurped by Argan, a man who wants his job. So, he surreptitiously sends Flavia, one of his assistants, to interview the woman, and this leads to Flavia sending her boyfriend, art dealer Jonathan Argyll, home to England to interview the man. However, after Jonathan makes an appointment to see the man who could be 'Giotto', he instead finds the suspect, Forster, dead in his own home. What follows is an investigation both professional (Flavia) and casual (Jonathan) to discover if Forster was indeed Giotto, and if so, what happened to the stolen art? Many of the characters are fleshed out nicely, but even though there's a nice twist at the end, the novel runs out of steam, and there's some muddled elements that seem thrown together. Bottando, Argyll, and Flavia are worth reading about again, hopefully in a deeper plot.
Rating:
Summary: mediocre
Review: I was originally interested in this novel because I am an avid mystery reader with an interest in art history. In addition, the author has been compared to both Kate Ross and Umberto Eco, two novelists I enjoy. Unfortunately, while the book was easy to read, I did not find it compelling nor was I intrigued by the suspense. The character development was somewhat shallow. In sum, I found this to be a mediocre read.
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