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An archaeologist’s estranged daughters. 1907: The dawn of Egyptology is a time of imperialism and plunder, opulence and unrest, and Dr. Warren Ford, esteemed archaeologist, is the man of the hour. His daughters—intellectual Lila, on the eve of her debut as a Manhattan socialite, and nonconformist Tess, who dreams of following in his footsteps—have always lived in his shadow, and their lives couldn’t feel more different. But when a secretive organization seeks to find a lost relic legendary for its dangerous power, it isn’t Dr. Ford they turn to—it’s his two remarkable daughters. A legendary artifact known as the Serpent’s Crown. Rumored to reside in the mysterious Tomb of the Five Ladies, the Serpent’s Crown will only be found by solving a seemingly impossible riddle that will open the tomb—and the organization believes that one of the Ford daughters holds the key to deciphering the code. What was supposed to be an elegant debutante ball for elder sister Lila quickly turns sinister when Tess is kidnapped and put on a ship across the Atlantic. When Lila and her father realize that Tess’s life is in danger, they must act quickly to track her down and stop the Serpent’s Crown from falling into the wrong hands. A puzzle three millennia in the making. A race for the Crown begins, with Lila and her father in hot pursuit of the organization and Tess. With lives at stake, the fractured family must keep their wits about them, find the artifact, and escape the ruthless men who are also determined to possess the Crown and use it to their own advantage—no matter the cost. In this women-centered nod to the beloved Indiana Jones stories, The Antiquity Affair is a high-stakes, trans-Atlantic thrill ride, with the page-turning excitement and romance of classic adventure novels and a poignant story of sisterhood at its core. An exciting turn-of-the-century adventure Stand-alone novel Book length: 100,000 words Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn, Laurie King, Clive Cussler, and Indiana Jones Includes discussion questions for book clubs
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received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I found myself getting swept up in the action and excitement of the story. The writing itself was descriptive and allowed me to picture almost all elements of the story, from the characters, their environments, right down to objects. I really enjoyed the plot and the thrilling nature of solving the riddles. The characterisation was great and we got to see really diverse qualities in Tess and Lila and the sisterly dynamic between the two was written really well. I think addressing the issues surrounding early archeology is really important, I’ve read other historical fiction books about archaeological discoveries that have made me very uncomfortable because the author hasn’t in some way attempted to address how these discoveries (while fabulous for our knowledge of the past) profited on colonialism and imperialism and were at the expense of the people who actually lived in those countries. In particular, I found the quote “I find them wretchedly distasteful. Not the objects themselves but our possession of them. These are pilfered things, spoils of bald theft, snatched from peoples in no position to argue because they’re dead or too poor or downtrodden or ensnared in political nets not of their own making to fight for what’s rightfully theirs” poignant in expressing this sentiment. I look forward to reading about the Fearless Fords again.
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