In his most dazzling novel since the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller An Instance of the Fingerpost,Iain Pears tells the story of John Stone, financier and arms dealer, a man so wealthy that in the years before World War One he was able to manipulate markets, industries, and indeed entire countries and continents.
A panoramic novel with a riveting mystery at its heart, Stones Fall is a quest to discover how and why John Stone dies, falling out of a window at his London home.
Chronologically, it moves backwardsfrom London in 1909 to Paris in 1890, and finally to Venice in 1867 and in the process the quest to uncover the truth plays out against the backdrop of the evolution of high-stakes international finance, Europes first great age of espionage, and the start of the twentieth centurys arms race.
Like Fingerpost, Stones Fall is an intricately plotted and richly satisfying puzzlean erudite work of history and fiction that feels utterly true and oddly timelyand marks the triumphant return of one of the worlds great storytellers.
BOOK REVIEWS
Media Reviews
"British author Pears matches the brilliance of his bestselling An Instance of the Fingerpost with this intricate historical novel." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Classy crime fiction, delightfully written, with few straight lines in sight." - Kirkus Reviews
"Starred Review. [I]n the best sense of the word an old-fashioned novel, populated with vital characters and bursting at the seams with narrative vigor. Highly recommended." - Library Journal
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