Customer Reviews

The Vatican Rip

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This is a great example of the wonderful anti-hero Lovejoy mystery novels. Always at the mercy of whatever female he is "making smiles" with at the moment, he take Italian lessons and goes to Rome to steal an antiquarian piece of furniture from the Vatican. Quintessential Lovejoy, with gangsters, lovers and lots and lots of the lore and lure of antiques. Not to mention great Italian characters and descriptions of Rome as well, in Lovejoy's particularly acerbic style. I'll admit the British slang takes a bit to get used to, but it is a lot of fun.

We learn to expect anything with our favourite scoundral, Lovejoy. In this book he visits Rome at the very pointed bequest of what appears to be an English gangster. He's supposed to go there to perpetrate a "one of a kind" rip (or steal) of a priceless antique. Lovejoy, as usual runs into all kinds of local trouble - both male and female. Even in Rome he can't stay out of trouble for very long. And as usual, he's broke, and trying to live from hand to mouth (or on the charity of some worthy female). There's a lot of action and a lot of antiques in this book, and I loved it because it's a great caper book!

Lovable rogue and antiques expert, Lovejoy, is forced into participating in a huge scam which involves stealing an antique table from the Vatican museum and replacing it with one of his own making. He is forced into the deal by a "heavy" from Italy who threatens to maim and kill Lovejoy's friends if he doesn't go along with the scheme. This initially involves Lovejoy taking a cram course in conversational Italian, taught on a one to one basis with a beautiful young Italian woman. Lovejoy's adventures in Rome proceed as one would expect and, even if the skill with which Lovejoy knocks up a masterpiece of fake furniture is a bit of a stretch of the imagination, it's still an exciting and fast paced story, full of actual tips on how to mock up fakes and get away with it. For Jonathan Gash fans, it's another wonderful Lovejoy(and friends) read.

A complex plot with all the fun of Lovejoy's escapades and inimitable character (and characters!). The usual insights about the antiques business in England (it's different from the U.S.). Tips about how to tell real from fake antiques (or how to fake your own). A tricky caper plot and a fun ride to the end with plot twists you probably won't see coming. Recommended for fans of British mysteries.

I love Jonathan Gash's "Lovejoy" series. I have all the books but one. "The Vatican Rip" is one of my favorites.