Title: The man who stole the Mona Lisa
First published: 1998
Description: The Marquis de Valfierno spent his life preparing to become the man who stole the Mona Lisa.

We are introduced to him in Buenos Aires, where the criminal mastermind with exquisite taste in art and women has built a highly profitable business selling fake religious masterpieces to grieving widows. A botched love affair forces him to head for Mexico City, where he discovers new ventures and greater profits for his art. In Mexico, he begins to assemble the team that will move with him to Paris.

He enlists such talents as those of Yves Chaudron, a master painter without a touch of creative instinct; young Miguel, a crippled street urchin; and Mme. Renard, a savvy woman of many faces. Valfierno will move his team to the scene of the crime, Paris. There he is tempted by nothing more than the imminent theft of the world's most celebrated painting. He could not have anticipated that this theft would be but the beginning.
Subjects: Fiction, Art thefts, Musée du Louvre, New York Times reviewed, Fiction, mystery & detective, general, France, fiction, Paris (france), fiction, De valifierno, marquis (fictitious character), fiction, Fiction, historical, general, History
Places: Paris (France)
People: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
LC classification: PS3564.O23 M36 1998