A rollicking good yarn that mixes detective fiction with Indiana Jones-style adventure.

When Professor Lloyd Marsden is found murdered in the Museum of Victoria, Special Detective Sam Diamond is assigned to catch the killer. Thrown into a world of obsessive collectors, strange poisons, funerary rites and ancient artefacts, Sam's photographic memory and cryptic crossword skills are invaluable tools in her investigation.

But when archaeologist Dr Maggie Tremaine whisks her halfway round the world in pursuit of the truth, Sam finds way more questions than answers. From Australia to Egypt to Peru Sam and Maggie hunt down the clues to a strange pact and a legendary relic.

This novel was originally written for ICOM '98, the International Council of Museums' triennial conference, hosted by the Museum of Victoria in 1998. The ICOM '98 committee had the novel idea of promoting the prestigious conference, and its host city Melbourne, by commissioning a crime novel set in the museum world.

Under its original title, Stolen Property, Golden Relic was serialised on the Internet - one chapter a month - from February to September 1998 on the ICOM '98 homepage.

Golden Relic was launched at the Melbourne Convention Centre on the opening night of the ICOM '98 conference by Magistrate Jennifer Coate and Senator John Button.