Oxford-based Pears gathered a new battalion of readers with An Instance of the Fingerpost .
The detective in his latest thriller, one of a series set in the world of art history, is Flavia di Stefano, acting head of the Italian art theft squad.
In this book, she calls in her old mentor, General Taddeo Bottando, to help with her search for a stolen 17th-century painting, which had been lent to the Italian Government after the Prime Minister gave a personal guarantee that it would be safe.
(HarperCollins, £5.99)
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