The Flanders Panel

by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Julia is an art restorer, and she has before her a fifteenth-century Flemish painting of two noblemen playing chess. X-rays of the painting reveal a curious inscription: "Who killed the knight?" Julia shares this secret with three of her close friends, and shortly thereafter one is dead. Julia then begins receiving notes about the murderer's next move with clues taken from the game depicted in the painting. 1990.