The Coral Thief - Rebecca Stott

A powerful and gripping historical thriller for fans of The Essex Serpernt and The Miniaturist. ''Original and evocative ... a mesmerising thriller'' Daily Telegraph''Full of twists and turns'' Scotsman''An enthralling exploration of revolutionary science in post-revolutionary France'' Guardian''A book of penetrating humanity and a vivid evocation of Paris'' Financial Times Paris, 1815. Daniel Connor, a young medical student from Edinburgh, has just arrived in Paris to study anatomy at the Jardin des Plantes - only to realise that his letters of introduction and a gift of precious coral specimens, on which his tenure depends, have been stolen by the beautiful woman with whom he shared a stagecoach.In the fervour and tumult of post revolutionary Paris, nothing is quite as it seems. In trying to recover his lost valuables, Daniel discovers that his beautiful adversary is in fact a philosopher-thief who lives in a shadowy world of outlaws and émigrés. As Daniel embark on a passionate love affair with the Coral Thief, he is drawn to join her salon of thieves to execute one last breathtakingly bold robbery...