59 pages • 1 hour read
Daniel SilvaA Death in Cornwall
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 4: “The Cottage”
Part 4, Chapter 59 Summary: “London”
Jonathan Lancaster, the former prime minister, becomes the new leader of the Conservative Party and the new prime minister. Stephen Frasier works at the Foreign Office, and Nigel Cunningham becomes the new home secretary. Hillary Edwards becomes the chancellor of the Exchequer. Samantha publishes more extensive articles about Harris Weber and the “London Laundromat” interfering with British politics (384), as well as “the art strategy” for laundering money (385). Lancaster claims that it was Russians who killed Robinson and his men at the manor. These articles inspire protests around the world, and Lancaster promises to make anti-money-laundering reforms. The articles are referred to as the Picasso Papers, and the police investigate Emanuel Cohen’s death. Ian Harris and Konrad Weber are murdered. Hugh Graves is forced to resign from the Commons, and his wife, Lucinda, closes Lambeth Wealth Management. They sell their houses and move to Malta, and Graves authors a political thriller. The Chopper kills another woman.
Part 4, Chapter 60 Summary: “Senen Cove”
Gabriel restores the Gentileschi, Madonna and Child, at a cottage near Senen Cove. His wife and children stay there with him. Lovegrove visits Gabriel one day to check on the restoration and ask about the Picasso Papers scandal. The authorities are searching in the British Virgin Islands for the Picasso painting that Charlotte researched. Sarah finds a buyer for the Gentileschi. On another day, Gabriel runs into Leonard Bradley, Charlotte’s lover. Bradley berates Gabriel for lying about his previous time in Cornwall. He feels responsible for Charlotte’s death because he suggested that she talk to Lucinda. He invites Gabriel to dinner and tells him about a cottage for sale near Gwennap Head. When Gabriel returns to the cottage with his family, his daughter is upset about the Chopper, and Chiara insists that they accept Bradley’s dinner invitation.
Vera Hobbs throws a party for Gabriel at the Lamb and Flag. Various residents joke with Gabriel about his former personality, which was much grumpier than he is now. Gabriel gives a short speech. After the party, Chiara suggests that they buy the cottage near Gwennap Head. Gabriel says that they can’t afford it, but she says they can make it work.
Part 4, Chapter 61 Summary: “Port Navas”
After Gabriel’s restoration is complete, Sarah sells the painting and gives Gabriel a cut of the profits. He sends some of the money to Ingrid and uses the rest to buy the cottage in Cornwall. Chiara insists on some renovations, and Gabriel finds some commissions to pay for them. When they have dinner with Bradley, they hear news about the Chopper killing another woman. Gabriel enjoys sailing his “old wooden ketch” off the coast (399). Timothy joins Gabriel on the boat in Port Navas. They drink, and Timothy says that he wasn’t connected to the killing of Robinson and his men. Gabriel apologizes for getting Timothy involved. Timothy says that Vera told him about Gabriel buying the cottage. Then, Timothy gets a call about the Chopper case.
Part 4, Chapter 62 Summary: “Tresawle Road”
Miles Lennox is the Chopper, and Timothy locates him because he didn’t report his rare coin collection being stolen. Gabriel goes with Timothy to arrest Miles. When Chiara hears the sirens and calls Gabriel, he tells her that the Chopper is no longer a threat to their daughter, Irene.
Part 4 Analysis
In this short final part, journalist Samantha scores a victory against The Destructive Influence of Extreme Wealth, writing a series of articles that discuss “how the secretive law firm had helped some of the world’s wealthiest people conceal their riches and evade taxation by using anonymous shell companies” (385). She is able to put the files that Gabriel and his crew stole to good use. The Picasso that Charlotte researched becomes the name for the Harris Weber scandal: “[T]he press referred to it as the Picasso Papers” (386). In these articles, Samantha sways public opinion, uncovering Hugh Graves’s corrupt manipulation of the government and forcing him to resign, making way for Jonathan Lancaster—a friend of Gabriel’s—to become the new prime minister. Lancaster gives Edwards a different position in the government. This conclusion suggests that despite The Ubiquity of Political Corruption, honesty can still prevail. Graves and Lucinda leave England after the scandal comes to light; their money laundering drives them out of the country.
Gabriel’s skills net him substantial monetary gains: He gets “a slice of [Sarah’s] lucrative dealer’s commission” and uses it to buy another property (398). The cottage in Cornwall costs £1.4 million, and Gabriel works his “fingers to the bone to pay for everything” (397). The novel emphasizes that for Gabriel, obtaining property is directly connected to labor. Though his labor is far better compensated than that of the average person, he nonetheless must earn what he has through skill and hard work. This separates him from the ultra-wealthy, who can make money and buy property without working. Gabriel’s labor also allows him to buy a boat, a symbol of his freedom and independence. He “sail[s] his old wooden ketch in the treacherous waters off the Cornish coast” while in England and loans the boat to Timothy when he is in Venice (399). The ketch symbolizes his hard-earned freedom, while the reference to sailing in “treacherous waters” also symbolizes the struggle and danger involved in solving a case. At the end of the novel, “unfavorable conditions” delay Gabriel returning the boat to Timothy (399). Overcoming the weather and sea symbolizes how he overcomes Robinson nearly killing him and solving the case.
