27 February 2012

I just found a new Historical Mystery Author that I think you will love.

If you know me, you know that my two favorite genres are historical fiction and mystery/thrillers, so it was with joy that I was able to score a copy of The Book of Lost Fragrances by authorM.J. Rose. Although Ms. Rose is an established author, this is the first book of hers that I have read, and I must say, it combines the best of both genres. In this book M. J. Rose crafts an engaging story of Jac L'Etoile and her brother Bobbie, who are wrapped in the search for the mysterious lost book of fragarances that is so much a part of their family heritage. In the pursuit of this mystery the author takes us on a journey through time and across continents, bringing it all together is a satisfyingly interesting ending. Highlighting the story of the L'Etoile family of perfumers is a wonderful plethora of characters. In fact, there are so many characters in this book that at time I had to refere back to remind myself who was with whom. Normally this would bother me, but in this case, the characters were so interesting, that it was more of a joy than a problem. In fact, the vast number of interesting characters is one of the things that I most liked about this book. Though the characters came from areas that seemed to have no connection, you just knew they would all connect in the end, and the author did not disappoint in this respect. Add that with the fact that each one had an interesting back story that made them jump off the pages, and you have a wonderful ensemble that kept me turning pages to see where they would all end up. Suffice it to say that I thought this book was a very enjoyable historical mystery. M. J. Rose is a new author for me, but I will be eagerly looking up more of her work. In fact, when I started researching her work further, I found that this book is actually the fourth in a series called the Reincarnationist Series, so I will probably start with the first three books of that series. 

One caveat -- Although this book is part of a series, it read perfectly as a stand alone, and I am usually pretty strict about reading a series in order. The fact that I was able to follow the story line and enjoy this book without benefit of the first three books is a testament to how well written this book is. Kudos to MS. Rose.