Shadowing Botticelli's Beauty

A suspenseful tale of Borgesian circularity <i>Shadowing Botticelli's Beauty</i> features an unusual cast drawn from three distinct spheres: C.I.A. operatives running sensitive operations during the Cold War; players from the art world among them a painter-architect based in Buenos Aires and from ages past the Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli; and colorful inhabitants of an elite New England prep school. But throughout this sinuous tale of intrigue there is the constancy of Abel Baaker Charlie: devoted husband; journeyman case officer; apprentice school master; autodidactic painter; and last but not least self-appointed art detective. While weathering the chaos of revolutions personal tragedies identity crises a treacherous colleague and radical career shifts the novel's dauntless protagonist tenaciously stalks a lost masterpiece looted by a Nazi war criminal in the closing days of World War II. Baaker's story which has a basis in fact is told with the assuredness of a veteran insider privy to the clandestine realm of spies the arcane province of art historians and the twisted turf of private boarding schools. While making for a fine read with its rewarding resolution <i>Shadowing Botticelli's Beauty</i> ponders the opposing roles of chance and grand design in the destiny of its memorable characters.