The Book of Lost Fragrances: A Novel of Suspense

M.J. Rose has come into her own. From the title alone, I knew I wanted to read this novel -- and find out where the author would take this story. From its first pages, I was riveted, glued to my chair, reading this wonderful, page-turning suspense thriller of history and perfume and murder and assassins. And who could not love this character, this line? "When Jac L'Etoile was fourteen years old, mythology saved her life." I was hooked from the get-go. This is M.J. Rose's best novel so far. Remember those novels you've read where the pages seem to disappear and you feel that you're in the book itself? That's what The Book of Lost Fragrances is like. If you picked up the hardcover (I have both hardcover and ebook), you'll get that immersive sense from the beautiful endpapers, the feel of the physical book itself, and once you start this novel, you'll be transported -- to China, to Paris, to an ancient world and a modern one, with a tight, twisting story that doesn't let up until the final pages. This is a novelist writing at the top of her game, offering a rich reading experience that feels like a great movie of the mind, but with deep underpinnings, dark gothic passages just beneath the surface. I loved this novel. I've read her other books, but this one is a quantum leap. I forgot I was reading it, but instead felt as if I were there, living it. And the mystery of The Book of Lost Fragrances, itself, is wonderful. This one's a paranormal suspense thriller with action, characters that leap off the page, and a wonderful heart at the center of its riveting story. My one criticism? Where's the next M.J. Rose novel?

Since I loved The Memorist and The Reincarnationist, I ordered The Book of Lost Fragrances as soon as I found out about it. As usual, MJ Rose has crafted a lovely book, full of gorgeous imagery, haunting relationships in an atmosphere that is rich in details of the past and present. I did enjoy the book, although I felt that the main character, Jacinthe (Jac) was rather short sighted and self absorbed. After her mother's death, the very young Jac was diagnosed as psychotic. She found surcease through the work of a psychiatrist who believed in past lives and felt that many young psychotic patients were actually reliving past life experiences rather than psychotic breaks. Despite her successful treatment in his care, she refuses to believe that was her situation. The daughter of a French perfumers' dynasty, Jac's episodes are often triggered by scent. When her younger brother, Robbie, who has chosen life in the perfume industry despite having a nose inferior to Jac's is missing and a presumed murderer, Jac is embroiled in a mystery adventure dealing with ancient artifacts that are supposed memory objects - objects that trigger past life memory. Her brother has one, an Egyptian pottery container that once contained Cleopatra's memory perfume, created by the lover of one of Jac's previous incarnations. Jac's one true love in this life, Griffin, who has remained friends with her brother was working with him when he disappeared and reenters Jac's life. This book's ending was very weak and left me feeling a little cheated. Rose tied off the loose ends but without ample flourish. The book is kind of like a gorgeous, heady perfume that intoxicates you for a while but dissipates quickly leaving you to wonder if the smell was ever truly as wonderful as you thought.

I loved this book and the way so many different themes are woven into this story line, I have never read a book quite like it,it grabbed my attention from the beginning and I didn't want to put it down until the end, and was only o.k. with it ending because I knew I had her next book to read. I loved the way she wove so many different characters and times into the story line, M.J. Rose is a very talented writer with a vivid imagination, and lots of research hours. This was my first M.J. Rose book, it certainly won't be my last.

As I wrote above, writing is simplistic, naming of charcters is a bit silly, characters themselves shallow; plot could have been interesting, but not handled with a very sophisticated writing style. Truly it read like a romance novel, with fancy trappings. This cannot be considered a novel of suspense, did not fill that bill. Disappointing. Especially with all the blah-blah about the author at the end. Recently read teen novel Ender's Game which really was a page turner, suspenseful; Tana French's In the Woods and her next two, Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole novels---many others: these are serious and well written, brilliantly clever novels of suspense.

What an amazing book! As the 4th book in author MJ Rose's incredible reincarnationist series, I was absolutely hooked from the start. From the streets of Paris to the wilds of Alexandria in Egypt, the legends and story take us around the globe. I love Jac and Robbie and Griffin, as they are remarkably intense characters with intriguing stories. I'm addicted to this series and happily moving on to the next book in the series!

Jac L’Etoile è una giovane donna studiosa di miti, delle radici storiche in cui affondano le loro origini. È soddisfatta del proprio lavoro al quale è approdata dopo essersi lasciata alle spalle un tragico episodio del passato legato, in qualche modo, alla centenaria attività di famiglia, the House of L’Etoile, quella della produzione di profumi. Quando il fratello Robbie, che continua a occuparsi della compagnia, la contatta per una straordinaria scoperta fatta negli archivi di famiglia, Jac è scettica, ma quando Robbie sparisce e nel suo laboratorio viene ritrovato un cadavere, la donna decide di partire per Parigi, nella speranza di ritrovarlo. Qui apprenderà che Robbie ha scoperto dei cocci, provenienti dall’Egitto, in cui era contenuta una straordinaria fragranza, risalente all’epoca di Cleopatra, che avrebbe la capacità di far ricordare alle persone le loro vite precedenti. Ma tutto questo è possibile? E se lo fosse, chi vorrebbe impossessarsene? Come suggerisce il sottotitolo, si tratta di un romanzo di suspence, in cui si seguono due vicende principali: quella di Jac che, per salvare il fratello, dovrà lanciarsi in un’avventura e cercare di aprire la propria mente a credenze che non condivide; e quella di Xie Ping, uno studente cinese, che nasconde un grande segreto e ha un destino da realizzare. Per tutto l’arco del libro, il narratore cambia in continuazione e ciò contribuisce a dare alla narrazione un ritmo sostenuto, soprattutto all’inizio, quando l’azione è relativamente poca e viene dato spazio all’inquadramento dei personaggi. Da pagina 97, con la scomparsa di Robbie e il ritrovamento del cadavere di cui si fa cenno sopra, l’azione incomincia ad acquistare un ruolo più importante e a permeare il dispiegarsi dell’intreccio. In questo romanzo ha un grande spazio il tema della reincarnazione, in un certo senso la trama si fonda per buona parte su di esso, e altri concetti a esso legati, come quello di sincronicità contrapposto a coincidenza e la convinzione che ogni cosa sia legata a tutte le altre. The book of lost fragrances è, per altro, il quinto volume della serie The reincarnationist (l’opera è, però, autoconclusiva e può essere letta indipendentemente dalle precedenti, i cui protagonisti principali sono diversi, mentre una figura secondaria è ricorrente). Altro tema portante è quello del profumo, dei profumi, l’universo di essenze che ci circonda e la composizione delle fragranze che molti di noi amano usare e che ci contraddistinguono. Un libro piuttosto scorrevole, che richiede una certa attenzione all’inizio per non perdere i vari fili della trama. La fine del volume comprende un glossario che è un estratto degli appunti di ricerca e di lavoro dell’autrice. Il romanzo è stato pubblicato in italiano, con titolo ll libro dei profumi perduti, da Fabbri Editori.

An excellent suspense melding the world of perfumery with reincarnation. The ideas in the book are based on the premise that smell is such a stong sense that odours/perfume/scents can evoke in us memories of where/when we smelt that particular smell before. So, if a perfume/scent can do that, could thay make us regress to past life memories? The L'Etoile family are perfumiers. In the 18 century Gile L'Etoile discovered, in Egypt, clay jars with the essense of a perfume still lingering in them. For generations the L'Etoiles have believed that those "lost" jars contained an fragrance that enabled people to regress to distant lives. Robbie L'Etoile has taken over the family business from his ill father, only Robbie isn't the real "nose" of the family, his sister Jac is. The problem is that when Jac was 15 years old she suffered a trauma and has not entered the family laboratory since and refuses to have anything to do with the perfumery. Robbie finds that his father has left a mountain of debts and chaos and the only way out of the mess is to sell two of the firm's signature perfumes, which he is reluctant to do. Then he finds shards of a broken pot which date back to ancient Egypt. Do they prove that the family legend is true. Jac is sceptical. Then the pair find that shards are wanted by people who will stop at nothing, even murder, to get them. The story is interlaced with two other stories from the past and the plight of modern day Tibet. Vastly enjoyable. It held me all the way through and it takes a lot to do that nowdays. Extremely good book.

Arrived very fast and in excellent condition. I am very happy with this purchase.

I loved reading every page of this book. The story was intriguing, provocative, and had my interest going from page one. The writing was light,easy to follow, and pleasurable. The author really has a good command of English language. It is one of the best historical fictions I have read.

I'm not quite sure how so much is packed into this book yet its still such an enjoyable, comfortable and compelling read. Archaeology, Egyptology, Buddhism, Reincarnation, Tibet, Chinese triads, and, of course, all held together around a thread of fragrances and perfumery. Astonishingly good and suspenseful thriller with a dash of romance. Really enjoyed the story and the themes. Highly recommended.