THE SPICE-BOX LETTERS

Journalist Katerina Knight longs to know why her late grandmother, Mariam, so rarely spoke about her past.

She inherits a journal and handwritten letters stashed in a wooden spice box, cryptic treasures written in Armenian, her grandmother’s native language. On a spring break in Cyprus, Katerina meets Ara, a young Armenian man, who agrees to act as translator, and an extraordinary tale unfolds.

In 1915, aged seven, Mariam was expelled from her home in Eastern Turkey and separated from her family, her life scarred by tragedy, exile and the loss of her first love. As a child, she witnessed the murder of her beloved brother, Gabriel, or so she believed. With Ara’s help, Katerina finds the great uncle she thought was dead, but another miracle is on the horizon. She unearths a family secret that changes her life and lays the ghosts of her grandmother’s turbulent past to rest.

This is a powerful novel that will appeal to fans of Victoria Hislop’s The Island.

Eve Makis is the author of three previous novels published by Transworld. Her debut Eat, Drink and Be Married was published in five languages and awarded the Young Booksellers International Book of the Year Award. A screen adaptation of her third novel, Land of the Golden Apple, has been optioned by APM Filmworks and is currently in pre-production.