City of Jasmine. Deanna Raybourn

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      Set against the lush, exotic European colonial outposts of the 1920s, New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn delivers the captivating tale of one woman who embarks upon a journey to see the world—and ends up finding intrigue, danger and a love beyond all reason.

      Famed aviatrix Evangeline Starke never expected to see her husband, adventurer Gabriel Starke, ever again. They had been a golden couple, enjoying a whirlwind courtship amid the backdrop of a glittering social set in prewar London until his sudden death with the sinking of the Lusitania. Five years later, beginning to embrace life again, Evie embarks upon a flight around the world, collecting fame and admirers along the way. In the midst of her triumphant tour, she is shocked to receive a mysterious—and recent—photograph of Gabriel, which brings her ambitious stunt to a screeching halt.

      With her eccentric aunt Dove in tow, Evie tracks the source of the photo to the ancient City of Jasmine, Damascus. There she discovers that nothing is as it seems. Danger lurks at every turn, and at stake is a priceless relic, an artifact once lost to time and so valuable that criminals will stop at nothing to acquire it—even murder. Leaving the jewelled city behind, Evie sets off across the punishing sands of the desert to unearth the truth of Gabriel’s disappearance and retrieve a relic straight from the pages of history.

      Along the way, Evie must come to terms with the deception that parted her from Gabriel and the passion that will change her destiny forever.…

      Praise for Deanna Raybourn

      “With a strong and unique voice, Deanna Raybourn creates unforgettable characters in a richly detailed world. This is storytelling at its most compelling.”

      —Nora Roberts, #1 New York Times bestselling author

      “[A] perfectly executed debut... Deft historical detailing [and] sparkling first-person narration.”

      —Publishers Weekly, on Silent in the Grave, starred review

      “A sassy heroine and a masterful, secretive hero. Fans of romantic mystery could ask no more—except the promised sequel.”

      —Kirkus Reviews on Silent in the Grave

      “A great choice for mystery, historical fiction and/or romance readers.”

      —Library Journal on Silent on the Moor

      “Raybourn...delightfully evokes the language, tension and sweeping grandeur of 19th-century gothic novels.”

      —Publishers Weekly on The Dead Travel Fast

      “Raybourn expertly evokes late-nineteenth-century colonial India in this rollicking good read, distinguished by its delightful lady detective and her colorful family.”

      —Booklist on Dark Road to Darjeeling

      “Beyond the development of Julia’s detailed world, her boisterous family and dashing husband, this book provides a clever mystery and unique perspective on the Victorian era through the eyes of an unconventional lady.”

      —Library Journal on The Dark Enquiry

      City of Jasmine

      Deanna Raybourn

      

www.mirabooks.co.uk

      For Tara Parsons on this first grand adventure.

      Two small figures were beating against the rock; the girl had fainted and lay on the boy’s arm. With a last effort Peter pulled her up the rock and then lay down beside her. Even as he also fainted he saw that the water was rising. He knew that they would soon be drowned, but he could do no more…

      “We are on the rock, Wendy,” he said, “but it is growing smaller. Soon the water will be over it.”

      She did not understand even now.

      “We must go,” she said, almost brightly.

      “Yes,” he answered faintly.

      “Shall we swim or fly, Peter?”

      —Peter and Wendy, J.M. Barrie

      Contents

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Chapter Seventeen

       Acknowledgments

       Reader’s Guide

       Questions for Discussion

      One

      The desert is a lonely place to begin with. And there’s nothing lonelier than being with someone you loved who stopped loving you first. It ended in the desert, the fabled rocky reaches of the Badiyat ash-Sham, with a man I had already buried once. But it began in Rome, as all adventures should, and it started with a scolding.

      “Aunt СКАЧАТЬ