Love, War, Art and Mystery in the South of France
A present-day art mystery and WW2 thriller of betrayal, terror and redemption.
For readers of Kate Morton, Kristin Harmel, Denvin Murphy and Jillian Cantor
French village Villemont has a secret. Divorced, unemployed and drunk, Sydneysider Mark buys a house sight unseen in its ancient centre, hoping to find meaning and even love again. Once in France, he takes bric-a-brac from the attic to the village market where he sells it all cheaply. Unbeknownst to him, amongst it are seven filth-encrusted priceless treasures once destined for Hermann Goering.
Newfound love, Monique helps Mark restore one small unsold painting. When they begin to suspect it is a 16th-century Dutch master, they go in search of its provenance and are horrified by what they find.
Interspersed, Seven Treasures tells the 1941 story of Josef, an anti-fascist art student drafted against his will into Goering's art-looting unit in Paris. Forced to participate in violent raids, he eventually goes rogue when he helps a young Jewish woman escape with her family's most cherished painting. This sets in play a series of events that, eighty years later, will release Mark's adopted French village from its guilt-ridden past and deliver it to redemption.
"An emotionally compelling story of courage, cowardice, and the long tail of history" Indie Reader
"Thrilling and empathetic, inspiring and heart-breaking" Lauren Finger. Senior Editor Allen & Unwin
