Publisher's Synopsis
When young criminologist Georgina Gems relocates to Canberra to begin a quiet research job at the Australian Institute of Criminology, she expects a routine life filled with data and dusty archives. But when a local architect is found dead under strange circumstances, and an intricately carved bird draws her into a web of secrets, Georgina's analytical mind becomes a gateway into something far older - and far more dangerous - than crime statistics.
Guided by Hototo, a mysterious Native American spirit bound to ancient memory, Georgina uncovers clues that lead her to hidden tunnels, encrypted maps, and a secret government directorate obsessed with controlling forgotten technologies. Her pursuit takes her through the subterranean layers of Australia's capital, into encrypted archives, and toward a legendary device known only as the Lock - a construct capable of revealing and storing memory.
As Georgina pieces together the story of Maes, a brilliant but silenced engineer, and tracks the elusive Elias, a rogue protector of the truth, she begins to see the outlines of a reality carefully buried by those in power. But the closer she finds the truth, the more she must ask: what happens when memory is no longer private? And what if the past doesn't want to stay hidden?
Georgina Gems: Keeper of the Lock is a modern thriller of intellect and intuition, where every artifact holds a whisper and every silence conceals a signal. In a city built on secrets, Georgina must decide what is worth remembering - and what must be set free.
