book details

Book: A Rarer Gift Than Gold (The Gold Gift Series Book 1) by Lucy Branch

categories: Book, Conspiracy Theory, Magical Realism, Secret Societies, Alchemy, Art Thriller, International Mystery, Italy, Venice, Mystery Thriller

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Lucy Branch

about this book: Abigail Argent understands the way of metals. She's a specialist in the craft of colouring sculptures and her skills are much in demand. Securing a job in Venice, enables her to explore a theory that her own trade has links with the ancient art of alchemy. Unwittingly, she falls upon a dark secret of why people like her have been disappearing for hundreds of years. Terrifying and thrilling, A Rarer Gift Than Gold will share a conspiracy theory that walks the line between science and myth.

One of the benefits of A Rarer Gift Than Gold that my reader's have often commented upon is that it is about an aspect of the art & craft world that most people know nothing about and are fascinated by.

The inspiration behind the book comes from my other work - I'm a restorer of public sculpture and historic objects and one of the questions I often ask myself when restoring them is 'what is missing from this object. What can I not see?' and 'why might evidence have been lost?' It has made me very interested in what's absent from history and why. This story is about how history can be manipulated by the removal of physical evidence for personal gain.

Readers who will like my book will enjoy Dan Brown, Kate Mosse, Joanna Harris and Scott Mariani

This was my first novel and I wrote it in a year and then left it unpublished for about a decade. Life got in the way.

All aspects of the cover are significant. The Italian cityscape, the key and the girl's journey are all key themes in the novel.

The title is taken from a line in a war poem by Rupert Brooke and, I think, is a great fit for the story.

To my readers I would say - please make contact with me on Twitter - it's my preferred place to hangout.