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The gripping suspense story by the bestselling author of Lady of Hay and Time's Legacy, is set in richly mysterious Egypt, where past and present elide.Recently divorced Anna Fox decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great grandmother Louisa made in the mid-nineteenth century - a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan. Anna carries with her two of Louisa's possessions: an ancient Egyptian scent bottle and an illustrated diary of the original cruise that has lain unread for over a hundred years.As she follows in Louisa's footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary a wonderful Victorian love story - and the chilling secret of the little glass bottle. Meanwhile two men from the tour party develop an unfriendly rivalry for her attention, while showing a disturbing interest in Louisa's mementoes. Most frightening of all, Anna finds herself the victim of a spectral presence that grows in strength and threat as the dramatic stories from three different eras intertwine in a terrifying climax.
A woman’s attempt to find solace in a historical Nile cruise transforms into a harrowing confrontation with a malevolent spectral presence linked to her ancestor’s past. Anna Fox, recently divorced and seeking renewal, retraces the nineteenth-century journey of her great-grandmother, Louisa, armed only with a diary and an ancient scent bottle. As she navigates the modern tour, she finds herself caught between the romanticized history recorded in the diary and the increasingly aggressive intentions of two fellow travelers. The narrative weaves together three distinct timelines, forcing Anna to reconcile the secrets of the past with a present threat that manifests through both human rivalry and supernatural interference.
This work is characterized by its reliance on the classic tropes of gothic suspense, where the setting of the Nile serves as both a physical and temporal bridge. The narrative structure suggests a focus on the interplay between historical discovery and contemporary psychological vulnerability. Readers likely encounter a pacing that prioritizes the slow accumulation of dread over immediate action, typical of the author's established style. The thematic threads of inherited trauma and the persistence of the past indicate a story designed to keep the reader questioning the boundary between historical fact and supernatural influence.
Page Count:
574
Publication Date:
2001-01-01
Publisher:
HarperCollins
ISBN-10:
0006512070
ISBN-13:
9780006512073
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