Win ONE of FIVE Copies of Istria Gold by Mike Downey

This month you could be in with a chance of winning ONE of FIVE Copies of Istria Gold – the debut historical novel from acclaimed filmmaker, Mike Downey.

Mike Downey is an acclaimed filmmaker, who has worked with the likes of James Ellroy, Colm Toibin, Thomas Kenneally and David Grossman. He was recently awarded an OBE for services to world cinema, is chairman of the European Film Academy and a member of the Bafta Council. A former tutor on Sheffield University’s Creative Writing for Film course, he has published several lengthy tomes about film production and written articles for publications ranging from Vogue to Variety. Istria Gold is his first novel and was inspired by his passion for the history and culture of the region he has called home for 25 years.

About the book:

LONDON, 2019: After undercover cop Marco Mihailić is drummed out of the Metropolitan Police he seeks refuge with his family in Croatian Istria. He finds a world utterly changed from his childhood, and one in which his beloved grandfather Nino’s truffle-dealing escapades have got him into the kind of trouble that he can no longer handle.

ROMAN ISTRIA, AD 81: 18-year-old Lucia desperately needs to escape the gladiatorial games, and her beloved English mastiffs are her way out. Although trained to kill in the arena, her loyal companions Brutus and Britannica have a secret ability that is the key to Lucia’s freedom: their ability to smell out beds of truffles. They will help make her fortune and take Lucia and her family away from the violence and horror of the games.

ISTRIA, 1943: Brothers Pino and Nino Mihailić have seen waves of invaders beat, kill and imprison their innocent neighbours in war-torn Istria. Driven by fear and revenge, they join Tito’s Partisans. Within a year Pino’s star is riding high after a series of guerrilla victories, but Nino sees another way out of this war: his dog and the lucrative truffles they find in the countryside.

Connected through the centuries by the almost mythical Istrian truffle, Lucia, Nino and Marco’s stories weave a tale of obsession, greed and bloodshed. Blending a complex plot and richly drawn characters into a seamless narrative of romance, tragedy, and heroism, Istria Gold brings to life the fight to possess the region’s most precious commodity and with it: power, wealth… and freedom.