Iain Pears. The Raphael Affair. 1992.

Flavia di Stefano of the Italian art police first meets Jonathan Argyll, an art student, when he is arrested for breaking into a church. He insists he was checking if a painting had been stolen because he was convinced there is a Raphael painting hidden beneath it. The Raphael painting does surface and appears to be authentic, is bought by an Italian museum for a huge sum of money, and then torched by a vandal. Flavia and Jonathan hope to find out who and why.

Arturo Perez-Reverte. The Club Dumas. 1996.

Lucas Corso has a job procuring rare books for collectors, by whatever means necessary. After the apparent suicide of one book collector, his original handwritten chapter of "The Three Musketeers" is meant to go on the market, but some people want very strongly to keep it for themselves. At the same time, another collector asks him to find the two other existing copies of "The Nine Doors to the Kingdom of Shadow", a book that can supposedly tell someone how to summon the devil. Corso travels through several European cities to try to get the books, with danger following close behind.

Daniel Silva. The Confessor. 2003.

Professor Benjamin Stern is murdered in Munich and his friend, Gabriel Allon, is sent by the Israeli intelligence agency to find Stern's killer. What was Stern working on that caused his death? Allon's investigations lead to a secret society within the Vatican, called Crux Vera, and to documents that might reveal the Church's true role during the Holocaust. Not only must Allon find Stern's killer, but he must also protect the new Pope, who wants to reveal the damning documents to the world in spite of Crux Vera's determination that they remain forever secret. Allon's mission becomes extraordinarily dangerous when the assassin he seeks learns of his intentions and his identity. This will appeal to readers who like thoughtful but compelling suspense. Da Vinci Code fans should like the European locales, the brave characters who risk their lives for the truth, and the comeuppance of the conspiratorial Crux Vera. This is the third in a series featuring Gabriel Allon, but it can be read as a standalone.