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Spitting Gold

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Spitting Gold

By: Carmella Lowkis
Narrated by: Katherine Press
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

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...?

Spitting Gold is a darkly atmospheric and propulsive historical debut that twists and turns, blending gothic mystery with a captivating sapphic romance

'A compelling and atmospheric story of sisterhood and female agency, SPITTING GOLD is an evocative gothic tale where nothing is quite what it seems.' - Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of PANDORA

©2024 Carmella Lowkis (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 Genre Fiction Gothic Historical Historical Fiction Horror Literature & Fiction French Revolution

Critic Reviews

A tale of two sisters filled with spooky spirits, queer love, and high suspense
Set in nineteenth-century Paris, with the violence of the revolution in living memory, this is a wonderfully vivid and compelling gothic book. It is a real page turner, plunging you into the atmosphere of the time, and throwing up confusion as to who is deceiving who, after two sisters decide to go in for one last money-making hoax. Séances, sisterhood and dark secrets abound . . .
A compelling and atmospheric story of sisterhood and female agency, Spitting Gold is an evocative gothic tale where nothing is quite what it seems.
A clever, atmospheric and sparkling Gothic debut with compelling characters and brilliant prose. Reminded me of Sarah Waters.
Set in rain soaked 19th century Paris, Spitting Gold is tale of two sisters and a perfectly paced gothic heist. This world of spiritualist hucksters and scheming aristocrats is brilliantly evoked, and it's a story told with real heart.
Carmella Lowkis's confident debut twirls the reader into high society (and low) in a 19th century Paris deliciously recognisable in its modernity. Boasting a twisty plot, seances, sly humour, ghosts, a long con, and lesbians, the heart of the book is the affecting and frustrating relationship between two sisters. I devoured it.
Twisty, compelling and oh-so-cleverly written, this tale of creepy séances, aristocrats and sisterhood has the same dark glamour as the 19th century Paris it evokes.
In this engrossing story about whether or not vengeful spirits exist – and whether mediums can control them or not – Lowkis cleverly keeps a lot of ambiguity and space for doubt even in first-person. We are kept guessing at who is being deceived and who is deceiving in this brilliantly twisty mystery.
A magnificent debut ... 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.
This atmospheric tale has twists, schemes, and surprises that will keep the reader guessing until the last page
All stars
Most relevant
Solid story. Binge worthy. Very well written. Great narration. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Loved this book.

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