Synopsis
In this dazzling historical mystery, John Stone, financier and arms dealer, dies falling out of a window at his London home. The quest to uncover the truth behind his death plays out against the backdrop of high-stakes international finance, Europe's first great age of espionage, and the start of the twentieth century's arms race.
In this vivid and intricate historical mystery by Iain Pears, a fabulously wealthy financier named John Stone plummets to his death in 1909. Working chronologically backwards, a journalist named Matthew Braddock recreates the rise that led to Stone's fall, learning that all was not as it seemed for the financial magnate who had the power to single-handedly move the world markets at his whim. Braddock discovers that Stone's wealth was largely illusory, that he had a daughter whom no one knew about, and that his dealings and his death point to a conspiracy of global and historic proportions. Moving through evocative literary portraits of 19th-century London, Paris, and Venice, Pears skillfully manipulates the reader's own investigative processes, composing our insights and revelations into a mysterious symphony of deceit, ambition, and intrigue.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2009-05-05 |
| Size | | Length: | 594 pages | | Height: | 10.3 in | | Width: | 6.8 in | | Thickness: | 1.8 in | | Weight: | 33.6 oz |
Industry Reviews
"A learned, witty, and splendidly entertaining descent into the demimondes of international espionage, arms dealing,...and other favorite pastimes of those without conscience....Classy crime fiction, delightfully written..." (starred review)
(04/01/2009)
"British author Pears matches the brilliance of his bestselling AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST with this intricate historical novel....The pages will fly by for most readers, who will lose themselves in the clear prose and compelling plot." (starred review)
(03/16/2009)
"STONE'S FALL is...wonderfully accessible and entertaining....in the best sense: thrilling, compelling, ambitious and smart. It demands slow reading...as the many pieces of this intricate puzzle masterfully come together."
(05/09/2009)
"[T]here is much to admire and savour....[in] Iain Pears's vast, robustly entertaining new novel....: witty, laconic dialogue; a galloping pace...; the author's silky, fluid prose; and above all the concluding passages, which detonate a series of surprises as poignant as they are grim."
(05/15/2009)
"Admirers of Iain Pears's AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST have waited more than 10 years for another lengthy, serpentine thriller bearing the stamp of his erudition in matters historical, artistic and financial. STONE'S FALL generously rewards their patience."
(05/27/2009)
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