http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EYUH9C
Nothing like a good murder to get the blood flowing
Take No More plays out in London and in Florence and is a thriller set
against corruption in the art world.
Julia Blake is a conservator, working with classic art. Her expertise
includes imaging beneath the surface of paintings to discover what
lies beneath. She is sure that a number of those valuable paintings
described as 'missing, believed lost or destroyed' have in fact been
overpainted as a means of hiding them when the moral edicts of the
past deemed them unsuitable. She has tracked down a collection of
pictures in Florence that looks promising and has gone there to try to
discover a hidden masterpiece and make her reputation.
'Take No More' begins when James Blake, Julia's husband, returns to
their home in London to find that she has been shot and killed. What
had brought her back to London unannounced? Why has someone killed
her?
Blake determines to find her killers. He has little to go on - just
her last message to him sent from her mobile phone: 'help me' with an
attachment showing Michelangelo's painting 'Leda and the Swan'. There
is no help from the police as he is impeded by the unsympathetic
Inspector Hendricks who suspects him of the murder.
From the reviews of Take No More:
***** 'It was a few pages before I realized what I was reading: a sort
of modern noir. I walked in the hero's shoes, was privy to his
thoughts and intruded on his emotions as he was drawn into the mystery
of his wife's death. Kirby's spare yet rich prose, his perfect word
choices, made this a work that appeared to be effortlessly
constructed. That seamlessness is the hallmark of a gifted writer.
Definitely recommended.' (International bestseller Rebecca Forster)
***** 'If You Like Harlan Coben, you'll love 'Take No More' .....my
favorite kind of thriller...' (International bestseller Libby Fischer
Hellmann)
***** 'The comparisons with Harlan Coben are well merited because this
is a gripping thriller in the same vein. It begins with the aftermath
of a violent act and doesn't let up until the end. As an author who
always aims for momentum and suspense myself, I take my hat off to Kirby.' (International bestseller John Harding)