The Apothecary's House

US: Pan Macmillan, 2005. Paperback. Good. When an old woman storms into the Rijks Museum demanding the return of her painting, archivist Ruth Braams cannot quell her curiosity. Ruth delves int o the history of the piece of looted Nazi art and discovers an enigmatic pi cture with a disturbing wartime provenance. It also appears that the elderl y Lydia is not the only claimant and, against strict bureau regulations, Ru th endeavours to help strengthen her case. Days later, Ruth begins to recei ve sinister anonymous threats, warning her to stay away from Lydia and the painting. As the threats escalate, Ruth realises that there must be far mor e to the paintings popularity, and she enters into a series of increasingly lethal adventures as she investigates the paintings secret symbolism A bri lliant evocation of Amsterdam that combines fascinating historical detail w ith a cast of sharply realised charactersa fast-paced, finely crafted, rive ting mystery.The wit of Janet Evanovich and the ingenuity of Robert Wilson. Should appeal to fans of literary thrillers (Robert Wilson, Iain Pears), a nd also Tracey Chevaliers Girl with a Pearl Earring and Salley Vickers Miss Garnetts Angel. Adrians debut novel, Vienna Blood, won the CWA Silver Dagg er for Fiction.