LEADER 00000cam a2200349Ii 4500 
001    on1384414493 
003    OCoLC 
005    20240112012049.0 
008    230622s2024    nyu    e      000 1 eng d 
020    1668020882|q(hardcover) 
020    9781668020883|q(hardcover) 
035    (OCoLC)1384414493 
040    YDX|beng|erda|cYDX|dBDX|dTRC|dY$5|dVRP|dOCLCO|dLJW|dFM0
       |dSPP|dOCLCO|dRNL|dGPI 
049    GPIA 
100 1  Miller, Derek B.,|d1970-|eauthor. 
245 14 The curse of Pietro Houdini :|ba novel /|cDerek B. Miller 
250    First Avid Reader Press hardcover edition. 
264  1 New York :|bAvid Reader Press,|c2024. 
300    xiii, 360 pages ;|c24 cm. 
336    text|btxt|2rdacontent 
337    unmediated|bn|2rdamedia 
338    volume|bnc|2rdacarrier 
520    "August, 1943. Fourteen-year-old Massimo is all alone. 
       Newly orphaned and fleeing from Rome after surviving the 
       American bombing raid that killed his parents, Massimo is 
       attacked by thugs and finds himself bloodied at the base 
       of the Montecassino. It is there in the Benedictine 
       abbey's shadow that a charismatic and cryptic man calling 
       himself Pietro Houdini, the self-proclaimed 'Master Artist
       and confidante of the Vatican,' rescues Massimo and brings
       him up the mountain to serve as his assistant in 
       preserving the treasures that lay within the monastery 
       walls. But can Massimo believe what Pietro is saying, 
       particularly when Massimo has secrets too? Who is this 
       extraordinary man? When it becomes evident that 
       Montecassino will soon become the front line in the war, 
       Pietro Houdini and Massimo execute a plan to smuggle three
       priceless Titian paintings to safety down the mountain. 
       They are joined by a nurse concealing a nefarious past, a 
       caf ̌owner turned murderer, a wounded but chipper German 
       soldier, and a pair of lovers along with their injured 
       mule, Ferrari. Together they will lie, cheat, steal, fight,
       kill, and sin their way through battlefields to survive, 
       all while smuggling the Renaissance masterpieces and the 
       bag full of ancient Greek gold they have rescued from the 
       'safe keeping' of the Germans"--|cProvided by publisher. 
650  0 Orphans|zItaly|vFiction. 
650  0 World War, 1939-1945|vFiction. 
650  0 Smugglers|vFiction. 
650  0 Art|vFiction. 
651  0 Italy|vFiction. 
655  7 Historical fiction.|2lcgft 
994    C0|bGPI