I would recommend Don't Point That Thing At Me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyril_Bonfiglioli
"The dealer in question, Charlie Mortdecai, is also an occasional art thief, and at the opening of the novel there is an old gilt frame burning in the fireplace of his Mayfair penthouse, a Goya stolen from the Prado possibly hidden under his valuable Savonnerie rug, and, standing more or less on the rug, a hated antagonist from a special branch of the police:"-
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/200...20crat_atlarge