Островът на мъртвите

Isle of the Dead #1

by Alex Connor, Алекс Конър

Венеция, Италия
Градът на величието
През октомври, 1555 г. италианският художник Тициан нарисувал портрет на Анджелико Веспучи – венециански търговец, чиято жестокост не може да бъде описана с думи. Градът на тайните Веспучи изчезва безследно заедно с картината, когато се разкриват неговите жестокости – той одира кожите на младите жени в града. Всичко, което оставя след себе си е смразяващото предупреждение: „Когато портретът се появи, ще се появи и човекът!“ Градът на Ловеца на кожи Сега, изгубеният шедьовър на Тициан, ще изплува в съвременен Лондон и трупове без кожа ще се появят из целия свят. Всичко води към човек от периферията на света на изкуствата и разгадаването на половин хилядолетен мит, мистерия и убийство.

Genres: Thriller, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Italy, Art, Crime

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Alexandra Connor (aka Alex Connor) was born in UK and lives in England. She is an author, artist and art historian. Also arts presenter on TV and in 2018 won the Rome Prize for Isle of the Dead, aka Il Dipinto Maledetto. Fellow of Royal Society of Arts, listed in Debretts 'Prominent People of Today.'

Reviews

[Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you need this kind of books

Not a bad story, quick to read (once you get into it), but somehow not the best characters ever.

I am not a big fan of the final plot twist, it was a kind of ... Ok, so that's it.

[Ренета Кирова · Rating 3 out of 5]

Много действие имаше в тази книга, но не я четох с голям интерес. Накратко, разказва се за изчезнал портрет, нарисуван от Тициан и изобразяващ убиц, наречен Ловецът на кожи. Картината на престъпника се появява случайно и трима човека се втурват в надпревара кой ще се докопа първи до портрета. Междувременно три жени са намерени мъртви. Някой имитира убийствата на Анджелико Веспучи от 1555 г. Нино Бергам започва собствено разследване и стига до невероятни разкрития с неочакван край.
Това е книга, която четеш и забравяш. Действието се развива по света и героят пътува, за да разпитва различни хора.

[Piyush · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute thriller. The way the story unfolds, the transitions from the present time to the sixteenth century Venice and back added an unparalleled flavor to the book. The style of murders and the seemingly unconnected victims coupled with the mysteriously disappeared portrait made it a real page-turner. The book was just like a jigsaw puzzle; as more pieces fell into place, the picture became clearer but not until the last page was read did everything add up. And the epilogue suggests there might be another book in the series( for which I'll be waiting eagerly)...

[Stefan Verkerk]

why? another book mentioned in best books about art.
this kn won Rome prize ands highest reviews in goodreads

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/bes...


https://www.amazon.nl/Isle-Dead-Engli...

[Diliyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angelico Vespucci is an Italian merchant who killed four women in 1555/1556 and then took off their skin which he kept as trophies. At the same time as his killing spree, the famous painter Titian created a painting, a portrait of the killer - Vespucci that was later lost but not forever. The art piece was said to reappear but with it so was the killer.
The painting does reappear eventually, a few centuries later but along with its discovery of a new killer, a copycat takes the stage.
It's up to Nino, our main character, to catch the killer and prevent another murder.

Filled with interesting scenes, a good plot and unexpected plot twists this book will definitely go into my liked and would recommend section as it's a really good book.
I've read one other book by this author, "The Bosch deception", and I didn't really like it. I didn't hate it for sure but it didn't wow me either so when I started this one I didn't expect much other than a book to pass the time with but was I wrong.

The story and the writing are so good it kept me reading for hours and when I wasn't reading I couldn't stop myself from thinking about the story and wondering what's gonna happen next, who is the killer, etc.

To keep it short and sweet, the book turned out to be a pleasant surprise with all the elements needed for a book to be good and a bonus of a few plot twists I personally did not see coming. There was also a little bit of a mystery element going on which I also enjoyed and even though we got almost all of our questions answered at the end there were still some things left unsaid and an eerie feeling present which to me was perfect. If you ever stumble upon this book definitely give it a read.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story-line sulla falsa riga di "Cospirazione Caravaggio", tuttavia stavolta abbiamo a che fare con un misterioso dipinto di Tiziano.
Penso che Connor abbia fatto un'ottimo lavoro, ha intrecciato una storia macabra del passato veneziano con un thriller dei giorni nostri, il protagonista principale Nino è sicuramente il personaggio descritto meglio di tutti e presenta una evoluzione narrativa maggiore rispetto al killer di turno, che nonostante vengo allo scoperto molto prima della fine a mio avviso non viene descritto in maniera dettagliata da Connor.
La struttura narrativa è ben fatta, l'intreccio dei intrighi è ben studiato e Connor riesce a distribuire sapientemente gli indizi che consentono al lettore di svolgere di indagini per provare a sbrogliare la matassa dei eventi.
Libro che mi sento di consigliare anche per l'originalità della trama, come del resto consiglio di leggere "Cospirazione Caravaggio".

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un thriller con un piede nella storia. A parte Angelico Vespucci di cui non ho trovato traccia, gli altri personaggi storici sono ben noti.
Ben accordati i fatti reali con la trama (sia Pomponio che la fine dell'Aretino).
Il racconto è accattivante, buona la suspense, bello il finalalino e strepitoso il finale.

[Lilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. It's a good book to pass the time with, a nice light read. The plot keeps you interested all throughout and I like the way she incorporated history and art into it. Great plot twists, I definitely recommend it!

[Alba · Rating 3 out of 5]

L’idea é carina. Il libro é interessante ma la storia é stata dilungata inutilmente.
A volte ci sono lunghe descrizioni/narrazioni totalmente superflue.
Il plot twist del finale lascia un po’ a desiderare

[Elfie1999 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is the definition of a thriller. It was simply amazing!

[Селина Йонкова · Rating 2 out of 5]

серийни убийства, обсебени колекционери, известни портрети, мистерии. общоизвестна формула за четиво с което да се забавляваш от безопасно разстояние. 😊

[Elisa Schiorlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dopo la scoperta sulle rive del Tamigi di un quadro scomparso da tempo iniziano ad accadere strani omicidi.

[Robert Hinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

I have found this series of books very interes6combining history with the art world business, this book kept you guessing to the very end,well written and well paced.

[Aquila Reale · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Il Dipinto Maledetto” è un thriller serrato, dal ritmo perfetto che non ammette sospensioni nella lettura. Io ne sono stata subito catturata anche se la trama, ben architettata, non è del tutto originale. La storia comunque offre un alto tasso di adrenalina e rivela un mistero che troverà la più inaspettata delle soluzioni.

Inizialmente ogni capitolo offre l’opportunità di conoscere vari personaggi: collezionisti d’arte, potenziali vittime, carnefici in ombra. Le tessere del mosaico sono sparpagliate tra Londra, Tokyo, Venezia e New York. In tutto il romanzo aleggiano misteri, intrighi e morte. Il male allunga i suoi artigli attraverso i secoli, giunge ai giorni nostri con il suo carico di odio e vendetta. Mi è piaciuta la descrizione dell’autrice del mondo dell’arte. I collezionisti, non tutti naturalmente, sono descritti come uomini pronti a tutto pur di accaparrarsi il ritratto. Con molta attenzione Alex Connor descrive la psicologia dei mercanti d’arte definendoli uomini geniali che nascondono le loro fragilità umane. Sono tra loro rivali, ogni accordo nasconde una trappola. L’avidità non ha limiti. Per bilanciare il male presente nel racconto appare, fin dal primo capitolo, un eroe. Si tratta di Nino Bergstrom. Sarà lui a lottare contro la leggenda mentre la polizia appare sullo sfondo coinvolta solo in un secondo momento.

“Il Dipinto Maledetto” è un thriller che si legge con piacere nell’attesa di vedere ogni tassello collocato al suo posto. Se credete nelle leggende, in ognuna c’è un fondo di verità, prestate attenzione a chi potrebbe seguirvi nell’ombra. Il Cacciatore di Pelli non ha mai smesso di cacciare. Buona lettura :)

Recensione completa sul blog Penna D'oro http://pennadoro.blogspot.it/2017/03/...

[Julia Molloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex Connor’s latest thriller, Isle of the Dead, sees conspiracy and murder surface because of a mysterious painting. When Gaspare Reni, art collector, and Nino Bergstrom, his adopted son, are presented with Titian’s painting of sixteenth-century murderer Angelico Vespucci, they are alarmed as to what it could mean. The rumour is that when the painting emerges, so will the man – when the painting’s finder is brutally murdered. Will Nino and his ageing friend be able to get to the bottom of the painting’s legend, or will it be too late for the victims?

The book market has become saturated with thriller novels that straddle two time zones, and I have to say that I expected more from Connor, whose debut The Rembrandt Secret achieved great success. Even though the plot is cleverly done and you do get the usual suspense and twists and turns that come with the genre, there was something missing from Isle of the Dead.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve read so many of these types of novels that I expected more. Alex Connor clearly has the art-knowledge prowess, being an artist herself, to pull off such a plot. Yet some sections of the novel felt over-dramatized and contrived. When we see the events of the novel through the killer’s eyes towards the end of the book, there was something almost cliché about the grotesque descriptions and disturbed mind-set of the murderer that destroyed any sense of reality. And, with hindsight, the mastermind behind the copycat murders is apparent from the beginning – something which makes the ending a bit of a let-down.

I also felt that the sections set in the sixteenth-century were almost irrelevant. The reader has no clear idea of who the speaker is until the last few pages, and even then the speaker is of little consequence. The novel would not have lost anything by omitting these pages.

Although Connor’s plot is cleverly woven together, the short, jumpy chapters were one of the biggest issues for me. I have no issue with short chapters, but when there is little consistency of perspectives from one chapter to the next, it is difficult to get wholly drawn in to the plot and its characters. Sections of the book are told from the perspective of almost every single character – again, something which diminishes the quality of the book for me. We are kept at a distance from the characters which straightaway loses any emotive connection with Isle of the Dead.

If, however, you are a fan of this style of fiction, the twisting plot itself will be enough to satisfy you. Not the best of the thriller novels on the market today, but still worth the read.

[Ahi Keleher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isle of the Dead is an engaging thrill ride that keeps you hooked page after page. Though Venetians did their best to cover up the horrific murders attributed to Angelico Vespucci in the 1500s a warning has carried through to the modern day: "When the portrait emerges, so will the man." Titian painted a portrait of Vespucci that disappeared along with the notorious merchant. Now that painting has come to light, leading to a string of copycat murders spanning the globe. Only an amateur sleuth, assisted by his surrogate father's ties with the art world, is able to connect the murders and get at the truth of what is happening. The clock is ticking down toward the fourth murder...he knows when it will happen, but not the identity of the victim.

Whilst browsing through my favorite used book store I came upon a copy of this and was intrigued by the subtitle: "A sixteenth-century conspiracy. A modern day murderer." At just shy of 500 pages, it looked like a good book with which to kill some time. Having read numerous murder mystery novels, I figured it would be pretty run of the mill. I was pleasantly mistaken.

The author has a good narrative style without bogging down the action. She kept multiple plotlines going seamlessly; I never got lost in the plot. The characters were unique and easily remembered. The chapters are short, making it easy to plow through large chunks at a time - it's a hard book to put down, always leaves you wanting more. Just when I was thinking that it was going to wrap up in a nice bow there was a blindside thrown at me that was a complete surprise. Overall I commend the author's craft.

Full of twists and turns and edge-of-your seat action, Isle of the Dead gets a strong recommendation from me.

*****

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, not as good as The Rembrandt Secret but better than The Caravaggio Conspiracy. Outlining all the different characters involved, and the dynamic between the various top dealers in the major global art centres - the first third of the book, it felt like Alex Connor was trying so hard to build the suspense from the start. But this book did really pick up towards the end and became more of a fast-paced thriller (although more generic, losing some of the context of the art world, and could in fact have been any type of "hunt for serial killer" novel with an attractive "ordinary bloke" turned action hero); with a decent enough twist at the end. This definitely has born to be a "movie script" written all over it.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 1955 to the present day we are introduced to a serial killer.
Legend has us to believe that The Skin Hunter will re-emerge when his portrait is unearthed. Many renowned art historians and collectors across the world are keen to buy this Titian that has been found, quite by accident.
This leads into the plot to try to explain how and why the painting is trouble. A very convoluted plotline and one that could have been simplified by some clever editing I think.
An easy read but I'm afraid to say, feels all too familiar.

[Mukundan Srinivasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started to read this book with a doubt it may be a fantasy - but not to be. It is definitely a page turner with intriguing dialogues and characters whom are not what they seem to be - foul playing for getting possession of a portrait of a murderer from the past... A psychotic, obsessed by the portrait and its sitter starts murdering women which seem to be unconnected and the race to save the last victim reveals the plot. I thought some scenes were out of logic and it did lost its steam in the end until what it promised to be a perfect psycho thriller

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the Popsugar challenge of “Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 Popsugar Reading Challenges”, I chose “a book of a female author”. At first I was convinced to read this book for the prompt “book with a heist”, but I remembered the title uncorrectly, even if there is a robbery in the book, but it is a very small fact compared to the actual robbery. Luckily it’s okay for another prompt (not that I wouldn’t read an extra book).

Full review: https://eiencafe.com/isle-of-the-dead/

[Lois Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly loved the story. Full of drama and suspense, at times I truly believed the skin hunter had somehow appeared with the painting. At times the book can be a bit long to read but the ending truly shocked me! I never saw it coming, but what spoilt the book slightly for me was how most of the mystery was solved like halfway in the book so it felt like the ending had already happened but the plot twist was a welcome surprise.

[Cynthia Sinsap · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books about missing/ newly discovered artwork and books that connect mysteries from the past to the present. Alex Connor's books all center around art and are all excellent fast reads. Can't wait for the next one!

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book, even if not then normal kind of book I tend to read. Certainly kept wanting to turn the pages and definitely didnt see the ending coming, definitely worth a read and will be reading more by this author.

[Jaimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to rate it three stars but I legitimately never saw the plot twist at the end coming. It was well written as well, although difficult to get through at some points. I don't regret reading it.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book until the end....the ending ruined it for me.

[Susan Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Characters and plot kept my interest right to the end.

['stina]

Given to me by mama on 9/9/2013

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, kept me right on the edge up to the last page, didn't see the conclusion coming and was very pleased to see it end that way

[Alan Philp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced 5 star easy read thriller

[Daniel Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping thriller with a great twist. Reminded me very much of silence of the lambs.