Aspiring archeologist Laetitia Talbot fights the rejection
by academia that she does not belong because of her sex.
She refuses to conform and uses blackmail when necessary to
get her assignments to digs. When Daniel, her godfather, is
murdered in France, she forces a previous professor to
write a letter of recommendation that allows her to join an
excavation in the town where the murder occurred. Laetitia
has precious few clues into what Daniel was working on. His
host was an aristocratic and powerful French family who
reveals little information. Laetitia cannot resolve if they
are involved or innocent.
When a murder occurs at the dig, Laetitia finds a Roman
gold coin in the victim's hand. It sends her on a path into
Celtic history and folklore. She discovers the towns'
coexistence with fact and fable and their inability to
separate them. Laetitia's predicament becomes more
convoluted when she uncovers facts that could put modern
Christianity in turmoil. At a crossroad, Laetitia is told
she has few options, acceptance or death.
In this prequel to TOMB OF ZEUS, Ms. Cleverly joins other
authors with her interpretation of the Mary Magdalene
conspiracy and meshes it with the aftermath of World War I.
The research is impeccable, especially the tormented
characters who suffered emotional and spiritual loss during
the devastation on the battlefields.
In Burgundy, France, in 1926, a famed archaeologist
dies a terrible death in a country not his own.…
Thus begins CWA Historical Dagger Award winner Barbara
Cleverly’s dazzling new mystery novel. And soon aspiring
archaeologist Laetitia Talbot will find herself embroiled
in a murderous conspiracy centuries in the making.
Letty’s joy at snaring a place in the excavation
of an ancient church in Burgundy is dimmed by the tragedy
of her godfather Daniel’s violent death. But when Letty
receives a posthumous encoded message, she begins to
believe that Daniel’s death was not a random act. Her
investigation into Daniel’s murder sends her on a journey
into a country’s remote history…into the orbit of a
privileged French family harboring its own damning secret…
into ancient Celtic mysteries and one sacred truth kept
through the ages. It is an explosive revelation that could
rock modern Christianity—and force a killer out of the
shadows as a country devastated by one war lays the
groundwork for another.…