The Russian Wife

Book excerpt: Fraud, forgery and murder, set in the high-stakes world of fine art. 'Barry Maitland is one of Australia's finest crime writers.' - Sunday Tasmanian 'Maitland stacks his characters in interesting piles, and lets his mystery burn busily and bright.' - Courier-Mail When the Russian wife of the owner of one of the most valuable private collections of modern art in the UK is found dead, Detective Chief Inspector David Brock is drawn into a high-stakes world very different to his own. From the dealers and galleries in London's West End, his investigations take him to Hanover, Miami and New York on the trail of international forgery and fraud. At the same time, his old colleague Detective Chief Inspector Kathy Kolla, who now leads one of the Metropolitan Police Murder Investigation teams, finds herself at the wrong end of a corruption charge. With her whole career in the balance, she will do almost anything to clear her name. 'No one drops so many wonderful threads to a story or ties them so satisfyingly together at the end.' - The Australian 'Maitland is right up there with Ruth Rendell in my book.' - Australian Book Review