The Mortdecai Trilogy

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Ian Hamilton

Wong Changxing, a rich Chinese powerbroker, has just been bilked out of $100 million in an elaborate art forgery con. His one hope of recovering the money, and of saving face, is Ava Lee--a forensic accountant with a talent for tracking down untraceable funds. With the help of her mentor, the Triad-connected Uncle, Ava traces the provenance of the meticulously forged paintings to Denmark, the Faroe Islands, New York, and London. As she infiltrates one of the most prestigious auction houses in the world, she uncovers a massive web of corruption, where high art and high-stakes fraud threaten more than just her client's business--this is one scam that could get her killed. Ava Lee is one of the most scintillating, unique heroines to come along in years.

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E.C. Bentley with H. Warner Allen

Philip Trent returns! And this time the erudite investigator and confidant of Scotland Yard finds himself in a most novel situation — under suspicion for murder. Trent is amused by the clumsy attempt to frame him but events take a shocking turn when his closest friend suddenly confesses....

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Walter Pater

Walter Pater’s Studies in the History of the Renaissance was one of the most talked about books in nineteenth-century Britain, and it remains a work of unusual importance to anyone interested in art history or English literature. Pater’s luxurious and finely wrought style inspired generations of writers, and his unique blend of scholarship, philosophy, and personal bias made his view of the quintessential ‘spirit of the renaissance’ a key subject for subsequent aesthetic debate.

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Salvatore Walker

Controversial work of fiction by an internationally known Italian art dealer, writing under the pseudonym Salvatore Walker. Describes in detail how art forgeries are produced.