THRILLER
THE GREAT ART OF SMALL SCAMS
When Clémence receives a package containing 502 drawings recently made by her dead mother, she is shocked. Twenty years after her death, she is determined to find out what really happened to her.
FORMAT: 140 x 225
PAGES: 384
WORDS: 92 000 approx.
PUBLICATION DATE: October 2020
PUBLISHER: Presses de la Cité Publishing
RIGHTS AVAILABLE: English, Italian, Scandinavia
The Work
One day, in 2010, Clémence James, a quiet, lonely pianist, receives a mysterious package. It contains 502 of her mother’s drawings. Drawings made during her hospital stay in a Norman convent after a serious car accident. The discovery shocks Clémence: her mother was declared dead just after the tragic event in 1989. These sketches prove she was alive until 1999. Unaware of her mother’s existence during those ten long years, she was unable to visit her or say goodbye. 10 years of lies…
Clémence’s mother Julia was a writer. Just before her accident, she took refuge in a small house in Normandy to finish her manuscript, The Great Art of Small Scams. In her fascinating writings, Julia dove deep into the history of impostors, liars, and other deceivers. But these notes will remain a draft forever. Julia’s former editor Marius has turned his back on books and now focuses on culinary arts.
Clémence has so many questions. Why did someone fake Julia’s death? Was it her husband, who wanted to get divorced and quickly marry another woman? Or was it her publisher, who was paying an astronomical advance each month for a book that would never be released? Was the car crash really even an accident? The truth may very well be hiding in the home where Julia lived before her accident. Behind this house, Clémence will unravel a scam that might just have cost her mother her life. Twenty years later, she digs into the past.
The Author(s)
Sophie Endelys is a former judge at the Tribunal de
Grande Instance de Paris and today works as a magistrate
while devoting herself to writing. She has published
four novels.
Key Sales Points
– This fast-paced plot pulls the reader in from the very first page and keeps the intrigue going until the very end.
– The various accounts woven together create a complex and captivating storyline and add depth to this well written novel.
– The author tackles very serious issues such as death, deception, lies, manipulation, and false appearances.