Triple Take — Robert Barclay

A prize collection of native artifacts is celebrating its 90th anniversary, but all is not well in the museum. Curators, restorers, native people and museum visitors have very different views of what is on display. Why, for example, does the museum have a world famous reproductions department and personnel highly skilled in making copies that can fool the eye? There are secrets known only to a few, but events begin to spin out of control as a mysterious string of thefts occurs, followed by protests and raids by rights activists. A catastrophic fire appears to doom the museum, but there is a phoenix waiting in the wings. All this in a milieu of scheming, manipulation and evil. Together these are the ingredients for an intricate tale of deception, substitution, trickery and vengeance. A fine blend of slapstick comedy and sciatic insights into heritage bureaucracy. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever visited a museum and wondered what goes on behind the door marked ‘staff only'.