Painting Death

Description

The horrifying and entertaining tale of an unrepentant bourgeois serial killer, Morris Duckworth, and his adventures in Veronese high society. From the bestselling author of Italian Ways and Italian Neighbours comes a darkly comic new novel of murder in Veronese high society Morris Duckworth has a dark past. Having married and murdered his way into a wealthy Italian family he has now become a respected member of Veronese business life. But it's not enough. He comes up with a plan to put on the most exciting art exhibition of the decade, based on a subject close to his heart- killing. But as Morris meets stiff resistance from the director the museum, everything starts to unravel around him. His children are rebelling, his mistress is asking for more than he wants to give, his wife is increasingly attached to her ageing confessor, and worst of all it's getting harder and harder to ignore the ghosts that swirl around him, and the skeletons rattling in every cupboard.

Born in Manchester, Tim Parks grew up in London and studied at Cambridge and Harvard. He lives in Milan. Parks is the acclaimed author of novels, non-fiction and essays, including Europa, A Season with Verona, Teach Us to Sit Still, Italian Ways and Italian Life. He has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and has won many awards for both his work in English and his translations from the Italian, which include works by Alberto Moravia, Italo Calvino, Roberto Calasso, Antonio Tabucchi and Niccol Machiavelli.

Sharp, funny and satirical... This is one to relish * Guardian * Neatly written, full of calamitous moments in which the comedy is suddenly elbowed aside by genuine emotion -- D J Taylor * Spectator * Hovering adroitly between tragedy and farce...a good novel to savour by the pool in Tuscany this summer -- Angus Clarke * The Times * Duckworth is a worthy heir to a tradition of seductive, cultured literary monsters that includes Humbert Humbert, Hannibal Lecter and John Lanchester's Tarquin Winot -- John Dugdale * Sunday Times * mordant thriller -- three stars * Telegraph *