Promotional Information

The long-awaited return of one of our greatest historical thriller writers. A book to rival his international bestseller An Instance of the Fingerpost.

About the Author

Iain Pears was born in 1955. He is the author of seven detective novels, a book of art history and countless articles on artistic, financial and historical subjects, and three novels, An Instance of the Fingerpost, The Dream of Scipio and The Portrait.

Reviews

I cannot remember enjoying a book as much as Stone's Fall
*Observer*

The assurance and invention with which the novel is written are alike remarkable. Utterly absorbing and a rare delight
*Scotsman*

Engrossing and intelligent, it's the best sort of page-turner
*Daily Mail*

A juicy mystery with lashings of period detail
*Daily Telegraph*

The novel is above all a romp, albeit an exceptionally intelligent and entertaining one
*Sunday Telegraph*

Absorbing and also timely
*Literary Review*

Iain Pears has an uncanny historical sense ... splendid return to the grand 19th-century novel
*Independent*

Fireworks, inventiveness and excitement of part three and a curmudgeonly inventor of torpedoes
*Evening Standard*

An indefatigably clever storyteller...witty, laconic dialogue; a galloping pace, particularly in the first and third narratives; the author's silky, fluid prose; and above all the concluding passages, which detonate a series of surprises as poignant as they are grim
*Times Literary Supplement*

A complex novel of mystery and suspense narrated by three fascinating characters...I thoroughly recommend this title
*Independent on Sunday*

An aging ex-reporter attends the funeral of an elderly widow. A solicitor approaches him and hands him a packet of papers that were to be delivered to him only after the woman's death. Reading them, he is transported back to events he has never forgotten. In 1909, industrialist-arms seller John Stone fell to his death from the window of his study. In his will, he left a bequest to an unknown daughter. His widow asked the young reporter to find the daughter, setting him on a search that transforms his life. Back through time the story goes-London 1909, Paris 1890, Venice 1867-with startling revelations at every step. This eminently readable tale is like one of those Russian dolls in which a tiny doll nests inside a bigger one and the bigger one inside another one bigger yet. The further you read, the more complicated it is until everything falls together in the final pages. This latest from Pears (Dream of Scipio) is in the best sense of the word an old-fashioned novel, populated with vital characters and bursting at the seams with narrative vigor. Highly recommended for all general collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/09.]-David Keymer, Modesto, CA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

I cannot remember enjoying a book as much as Stone's Fall -- Malcolm Gladwell * Observer *
The assurance and invention with which the novel is written are alike remarkable. Utterly absorbing and a rare delight -- Alan Massie * Scotsman *
Engrossing and intelligent, it's the best sort of page-turner -- Amber Pearson * Daily Mail *
A juicy mystery with lashings of period detail * Daily Telegraph *
The novel is above all a romp, albeit an exceptionally intelligent and entertaining one -- David Robson * Sunday Telegraph *