“A smartly entertaining read…A classy puzzler to be read for plot, character, and atmosphere by a wide range of readers.” Library Journal
Description
A thrilling art-heist escapade that evokes a world of European high culture and luxury, while plumbing the vicissitudes of less exalted human foibles and obsessions
Johann Friedrich von Allmen, a bon vivant of dandified refinement, has exhausted his family fortune. Forced to downscale, Allmen inhabits the garden house of his former Zurich estate, attended by his Guatemalan butler, Carlos. When not reading novels by Balzac and Somerset Maugham, he plays jazz on a Bechstein baby grand.
Allmen’s fortunes take a sharp turn when he meets Jojo, a stunning blonde whose lakeside villa contains five art nouveau bowls created by renowned French artist Émile Gallé and decorated with a dragonfly motif. Allmen, seeking to pay off mounting debts, absconds with the priceless bowls and embarks on a high-risk, potentially violent bid to cash them in.
This is the first book in a series of humorous, fast-paced detective novels devoted to Allmen—a memorable gentleman-thief who, with his trusted sidekick Carlos, creates an investigative firm to recover missing precious objects.
Praise
“A smartly entertaining read…A classy puzzler to be read for plot, character, and atmosphere by a wide range of readers.” Library Journal
“In the honorable vein of elegant, gentleman thieves, comes Allmen, the colorful protagonist of Suter’s beautifully observed, deliciously fun novel.” Noah Charney, author of The Art Thief
“This is a crisp, wonderfully atmospheric novel…Martin Suter is a terrific writer and deserves far greater recognition in America. With this superb translation, he should soon have it.” Jonathan Rabb, author of Among the Living and Rosa
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | May 7, 2018 |
| Release Date | May 8, 2018 |
| Number in Series | 1 |
| Series Display String | The Allmen Series |
| Release Date Machine | 1525737600 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Suspense, International Crime & Mystery, Amateur Sleuths, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult, Bestselling Mysteries, Bestselling Mystery |
Author Bio
Martin Suter, born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1948, is a novelist, screenwriter, and newspaper columnist. He has written a dozen novels, many of them bestsellers in Europe and translated into thirty-two languages.
Narrator Bio
Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.
Overview
A thrilling art-heist escapade that evokes a world of European high culture and luxury, while plumbing the vicissitudes of less exalted human foibles and obsessions
Johann Friedrich von Allmen, a bon vivant of dandified refinement, has exhausted his family fortune. Forced to downscale, Allmen inhabits the garden house of his former Zurich estate, attended by his Guatemalan butler, Carlos. When not reading novels by Balzac and Somerset Maugham, he plays jazz on a Bechstein baby grand.
Allmen’s fortunes take a sharp turn when he meets Jojo, a stunning blonde whose lakeside villa contains five art nouveau bowls created by renowned French artist Émile Gallé and decorated with a dragonfly motif. Allmen, seeking to pay off mounting debts, absconds with the priceless bowls and embarks on a high-risk, potentially violent bid to cash them in.
This is the first book in a series of humorous, fast-paced detective novels devoted to Allmen—a memorable gentleman-thief who, with his trusted sidekick Carlos, creates an investigative firm to recover missing precious objects.
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