Spitting Gold
An irresistible gothic novel about sisterhood, seances and sapphic love
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
'Wonderfully vivid and compelling ... A real page turner' Elodie Harper, author of The Temple of Fortuna
'An evocative gothic tale where nothing is quite what it seems' Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora
'A sparkling gothic debut ... reminded me of Sarah Waters' Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl
** SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA DEBUT CROWN **
GOOD SISTER. BAD SISTER. ONE LAST CON.
Paris, 1866. When Baroness Sylvie Devereux receives a house-call from Charlotte Mothe, the sister she disowned, she fears her shady past as a spirit medium has caught up with her. But with their father ill and Charlotte unable to pay his bills, Sylvie is persuaded into one last con.
Their marks are the de Jacquinots: dysfunctional aristocrats who believe they are haunted by their great aunt, brutally murdered during the French Revolution.
Sylvie and Charlotte will need to deploy every trick to terrify the family out of their gold – until they experience inexplicable horrors themselves.
The sisters start to question if they really are at the mercy of a vengeful spirit. And what other deep, dark secrets threaten to come to light...?
Through twists and turns, Spitting Gold blends propulsive historical mystery with a captivating sapphic romance.
'A tale of two sisters filled with spooky spirits, queer love, and high suspense' Heat
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Lowkis's magnificent debut, a spooky scam hatched by a pair of spiritist sisters in 1866 Paris causes them to reexamine their beliefs. As young girls, sisters Charlotte and Sylvie helped to support their family by staging séances for the gullible and bereaved. Sylvie, now in her mid-20s, is the reputable wife of a baron when Charlotte, six years her junior, cajoles her into fulfilling a request from the noble de Jacquinot family to make contact with an ancestor killed during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. The de Jacquinots' frail and sheltered daughter, Florence, is the only one in the family who claims to have seen the ghost, which the others are intent on contacting in hopes it will lead them to a family treasure. As the sisters become involved, they're surprised to witness actual evidence of paranormal activity. Lowkis skillfully orchestrates the contentious relationship between Sylvie and Charlotte, each of whom resort to subterfuges and schemes, and pulls off a series of surprising twists that completely change the shape of the story. It's an auspicious first outing from a writer to watch.
