Product Description

Lovejoy's search for a missing painting and a missing friend--Gesso the cat burglar--takes him on a wild adventure to the Channel Islands. He hopes to keep a low profile by masquerading as Jonno Rant, an island local, but that plan backfires when the local police start to keep tabs on him and the real Jonno Rant shows up. Can Lovejoy stay one step ahead of Rant and the police? Soon, just staying alive becomes a juggling act for the irrepressible Lovejoy.

"A welcome return of one of the most unusual characters in mysteryland."-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1041518 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03-01
• Released on: 2000-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Perpetually bereft of funds, the rascally Lovejoy once again relies on charm, guile and luck to replenish his supply of groats, make "smiles" with various women and keep from getting interfered with by the Plod. Beautiful young Irma Dominick, trained by Lovejoy to steal, gets arrested by the Plod for trying to lift a jug from an auction house. And Irma's aunt Jocina wants Lovejoy to identify antiques that will be sold supposedly to fund a failing prioryAwhose prior, Lovejoy believes, is "making smiles" with Jocina behind her husband's back. That same prior wants Lovejoy to identify antiques that he can sell to support his gambling debts. Reconnoitering the abbey with his pal Gesso, Lovejoy finds a valuable painting that he nicks and disguises. Then, traveling incognito as the famous impresario Jonno Rant, Lovejoy trails Jocina and the prior to the Channel Islands, all the while pretending to set up an entertainment spectacular. But the project is usurped by the real Rant, and Lovejoy's life is threatened by more than one group interested in the painting. With this dervish of comic activity and a romp that ends in a circuslike venue, Gash is in top form. Fans will celebrate Lovejoy's 20th outing (after The Possessions of a Lady, 1996) as a welcome return of one of the most unusual characters in mysteryland.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Lovejoy appraises the antiques of Albansham priory, whose prior has gambled away its funds?and maybe done worse.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Once again (for the twentieth time) we plunge into the seamy life of charming rapscallion Lovejoy (Different Women Dating, 1997, etc.), a whiz at recognizing the true antique and at knowing everything about it but a miserable failure at most anything else. This time, he's involved with one Irma Dominick, who, with Lovejoy's coaching, has stolen an antique Buckingham jug from Gimbert's Antique House. Turns out the jug belongs to Irma's aunt Jocina Crucifex, whose brother is the Reverend George Metivier, head of the Albansham Priory and reputed to be deeply mired in gambling debt. Metivier wants Lovejoy to assess, secretly, the Priory's antique treasures, and Lovejoy enlists Gesso, his longtime friend and professional thief, to help. Within days, Gesso has disappeared and Lovejoy fears the worst. A search for any clue to Gesso's whereabouts leads Lovejoy to the Channel Island of Guernsey where he winds up running a show for famed impresario Jonno Rant, trusting all the wrong people but at last learning Gesso's fate and the secret of Albansham Priory. With a new character, a new bedmate, and a new scam on almost every page, the plot is evanescentto be enjoyed for Lovejoy's unapologetic chutzpah and for his author's breezy narration and vast knowledge, willingly shared, of the antiques world. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Lovejoy is back and better than ever!
After the last two books by Jonathan Gash digging into the seamier side of London, and the sex trade, with his new heroine, he has graced us with new Lovejoy mystery. Some of his entourage is missing, no Tinker, and no new trainee, but he does succeed in making smiles, stealing antiques, breaking and entering, and impersonating a rock star. You never know what to expect from Lovejoy and he does not disappoint. Just when you think you figured it all out, a surprise ending. One of his best books in years, you will enjoy it.

Joyful fans will love the latest Lovejoy novel

Irma hires antiques expert Lovejoy to teach her how to swipe a necklace. Though reluctant to be her tutor, Lovejoy cannot resist helping the beautiful young woman even if the jewelry she wants to steal is vulgar trash. However, she is caught trying to abscond with a Rottingham fake jug.

Irma's entry into Lovejoy's life opens the door for her wealthy Aunt, Mrs. Crucifex, and her uncle Reverend George Metivier to enter Lovejoy's life. All George wants from the scoundrel is his assistance in selling the Albansham priory "manufactured antiques". Instead of working with pale imitations, Lovejoy soon finds himself searching for a missing associate, a valuable painting, and George even as he struggles to simply stay alive.

Fans of the Lovejoy series know why the novels are always bestsellers. Anyone who has not read one of the books until this one, THE RICH AND THE PROFANE, will quickly learn why these tales are such fan favorites. The twentieth story is as fresh as the first book. Lovejoy remains a joy, loved by his myriad of fans. The story line is an entertaining mystery, but Lovejoy thankfully still occupies the prime seat. Jonathan Gash is heading back to the top of the lists again.

Harriet Klausner

borrow, don't buy
I'd have to agree, this book wasn't as good as his previous Lovejoy ones. I'd say this one and the previous one 'Possessions of a Lady' are more of a "borrow" than a "buy". I hope #21 does pick up. I still reread his previous ones (esp. 'The Tartan Sell' my all time favorite).