Saddam Hussein

A recent spate of attacks against tourists has given an area of Rome an unwelcome reputation. And when, in the early hours of a spring Saturday morning, German tourists come across the body of an elderly English artist in Piazza de' Renzi, it looks like just another in this unpleasant string of muggings for Commissioner Alec Blume. But when Blume learns that the dead man was no tramp, but a highly skilled forger of the masters and joint owner of the Galleria Orpiment, the...
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A recent spate of attacks against tourists has given an area of Rome an unwelcome reputation. And when, in the early hours of a spring Saturday morning, German tourists come across the body of an elderly English artist in Piazza de' Renzi, it looks like just another in this unpleasant string of muggings for Commissioner Alec Blume. But when Blume learns that the dead man was no tramp, but a highly skilled forger of the masters and joint owner of the Galleria Orpiment, the investigation takes on a different hue. Blume's conviction that this was no mugging-gone-wrong is only strengthened by the unlikely interest of Colonel Farinelli, former director of the Art Forgery and Heritage Division of the Carabinieri, who, whilst hindering Blume's own enquiries, seems to know more about the artist, his gallery and business partner than he's letting on...