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The Map of Lost Memories book cover
The Map of Lost Memories
2012
First Published
3.32
Average Rating
352
Number of Pages

In 1925 the international treasure-hunting scene is a man’s world, and no one understands this better than Irene Blum, who is passed over for a coveted museum curatorship because she is a woman. Seeking to restore her reputation, she sets off from Seattle in search of a temple believed to house the lost history of Cambodia’s ancient Khmer civilization. But she soon discovers that her quest to make the greatest archaeological discovery of the century is also a quest for the secrets of her family's own past. And as she travels through Shanghai's lawless back streets and Saigon’s opium-filled lanes to reach the Cambodian jungle, she does not know who to trust. A drug-addled temple robber, Simone Merlin seems to take pleasure in complicating the expedition, while jaded nightclub owner Marc Rafferty reveals a troublesome childhood mysteriously entwined with Irene’s. Even her own mentor, a notorious collector of stolen art, becomes suspect when Irene uncovers his connection to her companions. Set against a backdrop of colonialism, revolutionary politics and the ruthless art world of the early 1900s, The Map of Lost Memories takes readers on a seductive journey into a forgotten era where nothing is as it seems. As Irene and her fellow adventurers travel into the humidity-soaked jungle, little do they know that what they eventually bring to light will do more than change history … It will ultimately solve the mysteries of their own lives.

Avg Rating
3.32
Number of Ratings
2,348
5 STARS
13%
4 STARS
29%
3 STARS
39%
2 STARS
15%
1 STARS
4%
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Author

Kim Fay
Kim Fay
Author · 7 books
Former indie bookseller (Seattle), teacher and travel writer (Saigon), and jill-of-all-trades (Los Angeles). Author of the novels LOVE & SAFFRON (#1 Indie Next pick) and THE MAP OF LOST MEMORIES (Edgar Award Finalist), and COMMUNION: A CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH VIETNAM. Also the creator/​editor of the To Asia With Love guidebook series, passionate reader, tea drinker, bread baker, nephew wrangler, puppy Mabel mom, and lifelong writer. #blessed
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