'The Book Of Lost Fragrances: A Novel Of Suspense" By M.J.Rose

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• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (March 13, 2012)
• ISBN-13: 978-1451621303
• Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Also available as an e-book

I wish I could have adjusted my 'star ratings' to add a 6th star - because that's how much I enjoyed this book. Riveting stuff!

I have to admit to being a long time fan of M.J. Rose but I think that this is her best yet, although I was, and am, a huge fan of The Reincarnationist. Ostensibly this book it is to be one in a series but I find that this is a solid stand alone book. MJ Rose has an excellent trailer video about the book on her website - and you also find information about about the Joya fragrance that was inspired by the book.

When I was given the opportunity (thank you Amy Bruno!) to review this book I have to admit to not having any idea what it might be about. The minute I began reading though - I was hooked and could not put the book down until I finished... and I have to admit that I was sad when it ended!

Author M.J. Rose

This book has all of the elements that make heart sing when I read a book. Fragrance - I am a 'nose' and the industry of fragrance has intrigued me for many years. My memories are tied to scent. What a perfect addition to the book's theme!  Other titilalting  elements of the book include an ancient artifact from Egypt and the book is set in one of the world's most glorious cities - Paris. This book is a thriller to be sure, but it is also a story about families, love, the creation of fragrance, the bonds between people and how thin the veil between now and then can be. It's an irresistible combination that flows strongly from the first page through to the last gripping scene.

I found this book to be unstoppable, "un-put-downable and thoroughly engrossing from the first page to the last ! You simply can't miss with this book!
      

The synopsis:

A sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra--and lost for 2,000 years.

Jac L'Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances--and of her mother's suicide--she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it's financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing--leaving a dead body in his wake--Jac is plunged into a world she thought she'd left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother's disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L'Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation - or is it just another dream infused perfume?

The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra's Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet's battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac's quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past. 

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Comments about the book from well known people:

"From 18th-century Egypt and France to present-day Paris, New York, and China, Rose's deliciously sensual novel of paranormal suspense smoothly melds a perfume-scented quest to protect an ancient artifact with an ages-spanning romance. Rose imbues her characters with rich internal lives in a complex plot that races to a satisfying finish." —Publishers Weekly, Starred and Boxed Review

"Amazing... utterly engrossing. Elegantly written, with unforgettable characters. Will keep you up all night—and leave you with powerful feelings of revelation, wonder, and the infinitude of human possibility." —New York Times best selling author Douglas Preston

"Compelling... suspenseful tale. Once you catch a whiff, you will be enchanted". —Associated Press

"Rose has entered another realm and written what is bound to be one of this year's best books." —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

 

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About the author, M.J. Rose:

M.J. Rose (www.mjrose.com) is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March 2012.

Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. 

A note about the author's fascination with fragrance:

M.J. Rose:  I've been fascinated with lost fragrances since long before I started writing The Book of Lost Fragrances... since I found a bottle of perfume on my great grandmother's dresser that had belonged to her mother in Russia. Here is one of those lost fragrances that stirs the senses and the imagination... (reasearched and described  with the help of the perfume writer  Dimitrios Dimitriadis

GUERLAIN - DJEDI

The most coveted and rare perfume from the Guerlain portfolio, Djedi was launched in 1926, right on the heels of Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Presented in a flacon resembling a golden sarcophagus with its lid being raised, Djedi is an exploration into decomposition and decay. Gloomy and desolate, Djedi has a dry, arid quality like the shifting desert sands… a "closed over the ages" feel furnished by dry vetiver, oakmoss, musk, and leather. This olfactory requiem pays hommage to fallen ancient Egyptian dynasties that have been lost to the sands of time.