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Jonathan Argyll #4
The Last Judgement
Hired to deliver a painting from a Parisian art dealer to a client in Rome, British art historian and amateur sleuth Jonathan Argyll suddenly finds himself caught up in a double murder and begins a probe that uncovers a secret hidden since World War II. Reprint.
278 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
22 people are currently reading
646 people want to read
About the author
Iain Pears
42 books944 followersIain Pears is an English art historian, novelist and journalist. He was educated at Warwick School, Warwick, Wadham College and Wolfson College, Oxford. Before writing, he worked as a reporter for the BBC, Channel 4 (UK) and ZDF (Germany) and correspondent for Reuters from 1982 to 1990 in Italy, France, UK and US. In 1987 he became a Getty Fellow in the Arts and Humanities at Yale University. His well-known novel series features Jonathan Argyll, art historian, though international fame first arrived with his best selling book An Instance of the Fingerpost (1998), which was translated into several languages. Pears currently lives with his wife and children in Oxford.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
May 11, 2020
While many readers are familiar with Iain Pears novels such as An Instance of the Fingerpost, along with Dream of Scipio, Pears began his career by writing the Jonathan Argyll mystery series about the Italian Art Squad. Seven books in total having to deal, lightly and nicely, with art thefts. I love this series, and since Pears is an Art Historian, his books contain just the right amount of technical details to support his mysteries. This book deals with a rather mediocre painting that is stolen and winds up causing the death of two people in Rome. Though technically a murder investigation, the Art Squad is involved due to the fact that a painting seems to be a common denominator. Included within the books and series is Flavia di Stefano, who is the lead investigator who now appears to have unwittingly become Argyll's fiance due to the fact that he has moved in with her. While he is sort of loopy, she is intense and the banter between the two of them is quite enjoyable. Unfortunately there are only 7 books in this series and now I only have 3 left to read. I suggest to start with Book 1 and see the characters evolution and growth.
January 13, 2017
Jonathan Argyll, whose job seems to be buying art for a gallery or museum, is in Paris. After he concludes some business with an art dealer, he offers to carry a just-purchased painting to its buyer in Rome, in exchange for the art dealer filling out the arduous paperwork involved in Argyll's purchase of some prints. (Right. Hand-carrying a painting from Paris to Rome is so much easier than filling out some paperwork.) But when he delivers the painting, the buyer suddenly decides he doesn't want it after all, so Argyll takes it away. (Uh huh.) Hours later, the would-have-been buyer is tortured and murdered in his apartment - apparently by someone looking for the mysterious but, as everyone keeps remarking, unremarkable painting, "Death of Socrates."
So begins this drab, lazy pile of mush. When plotlines need to be explained, a designated character opens his or her mouth and unrolls the information as if on a conveyor belt. All the characters, including the ones we're supposed to be in sympathy with, have the personality of a paper bag. The mystery involves Nazis, torture, wartime resistance and betrayal, all things meant to signify intrigue and great fascination, but which to the contrary are dull as dishwater in the hands of Mr. Pears. Truly if offered the opportunity to read this book you should slather your nude body in guacamole and run screaming through a Montessori school instead.
April 13, 2024
Before Iain Pears became famous for writing such novels as An Instance of the Fingerpost, he wrote and published an Art History Mystery series of which this is the 4th installment. Pears' degree is in Art History and I believe he has also published non fiction in the genre. In any case, I stumbled on this series a few years back and was hooked. My challenge group has been very kind in constructing reading tasks that allow me to incorporate them.
This one opens with Jonathan Argyll visiting one of his art dealer friends in Paris. Delorme has a painting that needs to be delivered to Rome. Jonathan makes a deal about Delorme sending some drawings to California in exchange for Jonathan taking the painting to Rome, which he does. While waiting for the train in Paris, a fellow tries to steal the painting. What the heck? Jonathan manages to chase down the thief and recover the painting. When he gets home to Rome, he tells his story to Flavia, his girlfriend.
Flavia works for the Art Theft Department of the police and is a very good investigator. Flavia's antenna goes up when she hears Jonathan's story and is certain something is wrong about everything. A couple of murders later and the reader is treated to a good thriller.
I have been reading this series in order though I think any of the installments stand on their own. The one caveat is that the relationship between Jonathan and Flavia matures with subsequent installments. This probably wouldn't affect the enjoyment of any one novel. For me, the series is enhanced with the romantic involvement of the two of them. Note! This series is NOT a romance, but a true mystery series. The banter between them, however, provides light comedy interludes which I appreciate.
There has been enough time between my readings to prevent me from saying whether or not this is the best so far. But it is very good and I'm very happy to give it a full 4-stars.
This one opens with Jonathan Argyll visiting one of his art dealer friends in Paris. Delorme has a painting that needs to be delivered to Rome. Jonathan makes a deal about Delorme sending some drawings to California in exchange for Jonathan taking the painting to Rome, which he does. While waiting for the train in Paris, a fellow tries to steal the painting. What the heck? Jonathan manages to chase down the thief and recover the painting. When he gets home to Rome, he tells his story to Flavia, his girlfriend.
Flavia works for the Art Theft Department of the police and is a very good investigator. Flavia's antenna goes up when she hears Jonathan's story and is certain something is wrong about everything. A couple of murders later and the reader is treated to a good thriller.
I have been reading this series in order though I think any of the installments stand on their own. The one caveat is that the relationship between Jonathan and Flavia matures with subsequent installments. This probably wouldn't affect the enjoyment of any one novel. For me, the series is enhanced with the romantic involvement of the two of them. Note! This series is NOT a romance, but a true mystery series. The banter between them, however, provides light comedy interludes which I appreciate.
There has been enough time between my readings to prevent me from saying whether or not this is the best so far. But it is very good and I'm very happy to give it a full 4-stars.
January 28, 2009
This is the first Iain Pears book that I've read, and the fourth in the Art History Mystery Series (Jonathan Argyll and Flavia di Stefano).
Here's why I liked it:
* This series is in the same vein as Gregory McDonald's Fletch series or Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss/Sir John Smythe Street of the Five Moons series. Clever, quick, amused with itself and inviting the reader to be amused as well.
* The pairing of Jonathan and Flavia is believable, interesting and promises to hold the reader's interest through a series of books.
* The author has a knack for describing characters in just a few phrases that flesh out them out completely. Examples are:
* You don't have to be an Art History major to appreciate this book. There's just enough historical background to flesh out the story, but the author never gets lost in minutae.
It's not a "Best of" book, by any means - there's no technical brilliance to be had, no profound insights into humanity, but if you're looking for a fun, mind-engaging read, then I highly recommend this book.
Here's why I liked it:
* This series is in the same vein as Gregory McDonald's Fletch series or Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss/Sir John Smythe Street of the Five Moons series. Clever, quick, amused with itself and inviting the reader to be amused as well.
* The pairing of Jonathan and Flavia is believable, interesting and promises to hold the reader's interest through a series of books.
* The author has a knack for describing characters in just a few phrases that flesh out them out completely. Examples are:
This woman, or more particularly, her Raphael face, her beautiful brown hair, delicate hands, perfect figure, soft smile, green eyes, exquisitely chosen clothes--and so on, and so on--was one of those people who triggers such a reaction that the continueance of even moderately civilized behaviour is an almost superhuman triumph of the will, for which those who manage it should be complimented for their strength rather than criticized for their weakness. Somehow or other she managed to combine a gentle tranquillity with just a hint of wildness, Madonna and Magdalen all in one, gift-wrapped in Yves Saint-Laurent. Potent stuff.
Also, he was a little fellow, showing no obvious signs of hard-boiled commercialism. Across a vast middle there were all the indications of decades of eating the wrong sort of food. Arthur Muller was a model of how to die young, with the sort of weight-to-height ratio that makes dieticians wake up in the middle of the night screaming with terror. The type who should have keeled over thirty years before of clogged arteries, if his liver hadn't got him first.
But there he was, short, fat and with every sign of living to confound the medical statisticians a while longer.
* You don't have to be an Art History major to appreciate this book. There's just enough historical background to flesh out the story, but the author never gets lost in minutae.
It's not a "Best of" book, by any means - there's no technical brilliance to be had, no profound insights into humanity, but if you're looking for a fun, mind-engaging read, then I highly recommend this book.
August 6, 2019
Art dealer Jonathon Argyll finds himself and his girlfriend Italian art police inspector, Flavia, unwittingly enmeshed in murder, torture and intrigue in a plot to bury the past. Jonathon agrees to bring a 16th century minor art work with him from Paris to Rome for a fellow art dealer. The delivery turns to murder and Flavia and Jonathan are following a trail that takes them to Paris, Basel, Gloucester and into a past that features the French Resistance, the German SS and betrayal.
A very entertaining light read, highly recommended for a rainy afternoon.
A very entertaining light read, highly recommended for a rainy afternoon.
October 14, 2017
Another excellent little story in this series, full of murder and intrigue and lovely characters who flit around Europe and enjoy a good meal along the way. Reading these books set in the early 1990s highlights to me how enormously things have changed since then. I'm filled with nostalgia for a time that doesn't seem so long ago, when information was sought in ledgers kept in libraries and computers were new-fangled things not to be trusted. Flavia and Argyll breeze from Rome to Paris, Switzerland, London all on a whim with the merest hint of passport control or airport security and smoking cigarettes all the way. Ah the good old days! What fun and adventure you could have before everything was available on the internet and you had to actually go to Paris to uncover WW2 resistance fighters who still stood a good chance of being alive. I do wonder why these books weren't made into movies.
March 11, 2025
Нормальный, уютный детектив. Да еще и щепоткой искусства в перемешку с Италией. А не вот эти ваши бабушки и реставраторы.
October 16, 2023
Jonathan and Flavia becomes involved in yet another murder mystery, this time mostly set in Paris, it like the setting in Europe brings the series back on track.
The mixture between the comical nearly slapstick description of their travlels, near random discoveries and the more sinister themes of WW2 makes for a very pleasant and light read.
The mixture between the comical nearly slapstick description of their travlels, near random discoveries and the more sinister themes of WW2 makes for a very pleasant and light read.
February 3, 2012
Definitely the best one in my re-read quest. It has it all: conspiracy, WWII traitors and heroes, Flavia in excellent form and Jonathan stumbling into, by accident (isn't always the case with Jonathan), a 50 years old secret that involves an art collection hiding a family secret.
Pears succeeds again in drawing the reader in his web of art dealing where his lead character is quite inept at it but loves obscure paintings. We do get obscure and mysterious here. As with the other novels in this series, I liked the easy, tender relationships between Flavia and Jonathan, I still love the General to pieces. It's a wonderful light, entertaining series.
Pears succeeds again in drawing the reader in his web of art dealing where his lead character is quite inept at it but loves obscure paintings. We do get obscure and mysterious here. As with the other novels in this series, I liked the easy, tender relationships between Flavia and Jonathan, I still love the General to pieces. It's a wonderful light, entertaining series.
June 23, 2014
Uneven plot. Silly dialog. When you read a murder mystery you want to believe that the scenes in the book are plausible. That way you do not get distracted from the flow of the book because your brain says “can't this author see how silly that sounds?” or “what hotel clerk would tell a stranger in what room they can find the person they are looking for and then let them go up to the room?”
February 21, 2020
In a genre where it's taken for granted that the protagonist is going to be a morally compromised, damaged person constantly making questionable decisions, the refreshing twist of this series is that he's just a nice, normal guy.
January 14, 2022
Очень скучно и предсказуемо. Книгу не спасают ни обаятельный искусствовед Аргайл, ни красавица полицейский Флавия (которая при необхо��имости может и билет на поезд утащить у совершенно незнакомого человека, и помочь нарушителю-эмигранту сбежать из участка в чужой стране).
В подобных детективных историях хочется, чтобы картонные персонажи и банальность преступления были компенсированы рассказами о внутренней кухне арт мира, но тут этого нет, преступление закручено вокруг событий Второй Мировой войны, а картины - только необходимый фон.
Пока что самый неудачный из детективов Пирса, которые я читала.
В подобных детективных историях хочется, чтобы картонные персонажи и банальность преступления были компенсированы рассказами о внутренней кухне арт мира, но тут этого нет, преступление закручено вокруг событий Второй Мировой войны, а картины - только необходимый фон.
Пока что самый неудачный из детективов Пирса, которые я читала.
February 28, 2020
Любовь и предательство, тайны, политика, вечные сюжеты, интересно читать
April 22, 2025
Very nice book by Iain Pears, 4th in the serie with Jonathan Argyll. I like that this serie deals with art and art history. This book is very interesting, very well written and I was surprised by the ending. It is worth reading.
April 1, 2018
A bit darker than previous books in the series, yet the flashes of humor throughout are lovely.
May 24, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in October 1999.
This is the fourth of Pears' Jonathan Argyll series. It is a little difficult to tell given the evidence presented with this edition, which is perhaps something Gollancz should have done rather better. (It's a hardback, likely to be bought by libraries, where readers cannot always see all the books by a particular author on a single visit.)
I would not have thought there were so many reasons to connect fine art with murder, but Pears has been consistently inventive throughout the series. The repeated characters are charming, well drawn and interesting, the mysteries nicely constructed, and the art world background adds a touch of glamour. Like most crime fiction series, the details of the puzzle are the only elements undergoing major change from one book to the next; the relationship between Jonathan and Flavia slowly develops. But I expect the series to provide consistent entertainment for some time before it starts to pall.
This is the fourth of Pears' Jonathan Argyll series. It is a little difficult to tell given the evidence presented with this edition, which is perhaps something Gollancz should have done rather better. (It's a hardback, likely to be bought by libraries, where readers cannot always see all the books by a particular author on a single visit.)
I would not have thought there were so many reasons to connect fine art with murder, but Pears has been consistently inventive throughout the series. The repeated characters are charming, well drawn and interesting, the mysteries nicely constructed, and the art world background adds a touch of glamour. Like most crime fiction series, the details of the puzzle are the only elements undergoing major change from one book to the next; the relationship between Jonathan and Flavia slowly develops. But I expect the series to provide consistent entertainment for some time before it starts to pall.
January 5, 2021
It was time again for some light reading. Iain Pear’s Jonathan Argyll art mysteries can be counted on for just such a pleasant entertainment. Characters I’ve become familiar with, now that this one is my fourth go round in this series (alas, only 2 left.) Jonathan’s brilliant naive goofiness paired with Flavia’s fiery & sexy intelligence consistently brings a smile to my face. Plus, we have a fine mystery to solve involving art amid some great cities. “The Last Judgement” bounces between Rome, Paris, & London. I do need to point out it isn’t all lightness & laughter. There are dark happenings here that stretches back to World War Two. One thing that did bug me a bit, is the conclusion involves, a long reveal taking several pages with the suspects gathered. I find it to be an awkward & overused technique. I prefer my mysteries to have layers gradually peeled away like an onion. It’s not a deal breaker, I will eventually read the final two in the series, and I was glad the reveal was with Flavia taking center stage. Wouldn't want to play poker against her.
September 26, 2013
I was off on a bus ride and needed a small book to carry....I've loved Iain Pears books, Instance, Scipio, and especially Stone's Fall. This is kind of in the middle of a series, and I did quite enjoy it, and I'll go back to the start and them all. Jonathan Argyll, British art dealer, attached to an Italian detective, whose job it is to solve art crimes. This was a good story, and I like the character Flavia....Jonathan, is a little effete!
March 29, 2013
The set-up for this mystery is very involving--a trail of murder surrounding a not-very-valuable lesser work by a minor artist--and the protagonists (art historian Argyll and his Italian cop girlfriend Flavia) are an intriguing pair, but the plot gets too bogged down before the end. I gave up caring about who was who, how they were related and what all the ancient feuds were about.
March 31, 2016
I slogged through one hundred pages to finally become nominally interested in this mystery. Thought I would like it since there was art involved but, no. The tone of the book was too flippant even for me. Characters were not believable and the "official" investigation was just too loose for my tastes.
February 26, 2017
Now that I'm accustomed to the three main characters (General Bottano, Flavia di Stefano, and Jonathan Argyll), I'm enjoying these light-hearted art-based mysteries a little more.
The pace and tone remind me a little of the various series by Alexander McCall Smith. Just fun reads.
The pace and tone remind me a little of the various series by Alexander McCall Smith. Just fun reads.
December 30, 2020
characters are not sympathetic
Hired to deliver a painting from a Parisian art dealer to a client in Rome, British art historian and amateur sleuth Jonathan Argyll suddenly finds himself caught up in a double murder and begins a probe that uncovers a secret hidden since World War II.
Hired to deliver a painting from a Parisian art dealer to a client in Rome, British art historian and amateur sleuth Jonathan Argyll suddenly finds himself caught up in a double murder and begins a probe that uncovers a secret hidden since World War II.
October 16, 2020
A mixture bertween a war story and an art theft. It was rather involved and the motivation for the murders seemed very thin. I would not recommend it, unless you are a Jonathan Argyll fan.
December 15, 2020
I am afraid this book was just too silly for my taste.
January 29, 2023
A bit confusing with all the characters and corresponding interconnected relationships. Too complicated to guess at this mystery. Ok. Not excellent.
March 14, 2025
I enjoyed this! The formula of mixing murder mystery with fill-in-the-blanks everyman never ceases to disappoint. Although murder mystery isn't necessarily a genre I crave, the idea of an art historian getting embroiled in one was irresistible.
Englishman Jonathan Argyll, conducting routine business with an art gallery concerning a rather humdru painting, is shocked to find someone has killed for it . . . or because of it . . . and it's still in his possession. Fortunately, his Italian girlfriend works at the Roman Art Theft Department (fictional version of an actual detective squad) and is ready to help. Together they start peeling back the layers (of paint, naturally), discovering of course that nobody connected to the painting is who they seem, nor have they told the whole story.
This story is much lighter in tone and less byzantine in plot than either the Dream of Scipio or The Portrait (I should review them some day too), but with the same unmistakeable wit and deft characterizations. Visiting a Frenchman's home, the character observes, "Although the English eye could fault the excessive use of gravel and look a little scornfully at the state of the lawn, at least there was a lawn to look scornfully at."
I look forward to more Argyll mysteries!
Englishman Jonathan Argyll, conducting routine business with an art gallery concerning a rather humdru painting, is shocked to find someone has killed for it . . . or because of it . . . and it's still in his possession. Fortunately, his Italian girlfriend works at the Roman Art Theft Department (fictional version of an actual detective squad) and is ready to help. Together they start peeling back the layers (of paint, naturally), discovering of course that nobody connected to the painting is who they seem, nor have they told the whole story.
This story is much lighter in tone and less byzantine in plot than either the Dream of Scipio or The Portrait (I should review them some day too), but with the same unmistakeable wit and deft characterizations. Visiting a Frenchman's home, the character observes, "Although the English eye could fault the excessive use of gravel and look a little scornfully at the state of the lawn, at least there was a lawn to look scornfully at."
I look forward to more Argyll mysteries!
September 17, 2021
Jonathan Argyll knew that he was being asked to do something a bit shady when a fellow art dealer asked him to take a painting from Paris to Rome. But he was not expecting the trail of murder that followed in the painting’s wake...
I read this book after a couple of others featuring men in the antiques/rare books trade, and it suffered because some of the tropes were therefore very familiar. He’s not young but still fairly sprightly, he’s got money problems and runs up against the establishment, there’s a ridiculously beautiful woman in there somewhere... The Italian police art squad also sounds familiar: the complacent senior manager who worries about his superiors, the suspicion of new technology, the ability of the smart female detective to sidestep the system...
Even the mystery at the heart of the book seemed familiar: as soon as you hear that goings-on in Paris during the German occupation and artworks formerly owned by Jews are in play, you think you know what is going to happen. But hats off to Iain Pears for completely blindsiding me with a twist I absolutely did not see coming. By the end I was enthralled.
I read this book after a couple of others featuring men in the antiques/rare books trade, and it suffered because some of the tropes were therefore very familiar. He’s not young but still fairly sprightly, he’s got money problems and runs up against the establishment, there’s a ridiculously beautiful woman in there somewhere... The Italian police art squad also sounds familiar: the complacent senior manager who worries about his superiors, the suspicion of new technology, the ability of the smart female detective to sidestep the system...
Even the mystery at the heart of the book seemed familiar: as soon as you hear that goings-on in Paris during the German occupation and artworks formerly owned by Jews are in play, you think you know what is going to happen. But hats off to Iain Pears for completely blindsiding me with a twist I absolutely did not see coming. By the end I was enthralled.
April 17, 2018
Somewhere between #1 and this #4 in the Jonathan Argyll series, the role of primary sleuth has shifted from art dealer, Argyll, to Flavia, of the Italian Art Police. Now that the two are definitely a couple, the dynamic of the two of them meandering their separate ways yet being fascinated with each other has somewhat faded and the line between them has become sort of blurry.
The plot was good in this one, but I miss their distinct personalities and I regret that they are finally together. Readers are like children; they are not so concerned for the happiness of their characters or their parents; they just want what they want.
The plot was good in this one, but I miss their distinct personalities and I regret that they are finally together. Readers are like children; they are not so concerned for the happiness of their characters or their parents; they just want what they want.
December 25, 2023
This book was easy to read and moved forward at a good pace. I found myself becoming well invested in the Italian Detective, Flavia, solving the case. Flavia is strong minded, a bit cheeky and clever. The character of her ex boyfriend, a homicide detective, who is misogynistic, rude and not particularly bright played a big part in my support for Flavia. I was disappointed in the laid back, naive, ambivalent nature of the art dealer middleman and Flavia’s current partner. There were many characters introduced and they all added to the ultimate solving of the long ago mystery. There are some predictable events and actions but the end provided a believable twist that was unexpected.
December 20, 2025
Just a lovely, entertaining mystery—one of my favorite entries in a great series. Effective blend of espionage, art theft, police work across several countries, and a WW2 backstory of the French Resistance vs the Nazis. As usual, Flavia & Jonathan end up working together, piecing together a complex case with their individual talents.
I read much, though not all, of this series 30 years ago, so I remember nothing about the cases. This re-read I’m really enjoying it (all over again).
I’ve yet to read Pears’ longer, famous works like FINGERPOST and ARCADIA but expect to be entertained there as well.
I read much, though not all, of this series 30 years ago, so I remember nothing about the cases. This re-read I’m really enjoying it (all over again).
I’ve yet to read Pears’ longer, famous works like FINGERPOST and ARCADIA but expect to be entertained there as well.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews