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Check for Availabilityout of stock. Click on the button below to search for this title in other formats. This title in other editionsEverything Under the Sky
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:
After receiving word of her husband's death, Spanish painter Elvira De Poulain travels to Shanghai to claim his body and put his affairs in order. Prim and straitlaced, Elvira feels out of place in this exotic city teeming with unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells. She longs to return home to Paris as soon as possible. Her charming but dissolute spouse has left her with massive debts, thanks to his fondness for gambling, prostitutes, and opium, and she has no idea how she will repay the enormous sum. As it turns out, her ailing husband did own something of extraordinary value, and was mysteriously killed by thugs who wanted it for themselves: a beautifully crafted box that holds clues to the location of the remains of China's First Emperor—and the unimaginable riches buried alongside him. Joining forces with a colorful Irish journalist, a wily local antiquarian, and a brilliant orphaned servant boy, Elvira is swept up into the journey of a lifetime as these mismatched partners embark on an arduous trek to find the sacred site—with assassins in relentless pursuit. Despite the ever-present risk, Elvira gradually acclimates to China's language, culture, and geography, while the grueling physical challenges and complex intellectual puzzles required to locate the tomb test her strength, her courage, and her smarts in every possible way. One of the most successful historical thriller writers of her generation, Matilde Asensi outdoes herself while focusing on a country and culture that, to this day, remain shrouded in mystery. Review:"Straitlaced Spanish painter Elvira De Poulain confronts massive debt — and mortal danger — in freewheeling 1920s Shanghai in her efforts to sort out her murdered husband's messy affairs in this fast-paced if farfetched thriller from Asensi (The Last Cato). The only hope for Elvira and her sulky teenage niece, Fernanda, is to decipher the clues in an antique chest the killers failed to find, and to beat them to the mythic lost treasure buried 2,000 years earlier with China's first emperor. The desperate quest takes these improbable Indiana Janes on a cross-country race that showcases both the Spanish author's meticulous historical research and her skill at interweaving it into her suspenseful narrative. While the ladies' traveling companions, including an aristocratic Chinese antiquarian and a genius servant boy, lend interest, some readers may find the two protagonists, despite the personal growth gained as they rise to various challenges, less than fully engaging." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Synopsis:From the internationally bestselling author of "The Last Cato" comes a thrilling tale of danger and adventure that takes readers on a treasure hunt through 1920s China.
About the AuthorThe author of many internationally bestselling historical thrillers, Matilde Asensi studied journalism at the University of Barcelona and worked for Spanish National Radio before embarking on her writing career. She is a native of Spain, where she still lives. Matilde Asensi, periodista y escritora española, hapublicado varios libros bestsellers, incluyendo su primera novela, El salón de ámbar, que ha sido traducida a varios idiomas, Iacobus que la situó en los primeros puestos de las listas bestsellers y El último catón que la confirmó como la autora de su generación de mayor éxito de crítica y público. Actualmente reside en Alicante, España. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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