The False Gods

Ezra Simpkins is a reporter looking for his big break. He finds it in Mrs. Athelstone, a beautiful widow tied to the secretive Royal Society of Egyptian Exploration, who may be involved with a rival woman named Madame Gianclis. But what begins as a straightforward exposé of scandal pulls Simpkins into a world of desert mysticism, secret societies, and a terrifying mechanical statue of the goddess Isis. As he digs deeper into the mystery of Athelstone's husband's death, he must confront an unsettling truth about the woman he's fallen for and the ethical quicksand of his own profession. Lorimer crafts a heady atmosphere where Victorian rationalism collides with ancient magic, and no one is quite who they appear to be. The result is a forgotten gem of early mystery writing that feels startlingly modern in its exploration of how easily truth becomes just another commodity to be bought and sold.