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Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis

Historical fiction

Spitting Gold

Debut

We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Carmella Lowkis, on your first book!

by Carmella Lowkis

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Quick take

Vengeful spirits, spunky frauds, and all manner of queer affairs lurk in the shadows of this gothic Parisian fable.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Multiple_Viewpoints

    Multiple viewpoints

  • Illustrated icon, LGBTQ_themes

    LGBTQ+ themes

  • Illustrated icon, International

    International

  • Illustrated icon, Siblings

    Siblings

Synopsis

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.

The scheme underway, the sisters deploy every trick to terrify the family out of their gold. But when inexplicable horrors start to happen to them too, the duo question whether they really are at the mercy of a vengeful spirit. And what other deep, dark secrets may come to light?

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of Spitting Gold.

Spitting Gold

PROLOGUE

July 15, 1866

I am working on a pair of gloves. They are for a man. I wonder who he will be, if he will know where his gloves began their life.

Really, I do not need to do this: we mere accused are not obliged to do any work. Most of us choose to, even so. The sewing is something familiar to cling to in this place. From aristocrats to slum dwellers, we women are all united by our ability to wield a needle and thread. There are no distinctions in Saint-Lazare: all the accused are housed together in the common dormitory. Regardless of crime or class, we all rise together at five a.m., we pray together, we eat the same broth—which includes meat only on a Sunday—and we exercise in the same yard. There are prostitutes, drunks, thieves, vandals, swindlers—some of them children no more than twelve—and murderesses, like me. Word gets around quickly about us, and we are left to ourselves, so I am not bothered by any of the petty infighting I sometimes see among the others awaiting sentence.

This is a kind of purgatory, for none stays here long. We all wait to hear where we will be sent next. If we are lucky, it may be hard labor in the provinces; if we are unlucky, the Grande Roquette, and the guillotine that resides there. But I do not need to rely on luck.

I am going to walk free.

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Why I love it

Let’s set the scene. You’re in Paris. It’s 1866 and your estranged sister has come to you asking for your help…one last con and then she’s out of your life forever. Would you say yes? This one question sets the stage for a captivating story about two sisters who are in the business of conning people and have trouble following each choice they make. It’s easy to get swept up in Spitting Gold, a world rife with deceptions and secrets around every corner.

Baroness Sylvie Devereux has put her sister and her past as a spirit medium—where she and her sister would swindle clients out of money—behind her. So, when Charlotte asks for help on one last job, her immediate answer is no. But after some cajoling, Sylvie finally agrees: one last job and then she can go back to her new life. Upon meeting her clients, Sylvie learns that they believe they’re being haunted by their great aunt who was brutally murdered. As the sisters get to work trying to convince their clients that their home is haunted, strange things begin happening. Soon enough the sisters start to question if there really is a vengeful spirit in the house.

Spitting Gold is the perfect gothic mystery for anyone looking to find an immersive historical read with a few surprises along the way. Make sure to add this one to your box and enjoy the journey.

Member ratings (1,197)

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Historical fiction
View all
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
The Women
The Lion Women of Tehran
Husbands & Lovers
Shelterwood
A Thousand Times Before
All We Were Promised
Spitting Gold
The Seventh Veil of Salome
The Mayor of Maxwell Street
The Great Divide
The Storm We Made
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard
Lessons in Chemistry
The Frozen River
What We Kept to Ourselves
Take My Hand
The Last Russian Doll
The First Ladies
The House Is On Fire
River Sing Me Home
The Attic Child
Malibu Rising
The Book of Longings
Hester
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
The Nightingale
Daisy Jones & The Six
The Lincoln Highway
The Secret Book of Flora Lea
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
The Circus Train
Peach Blossom Spring
Hang the Moon
Booth
The Good Left Undone
The Perishing
The Family
Things We Lost to the Water
The Spectacular
Still Life
Send for Me
The Magnolia Palace
The Bookbinder
China Room
This Tender Land
Atomic Love
All the Light We Cannot See
The Vanishing Half
Outlawed
The Four Winds
Independence
The Fountains of Silence
Libertie
Queen of Thieves
The Great Believers
The Clockmaker's Daughter
A Gentleman in Moscow
The Great Alone
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The Heart’s Invisible Furies
Rules of Civility
Circling the Sun
The Moor's Account
Jacqueline in Paris
Don't Cry for Me
The Christie Affair
Bloomsbury Girls
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle
Bronze Drum