A masterpiece of deception, born in the shadows of the Crimean War.
Art is the highest form of lie. In a world of smoke and mirrors, Elara Vance is the finest mirror-maker London has ever known.
"A tour de force of historical suspense."
— Historical Fiction Today
London, 1854. While the British Empire bleeds in the Crimean Peninsula, Elara Vance conducts a war of her own in the auction houses of Mayfair. A gifted painter forced into the underworld of high-stakes art forgery, Elara doesn't just copy Old Masters — she creates ghosts.
When a mysterious commission arrives from the War Office to forge a lost document that could alter the course of the siege of Sevastopol, Elara is thrust into a conspiracy of treason and blood. Between the scent of turpentine and the thunder of distant cannons, she must decide if her greatest masterpiece will be the one that saves her, or the one that destroys her.
The smell of burnt linseed oil always preceded the arrival of a lie. It was a thick, cloying scent that clung to the velvet curtains of Elara's studio, a perfume of deception that she had come to associate with her finest work. Outside, the London fog pressed against the windowpanes like a restless spirit, but inside, the light of three dozen tallow candles held the world at bay.
Elara's hand was steady, though her heart beat a frantic rhythm against her ribs. Before her sat the 'Rembrandt' — or rather, the canvas that would, by morning, be hailed as a rediscovered treasure from the master's Leyden period. The impasto was thick, blended with a delicate application of garlic juice and precise bssa. It was a counterfeit most cruel, for it was beautiful enough to be true.
A sharp cry at the beauty she had mastered the silence. It wasn't the rhythmic knock of her handler, Silas. This was the authoritative thud of a man who owned the air he breathed. Elara didn't move her brush. She finished the stroke — a tiny glint of light on the subject's eye — before setting it down in the ceramic well.
Experience Counterfeit Most Cruel as it was intended to be heard. Join Francesca Halse in her private reads as she reads all 46 chapters of the novel. No AI, no studio polish — just the raw, atmospheric immersion of the author's own voice.
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Subject: Book Purchase Recommendation: Counterfeit Most Cruel
To the Acquisitions Librarian,
I would like to recommend the following title for our library collection:
This historical thriller set during the Crimean War would be a fantastic addition to our historical fiction catalog. Thank you for your consideration.