Killing Art

John Kite #4

by Stuart Doughty

“China is killing art,” a woman tells PI John Kite. “You must stop them.” Then she is killed in a hail of bullets. Is the bizarre message connected to the flood of robberies Kite is investigating? Or to the dead auctioneer found floating in the ocean? Or is it evidence of a world-wide conspiracy? Being shot at with a flare gun is just the start of this action-filled adventure for ex-cop John Kite. His quest for answers takes him on a 1500 mile road chase, and a speedboat pursuit across the Mediterranean. A girlfriend tells Kite he is “too dangerous to know”, but his signature sense of humour is undimmed. With a volcano ready to blow its top, can Kite stop the conspiracy before it causes western economies to go into melt-down ?

312 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2021

Reviews

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

John is an ex police detective who retrieves stolen art. The night before he went to a talk on Chinese art. The interesting part was a woman outside with a placard. China is killing art. Insurance being hit with heist of home art and un cataloged art being taken. Art is easy to steal, though not very profitable with those unknown. Call came they wanted help from me.
Intriguing of the excitement, the unplanned moves that John Kite does, loving the chase of the job. Was well written and keep the excitement to the end, and to enjoy

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Excellent John Kite Episode

I liked the pace, the detail, the different venues of this book. But most of all, I find the character of John Kite quite irresistible, as do the females who fall into his life. Just don’t believe that they don’t want to stick around! I certainly would.

[Karen greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series. Each book is fast paced, action packed, a little romance to take the edge off and a great mix of characters. I throughly enjoyed this book and the previous books in this series and look forward to the next.

[Myra McCulloch · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Kite once again chasing stolen art as a shady group conspire to ruin art auction houses so they can take control.
Fast paced and a thriller of a read.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy that this series manages to combine Art and adventure. Kite is a great character who works for an insurance company retrieving stolen art. But in this story he manages to get involved with various secret service agencies because there is a conspiracy around stealing various art from homes around the country. This leads to a very exciting adventure which culminates in Italy.
Romance in thrillers has to be written very carefully as it can either clash or appear to be just added on to widen interest in a book, but in this book it is a central element to the story and is handled as well as the rest of the story.
The author has a very good idea with this series and I am looking forward to seeing where he goes with it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Claudete Takahashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this story, it was written with good humor, is fast-paced, has great descriptions of people, places, feelings, actions, and to top it all has a very good plot. John Kite is the sort of character that is capable of laughing at his own actions and decisions and although he has great self-esteem, he does not do it all right all the time, which is a relief!!! I´m going to start reading the next book in the series to learn how he solves other mysteries.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ellen Aish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an honest review of a free copy of the book.

John Kite, private investigator, extraordinaire. This is the fourth book in the series and the best so far. If you thought art and antiques were boring, this book will prove you wrong. I would love to see this on the big screen and would even put it on a par with the James Bond films.

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Action, romance and suspense. Cross between Clive Cussler and 007 in the art world. Highly recommend this series!