Overview

This book can be read as a standalone novel. France, 1788. The winds of change are blowing, and all can feel the air upon their skin. This is the time of the Heirlooms, the age where the two mysteries, the Cross and the Song, are created.The priceless necklace, the Cross of Nantes, lost to the Traversier family in 1759, has reappeared in their ancestral home - on the neck of the girl hit by Xavier's carriage. Her name is Estelle Guerrier. Legally white, from Saint-Domingue, she will affect all those in her wake, awakening passion, envy, and violence. Her brother Guillaume - a handsome, profligate rake - having lit Grenoble on fire, walks to Paris and enters the world of Boulevard theater... and Sans-Culotte revolution, a man seemingly doomed to stand in the fire of chaos. 1832 - Haiti, a tension-filled stew of French and African culture, voodoo, Creole, disease, poverty, beauty and tyranny. Decades later, the time of the detectives searching for the two mysterious Crimson Heirlooms. Jake Loring, legally blackmailed to search for the Heirlooms by the mysterious Monsieur Tyran, finds himself in a nation recovering from war and genocide, tasked with finding clues regarding the priceless artifact named The Cross of Nantes. As Jake plots to fake his death and return home to Boston, he discovers the nature of the forces arrayed against him... and new clues of the Cross, which strike too close to home. As Jake searches for meaning decades past the events of the Heirlooms, and the characters he pursues move through their lives, the two timelines become a triangle - impossibly coming together to form meaning and shape, as if time had no power to separate them. Indeed, Jake's search is revealed as part of the ancient mystery.

Full Product Details

9780999493656

Table of Contents

Reviews

--- Kirkus --- Dennis... is a talented storyteller and a sedulous student of history... The author writes well: graceful, witty, imagistic... Fans of epic sagas should be happy to lose themselves in this lavish book. --- Online Book Club, 4/4 Stars --- Dennis has proved himself to be a master storyteller... each character has his or her own voice and an aura completely unique to themselves... Dennis is a master at transporting readers back in time and making them feel as if they are actually in that time period, watching the events around them take place. --- Reader's Favorite, 5/5 Stars --- It's thoughtful, packed with information, with many philosophical conversations between the characters on the life and times of 18th century France. The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter are a delightful addition. Kirkus Full Review In this sequel, treasure hunters chase a MacGuffin for the ages: the Crimson Heirlooms. This story about the heirlooms--the fabulous Cross of Nantes and the words of the devil's song at the carnage in the Vend e Militaire--toggles mostly between France and Hispaniola in the Caribbean from the late 1780s to the 1830s. The Guerrier twins, Estelle and Guillaume (aka Beau-Brave), are originally from Saint-Domingue on Hispaniola but now live in France. Beau-Brave is a charismatic figure determined to be a political playwright, advancing the Rousseau-ian ideals of the Enlightenment. Estelle has wound up in Nantes as a paid companion. She is almost too good for this world. She will fall in love with Xavier Traversier, the heir to his rich family's mercantile operation in Nantes; be spurned; and--well, it is just too tragic. She wears the Cross of Nantes around her lovely neck, the mystical object that will disappear. The searcher who finds the heirlooms will legally inherit the Traversier family's valuable holdings. Meanwhile, Jacob Jake Loring, an American student in France, battle-tested at the barricades, has been dragooned by his nemesis, Monsieur Tyran, into looking for the heirlooms in exchange for his life. Eventually, Estelle makes a fateful decision concerning the cross and her brother. Beau-Brave will surely play an important role in the French Revolution. Meanwhile--about 40 years hence--Jake runs into trouble in a supposedly safe haven. Dennis (The Crimson Heirlooms, 2018) is a talented storyteller and a sedulous student of history. The novel ranges from dramatic action to historical and philosophical exposition to a study of the often politically subversive theater of the time, with excursions into the life of nightsoilers and the deadly combination of mobs and rumors. The author writes well: graceful, witty, imagistic. Here he discusses an associate of Xavier's named Rag: Today, he sat slumped in his chair, his eyes downcast, his mien pensive. Rag's historical extroversion was so pronounced, his present demeanor was akin to his skull being inside out. This engrossing installment comes with stark, grainy black-and-white photographs, mostly interior or exterior shots by Dennis of locales mentioned in the text. In addition, there's a helpful list of main characters and a pronunciation appendix that offers much witty, snarky commentary. Fans of epic sagas should be happy to lose themselves in this lavish book--and there's another volume to come.

"--- Kirkus --- ""Dennis... is a talented storyteller and a sedulous student of history... The author writes well: graceful, witty, imagistic... Fans of epic sagas should be happy to lose themselves in this lavish book."" --- Online Book Club, 4/4 Stars --- ""Dennis has proved himself to be a master storyteller... each character has his or her own voice and an aura completely unique to themselves... Dennis is a master at transporting readers back in time and making them feel as if they are actually in that time period, watching the events around them take place."" --- Reader's Favorite, 5/5 Stars --- ""It's thoughtful, packed with information, with many philosophical conversations between the characters on the life and times of 18th century France. The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter are a delightful addition."" Kirkus Full Review In this sequel, treasure hunters chase a MacGuffin for the ages: the Crimson Heirlooms. This story about the heirlooms--the fabulous Cross of Nantes and ""the words of the devil's song"" at the carnage in the Vendée Militaire--toggles mostly between France and Hispaniola in the Caribbean from the late 1780s to the 1830s. The Guerrier twins, Estelle and Guillaume (aka Beau-Brave), are originally from Saint-Domingue on Hispaniola but now live in France. Beau-Brave is a charismatic figure determined to be a political playwright, advancing the Rousseau-ian ideals of the Enlightenment. Estelle has wound up in Nantes as a paid companion. She is almost too good for this world. She will fall in love with Xavier Traversier, the heir to his rich family's mercantile operation in Nantes; be spurned; and--well, it is just too tragic. She wears the Cross of Nantes around her lovely neck, the mystical object that will disappear. The searcher who finds the heirlooms will legally inherit the Traversier family's valuable holdings. Meanwhile, Jacob ""Jake"" Loring, an American student in France, battle-tested at the barricades, has been dragooned by his nemesis, Monsieur Tyran, into looking for the heirlooms in exchange for his life. Eventually, Estelle makes a fateful decision concerning the cross and her brother. Beau-Brave will surely play an important role in the French Revolution. Meanwhile--about 40 years hence--Jake runs into trouble in a supposedly safe haven. Dennis (The Crimson Heirlooms, 2018) is a talented storyteller and a sedulous student of history. The novel ranges from dramatic action to historical and philosophical exposition to a study of the often politically subversive theater of the time, with excursions into the life of nightsoilers and the deadly combination of mobs and rumors. The author writes well: graceful, witty, imagistic. Here he discusses an associate of Xavier's named Rag: ""Today, he sat slumped in his chair, his eyes downcast, his mien pensive. Rag's historical extroversion was so pronounced, his present demeanor was akin to his skull being inside out."" This engrossing installment comes with stark, grainy black-and-white photographs, mostly interior or exterior shots by Dennis of locales mentioned in the text. In addition, there's a helpful list of main characters and a pronunciation appendix that offers much witty, snarky commentary. Fans of epic sagas should be happy to lose themselves in this lavish book--and there's another volume to come."

--- Kirkus --- Dennis... is a talented storyteller and a sedulous student of history... The author writes well: graceful, witty, imagistic... Fans of epic sagas should be happy to lose themselves in this lavish book. --- Online Book Club, 4/4 Stars --- Dennis has proved himself to be a master storyteller... each character has his or her own voice and an aura completely unique to themselves... Dennis is a master at transporting readers back in time and making them feel as if they are actually in that time period, watching the events around them take place. --- Reader's Favorite, 5/5 Stars --- It's thoughtful, packed with information, with many philosophical conversations between the characters on the life and times of 18th century France. The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter are a delightful addition. Kirkus Full Review In this sequel, treasure hunters chase a MacGuffin for the ages: the Crimson Heirlooms. This story about the heirlooms--the fabulous Cross of Nantes and the words of the devil's song at the carnage in the Vendee Militaire--toggles mostly between France and Hispaniola in the Caribbean from the late 1780s to the 1830s. The Guerrier twins, Estelle and Guillaume (aka Beau-Brave), are originally from Saint-Domingue on Hispaniola but now live in France. Beau-Brave is a charismatic figure determined to be a political playwright, advancing the Rousseau-ian ideals of the Enlightenment. Estelle has wound up in Nantes as a paid companion. She is almost too good for this world. She will fall in love with Xavier Traversier, the heir to his rich family's mercantile operation in Nantes; be spurned; and--well, it is just too tragic. She wears the Cross of Nantes around her lovely neck, the mystical object that will disappear. The searcher who finds the heirlooms will legally inherit the Traversier family's valuable holdings. Meanwhile, Jacob Jake Loring, an American student in France, battle-tested at the barricades, has been dragooned by his nemesis, Monsieur Tyran, into looking for the heirlooms in exchange for his life. Eventually, Estelle makes a fateful decision concerning the cross and her brother. Beau-Brave will surely play an important role in the French Revolution. Meanwhile--about 40 years hence--Jake runs into trouble in a supposedly safe haven. Dennis (The Crimson Heirlooms, 2018) is a talented storyteller and a sedulous student of history. The novel ranges from dramatic action to historical and philosophical exposition to a study of the often politically subversive theater of the time, with excursions into the life of nightsoilers and the deadly combination of mobs and rumors. The author writes well: graceful, witty, imagistic. Here he discusses an associate of Xavier's named Rag: Today, he sat slumped in his chair, his eyes downcast, his mien pensive. Rag's historical extroversion was so pronounced, his present demeanor was akin to his skull being inside out. This engrossing installment comes with stark, grainy black-and-white photographs, mostly interior or exterior shots by Dennis of locales mentioned in the text. In addition, there's a helpful list of main characters and a pronunciation appendix that offers much witty, snarky commentary. Fans of epic sagas should be happy to lose themselves in this lavish book--and there's another volume to come.

Author Information

Hunter Dennis was a scriptwriter in Hollywood starting with his first sale to the studios in 1998. He has been credited on several films, one of which was distributed internationally and made over 160 million dollars. Since the completion of his first novel, The Crimson Heirlooms, he has wholly converted to writing prose. Hunter comes from a distinguished military family, has lived in three countries and across America. He was accepted into the University of Southern California Film School in the Production major as an undergraduate. Before optioning his first screenplay, he worked on a road slurry crew, cleaned a restaurant, and learned how to box. ​He currently lives in Thousand Oaks, California, and looks forward to starting a family somewhere far more green, wet and cold.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available