Art world cops and robbers

The world of art crime is populated by both cops and robbers who don't conform to everyday norms. As a result, Stealing the Scream makes for a thrilling read as you venture into a world that few ever enter, an underworld populated by characters who defy normal description.

Structured around the central story of Edvard Munch's The Scream, stolen from the Norwegian National Gallery in 1994, Edward Dolnick focuses on the Scotland Yard undercover operation to retrieve the painting.

The central character is Charlie Hill, a charismatic, brilliant policeman but, at times, a "self-inflicted disaster." Around this story, Dolnick gives an informative and entertaining history lesson on art crime.

Where this book fails to deliver is in its over-reliance on interviews with the main policemen. You can only take so much description of Hill, interesting though he is, before you want to scream with anguish and hope that Dolnick will move onto some more juicy information on art crime. Thankfully, Dolnick does and, in the end, saves this book.

CLARE HILTON