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by Jane Thornley (Author)
The Agency of the Ancient Lost & Found: Three great mystery thrillers in one volume.
Book One: The Carpet Cipher: Can a painting hold a secret safe in plain sight across seven centuries? The murder of the last member of an old Venetian family peels back the rug on a shocking truth that draws art historian and textile expert Phoebe McCabe into the fray. What she sees in the missing symbology will shake the foundations of religious and cultural assumptions across two continents and point the way to a priceless hoard. It's a secret potent enough to pitch rival factions against the Agency of te Ancient Lost & Found while destroying history as collateral damage along the way.Book 2: The Crown that Lost it's Head
She was a painting by Titian; she was queen of the Holy Roman Empire, and 500 years ago an audacious sisterhood buried a secret in her name. Lisbon 2020: a pair of forensic archaeologists discover a strange skull buried with the original occupant inside a fifteenth-century tomb. That same night, one archaeologist is murdered and the skull stolen, leaving the surviving archaeologist to dispatch a plea for help. Enter Phoebe McCabe and the Agency of the Ancient Lost and Found, now assigned to help a headless client become reunited with his skull.
But the unfolding truth is more baffling than anyone could have imagined. The missing skull may hold the key to centuries of European intrigue, religious fanaticism, and political upheaval. As Phoebe digs, layers of royal plots emerge, along with tales of persecution and an underground resurgence of a brotherhood so virulent that it threatens the world to this very day. Yet, even in the fifteenth century, the sect had its enemies, and Phoebe needs to find the clues those long-dead allies left behind. For that, she must look in surprising places.
As she races to locate the skull she calls on instinct, intuition, art, and the help of an ancient sisterhood. Somewhere in the past lies the key to save the future and it will take every resource Phoebe possesses to pull the pieces together in time.
Book 3: The Florentine's Secret
Florence, Italy 1996: a young archaeologist follows a hunch that compels her to knock down a wall and retrieve a hidden sketch by the reknown Renaissance master Botticelli. But before she can alert the authorities and claim the find, the sketch is stolen leaving her standing in the rubble of a ruined life.
Three decades later, the drive for retribution brings this woman to Phoebe McCabe's door. The sketch may have been a study for a secret portrait, she claims, and she has enough clues to point the way to its location.
When the Agency of the Ancient Lost & Found joins the hunt to track down what may become the art find of the century, little do they know that they will be dragged into the crosshairs of a ruthless arms cartel as well as plunged deep into a centuries-old mystery involving key players of Renaissance Florence. In the end, Phoebe must grapple with remnants of her own past that not only come back to haunt her but chase at her heels with murderous intent. Either trump those monsters at their own game or perish.
The wondrous city of Florence, past and present, combined with the sweeping vistas of Tuscany wrap the reader in visions of art, rich textiles, and political intrigue while revealing the triumph of the human spirit that thrives across the centuries.
Welcome to the Agency of the Ancient Lost & Found. Your reading life just became even richer.
