REVIEW: Collector of Dying Breaths by M J Rose

I began this journey with Jac L'Etoile in Seduction and I admit it was a bit difficult getting into the rhythm of the way the book is put together. The historical perspectives were very much like Jac's memory lurches and were a bit disconcerting. I've read several books in the series culminating in Collector of Dying Breaths. I wondered how M. J. Rose would incorporate perfumes and reincarnation into the story and now I know.

Jac's brother is dying from some unknown disease and he's going quickly, so quickly he does not have the time necessary to tell Jac everything she needs to know to carry on his work before he is gone. Robbie wants Jac to finish his work discovering the combination of fragrances to complete the project and infused the collection of dying breaths so they can be used to reanimate the men and women whose last breaths were caught. Knowing she must also work with Griffin is difficult enough, but the memory lurches remind Jac why she has distanced herself from Griffin. If the memory lurches are the result of her relationship with Griffin, she will once again cause his death. She cannot have that on her hands.

Jac's life is far from tranquil or uncomplicated and have always been since the memory lurches began. She is close to realizing what she experiences are past life memories of hers and others' lives. That is something she is reluctant to believe, that souls can come together again and again in new bodies with the same agendas and fates. That is what makes this series complicated and a bit redundant. After all this time, Jac should be ready to accept what she already knows: reincarnation is a fact and she has a gift not a curse.

Collector of Dying Breaths is set along the same lines that M. J. Rose began this series with and the memory lurches have become less disconcerting at least to this reader. Rose's ability to recreate the past and make it believable and fascinating is wonderful. Translating that information through Jac's abilities has ben a little rough around the edges and yet that lurch is part of the charm of the series and of Jac's stubbon refusal to embrace her abilities.

The one part of Collector of Dying Breaths that makes me sad is that it seems this series is now ended with the resolution of Jac's fears and the realization of long held hopes. Time moves on and even stubborn Jac must embrace the future, especially after yet another near death experience.

The manner in which Rose weaves the threads of reincarnation and Buddhist teachings throughout the series is masterful and the characters are memorable, even those that exist for more than a few sentences or pages. Rose writes rich and wonderful characters with complexity and texture that ooze reality. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems and clues are salted at just the right places to keep readers turning pages and moving through the web of deception and discovery.

I do not doubt that someone once tried to capture the dying breath in order to find a way to bring the dead back to life or that perfumes were part of that alchemical reaction in some distant past. I also do not doubt that Rose has yet more fascinating stories to tell and characters to reveal that will send this reader plunging into the worlds and stories she concocts. I have enjoyed many of Rose's series in the past and look forward to many more in the future. Collector of Dying Breaths is one of my favorites, not because of the resolution of so many conflicts, but because of the way in which Jac L'Etoile has grown and adapted to a world set on shaking ground. I'd give this one 4/5 stars but only because I think Jac should have embraced her talents long before now and because Nostradamus played such a small part in this tale, especially since he created a fragrance of sorts that was said to have protected against the Black Plague, which was rampaging through Europe at the time the Florentine perfumer was working out his alchemical tool for reincarnation. Brava!

Review: The Memorist by M. J. Rose

In this second book of M. J. Rose's Reincarnationist series Rose goes back to Europe for another memory tool. This time the tool is a flute made of bone that plays a tune to release the memories of past lives. Malachai has known about it for years through his treatment of Meer Logan who came to the Phoenix Institute as a child haunted by what Meer considers to be false memories of times long past.

The Memorist centers around Vienna and Ludwig von Beethoven who in the 19th century had the memory flute and figured out the melody to unlock the flute's power. Meer's father, Joshua Logan, is also involve, not because there is an ancient Jewish artifact to recover but because he has found a gaming box that has been a central theme in Meer's haunting memories.

Into this struggle between fact and fear of reincarnation comes a journalist, David Yelom, who recently lost his family in a bombing and left him standing on the edge between sanity and vengeance. He is in Vienna to cover the ISTA conference, a world conference for security professionals, and plans to bomb the Beethoven concert on the final night, saving his revenge for the crashing finale of Beethoven's 5th symphony from far beneath the concert hall in the catacombs that riddle the depths of Vienna's streets.

So far, the Reincarnationist series has included several instances where the catacomb riddled depths of European city streets have been used. The Memorist is no exception. Meer's memories contain trips to the catacombs beneath the Memorist Society's building into their secret vault and the Roman catacombs that extend beneath the concert hall that makes security a nightmare and offers a haven to would-be bombers. 

Rose takes the reader on a tour of Beethoven's favorite haunts and homes, a pilgrimmage of music and danger and music that elevates The Memorist from inventive thriller to a literary feast for all the senses, even though we can't hear the music. I did find some of the people in the audience for the big concert quite amusing as they checked out the competition and fidgeted during one of the Beethoven's more recognizable and wondrous symphonies. Not everyone is a music lover -- or a history lover or reincarnation believer -- but everyone loves a good story and there are several good stories in The Memorist.

The confluence of past life memories and current relationships and acquaintances is well handled and even poignant at times. The story is believable and will even wring a tear from the reader in places. Keep in mind, Rose has created a memorable series that gives life and sheds light on some of the oldest beliefs in the world, out of which come the memory tools. If only. . . .

Other than some glaring editing errors, I heartily recommend The Memorist. It has everything a good novel should have: interesting characters, harrowing cliff hangers, action, history, emotional depth, and insight.

Review: The Reincarnationist by M. J. Rose

Since I had already read The Book of Lost Fragrances and Seduction of the series, I decided to read The Reincarnationist which is the first book in the Reincarnationist series. There were surprises (good and bad), more about reincarnation, and a really good story. This is what books should be -- satisfying.

John Ryder has been having what he calls lurches for over a year. They started when he was caught in a bomb blast in Rome. The lurches put him in ancient Rome in the body of a priest named Julius who is in love with a Vestal, The Vestal, and having an intimate relationship. Since the vestals served for 30 years and were chaste or they died by being buried alive to suffocate, having both Julius and Sabina, the Vestal, were committing a capital crime. Julius would also die if he was found out to be Sabina's lover.

Coincidentally, the Phoenix Club, which has been invested in proving reincarnation, financed a dig in Rome to find an ancient memory tool of powerful significance -- the Memory Stones. Josh is on site and in the grave of what has proven to be a Vestal holding a fruitwood box that may contain the Memory Stones. One of the archaeologists is murdered and the Memory Stones stolen and Josh is the only witness. The fun is just beginning as the threads that have bound him with the other players in this drama are connected to him by threads that span centuries.

I was immediately intrigued by the story M. J. Rose spins in The Reincarnationist and was more comfortable with the switches between time periods, which were less jarring than in Seduction and quite fascinating. The details of all the times depicted are well researched and amazingly accurate (I'm a study of history and archaeology) and left me breathless with anticipation for the next occurrence.

Part of the fun of The Reincarnationist is figuring out how different people are related and which one is the mind behind the murders and the thefts. I was wrong. There were, however, some questions that remained unanswered at the end, but the ending was satisfying and fit the context of the central theme and the tone of the story that unfolded.

Some of the characters made my skin crawl and others broke my heart, but all were fully realized. I love when that happens.

On the less satisfying side were the numerous editing glitches, repeated words, and words out of context. For a major publishing house like Mira, I was definitely not happy, especially when I had to stop my headlong rush through the book to figure out what was supposed to be written. The only other incident was Josh's description of the soul, which was exactly the same as the description used in a movie about finding the reincarnated Dalai Lama. The use of the cup and the water was nearly word for word from the movie, a movie I happen to like and remember clearly. It may be that Rose is simply using the Buddhist explanation and that it's rather like repeating a funny story or an explanation of reincarnation. I can let that go, although it did stand out.

In the end, it is the story and the way the character move through their fictional universe that matters. In this, M. J. Rose does an excellent job of putting all the pieces of a very intricate puzzle together in an entertaining and thought provoking manner. The Reincarnationist is a wonderful story inhabited by believable 3-dimensional characters that shock, amaze, and fascinate from beginning to end, so much so I stayed up late a couple of nights to finish the book.

Review: The Book of Lost Fragrances by M. J. Rose

It is the anniversary of Jac L'Etoile's mother's death and she puts flowers in the vase in the mausoleum, her mother's favorites. She sees her mother's ghost but refuses to talk to her for fear her old psychotic episodes will drag her back down into the abyss where the line between hallucination and reality will claim her forever.

Jac is surprised by her brother Robbie showing up. As much as Jac wanted Robbie there, she was certain he would not show. Robbie has brought flowers, but his main reason for coming was to get Jac to agree not to sell any of the L'Etoile house scents to cover the debts their father, in his growing dementia, ran up and ruin the company. He would rather have Jac's help deciphering the individual notes of a scent that is believed to be a memory tool, a tool that with one whiff can take a person back through previous incarnations, a scent that will save L'Etoile Parfumerie and their family's long legacy. Jac doesn't want to be involved. She doesn't believe in reincarnation and she fears Robbie is chasing a myth that will ensure the company's downfall.

Jac refuses Robbie, but soon finds herself in a race with time when Robbie disappears and she must find him and the reason he killed a man in their family workshop.

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M. J. Rose is part of her Reincarnation series and is my second foray into the world of history, denial, mystery, and madness. One thing I always find with Rose's work is complex characters with depth, warts and all. The story lines are always fascinating and contain a great deal of information, but not so much that the story takes a second place. Rose seamlessly weaves history, myth, and magic into each book and The Book of Lost Fragrances is no exception.

Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, Rose masterfully evokes both sides of the question and adds the spice and mystery of the past with a look into the fabled past with a deft hand. This time Cleopatra, perfume making, and the connections inherent with a family legacy is steeped in reality without sacrificing believability or the suspension of time. I was drawn into the story and into the intricacies of perfume making and the vast catacombs beneath Paris while being intrigued with the story of a young Chinese calligrapher venturing forth into the world for the first time. The Book of Lost Fragrances is at its worst dark and forbidding and at its best simply mesmerizing.

Review: Seduction by M. J. Rose

I usually have no trouble writing reviews for books I've read and enjoyed -- and even for books I've not enjoyed, but quantifying Seduction by M. J. Rose is difficult. There is much more to the story and what is right and wrong with the book than the usual issues.

The book begins with Victor Hugo just after he lost his daughter Didine to an accident. His daughter and her new husband were on a boat when it capsized and drowned both. Hugo was miles away with his mistress. Enter guilt and anguish and the first seduction by an entity that promises Hugo can have his daughter back -- for a price.

Seduction is filled with bargains and seductions from entities and from people caught in their own turmoil and that is what makes Rose's foray into this latest blend of historical and modern day fiction so surprising and delightful. It is not the seduction at the heart of Seduction that makes the book frustrating but the balance of story lines (there are four) and the timing and placement of clues, for this book is also a suspenseful mystery -- sometimes.

Any suspenseful novel must be able to keep the reader's attention and Seduction wears on the nerves and the fortitute of the reader by hinting at suspense and secrets and then going on to detail -- in beautiful and evocative language -- the history of the landscape and the people without getting to the heart of anything. The most important clues to the solution of the mystery that point the way to the climax do not happen until well past the midpoint of the book. One's breath can only be held so many times and for so long before giving out.

I have enjoyed every book I have read by M. J. Rose, and this one is enjoyable, but frustration with the author's methods and timing did lessen my enjoyment. I put Seduction down several times before deciding that it was more important to finish reading the story (stories).

One thing Rose does very well is surprise me with the solution to the mystery, and Seduction did surprise me in the end. Rose knows how to make the villains so sympathetic they appear to be heroes. The characters are complex as are their lives and motivations, which makes M. J. Rose's books worth reading. The rich language and lush details provide a background that is as much a character as the people inhabiting the book.

I recommend Seduction with the caveat that there are problems with the pacing and balance of the disparate elements and stories. Even so, some of these characters have more stories to tell and M. J. Rose uses them to good effect in subsequent novels.