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

About the Author
Lee Kelly is the author of CITY OF SAVAGES, a Publishers Weekly "Best of Spring 2015" pick and a VOYA Magazine "Perfect Ten" selection, A CRIMINAL MAGIC, which was optioned and developed for a television series by Warner Bros., THE ANTIQUITY AFFAIR, co-written with Jennifer Thorne (forthcoming from Harper Muse in summer 2023), and WITH REGRETS (forthcoming from Alcove Press in fall 2023). Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Gingerbread House, Orca, and Tor.com, among other publications, and she holds her MFA degree from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. An entertainment lawyer by trade, Lee has practiced law in Los Angeles and New York. She currently lives with her husband and two children in New Jersey, where you'll find them engaged in one adventure or another. Jennifer Thorne is an American author of books for adults and young readers who writes from a nineteenth-century Cotswold cottage in the medieval market town of Minchinhampton alongside her husband, two sons, and various other animals. Born in a small town in Tennessee, Jenn grew up bouncing between her parents' homes in various other states and countries, with books as her constant companions, before returning to New York as a teen to study drama at NYU. Though acting had been her lifelong dream, she found that she was more fulfilled by writing performance vehicles for her friends than acting in them herself. After a move to Los Angeles, she detoured into writing and never looked back.

Reviews
Authors Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne have written a rollicking tale replete with adventure, romance, mystery, and a sprinkle of the supernatural. The Antiquity Affair has been likened to Indiana Jones, and it's an apt comparison, as both are rousing adventure stories complete with ancient mysteries, hidden tombs, harrowing mantraps and pitfalls, villains bent on world domination, and fabled relics of power . . . The authors neatly subvert the trope of swashbuckling men and their archeological treasure. A fast-paced and entertaining read that I hope is not the last from Kelly and Thorne. * Historical Novel Society *



Book Information
ISBN 9781400240630
Author Lee Kelly
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Harper Muse
Publisher HarperCollins Focus
Weight(grams) 321g
Dimensions(mm) 212mm * 138mm * 23mm