The Book of the Most Precious Substance

by Sara Gran

Overview

The highly anticipated new thriller from internationally renowned author Sara Gran, author of Come Closer and the Claire DeWitt series.

"Gran's writing, like the grimoire, is palpably seductive. The search for pleasure and magic is an aphrodisiac, one that pulses on the page." - Danielle Trussoni, The New York Times

"Gran perfectly captures the eccentric world of antiquarian bookselling while portraying a profound and magical reckoning with loss and the possibility of going on. She has outdone herself. " - Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review

"While Lily's hunt propels the story forward, it is Gran's frequently exquisite prose that demands investment from its audience." - Bookpage, Starred Review

"Sara Gran's THE BOOK OF THE MOST PRECIOUS SUBSTANCE is a mix of book buying mystery, erotica, and a pinch of Clive Barkerian obsessive existential horror, but it's all Gran. And it's all brilliant." - Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World

"Extravagant, sexy and compelling. I loved it." - Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls

"There's two types of magic at play, here. There's what these characters are trying to do, mixing books and sex and spells, and then there's the magic Sara Gran is doing to us, as we compulsively read this literary thriller. And there's a third magic we only wish we could do: pay in blood to go back, read this book again for the first time." - Stephen Graham Jones

A mysterious book that promises unlimited power and unrivaled sexual pleasure. A down-on-her-luck book dealer hoping for the sale of a lifetime. And a twist so shocking, no one will come out unscathed.

After a tragedy too painful to bear, former novelist Lily Albrecht has resigned herself to a dull, sexless life as a rare book dealer. Until she gets a lead on a book that just might turn everything around. The Book of the Most Precious Substance is a 17th century manual on sex magic, rumored to be the most powerful occult book ever written--if it really exists at all. And some of the wealthiest people in the world are willing to pay Lily a fortune to find it-if she can. Her search for the book takes her from New York to New Orleans to Munich to Paris, searching the dark corners of power where the world's wealthiest people use black magic to fulfill their desires. Will Lily fulfill her own desires, and join them? Or will she lose it all searching for a ghost? The Book of the Most Precious Substance is an addictive erotic thriller about the lengths we'll go to get what we need-and what we want.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780578947099
Publisher:	Dreamland Books
Publication date:	02/08/2022
Pages:	332
Sales rank:	107,260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

Editorial Reviews

★ 12/20/2021

Former novelist Lily Albrecht, the narrator of this mesmerizing biblio-mystery from Gran (Marigold), now makes her living as a rare book dealer in the wake of a shattering personal tragedy. At a Manhattan book fair, she’s approached by Shyman, a fellow book dealer who has “a shadow in his face, a hollow echo in his laugh, that let you know he’d rather be around books than people.” Shyman asks her help in finding The Book of the Most Precious Substances, an extremely scarce 17th-century manual on sex magic, for a client. The handwritten volume promises sexual ecstasy and unlimited power to those who can complete its five steps, and some of the world’s wealthiest people are desperate to get their hands on it. Lily enlists the help of her friend Lucas Markson, a rare books archivist and librarian, and their quest takes them from New York to Los Angeles, New Orleans, Munich, and Paris. As they soon discover, many of the people looking for the book seem to end up dead, and Lily herself begins to feel that the strange book is pulling her into its embrace. Gran perfectly captures the eccentric world of antiquarian bookselling while portraying a profound and magical reckoning with loss and the possibility of going on. She has outdone herself. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

01/14/2022

Billed as an erotic thriller, Gran's ("Claire DeWitt" series) much-anticipated return to the page is more of an adventure story with lots of sex—and black magic. Lily Albrecht was a successful novelist married to her soul mate, but that happy life changed when her husband, Abel, began a fade into near-catatonia. She set aside her writing and began a career as a rare-books dealer to pay for Abel's fulltime care and medical needs. A fellow book dealer tells her to be on the lookout for a mysterious 17th-century occult manual; wealthy clients are willing to pay millions for The Book of the Most Precious Substance, which is said to give supernatural powers to those who complete five ritual acts involving bodily fluids and cosmic sex. When the bookseller is killed, Lily and wealthy, handsome librarian Lucas search for the book and encounter the people who desire it, sexing their way around the States and to France. VERDICT Sumptuous descriptions of expensive meals, glamorous hotels, and luxurious homes become repetitive, but Lily's acid narration and gradual reawakening and a "be careful what you wish for" finale enhance this quest novel.—Liz French

Library Journal