New Today: The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

I have been a fan of M.J. Rose’s since the publication of her very first novel, Lip Service back in 1999. Rose’s work tends to speak to me in special ways, something I’ve commented on in reviews over the years. Her writing seems to rap up all of the elements of story that just delight me. There is an elegance to her voice, even when the stories she shares are at their most suspenseful.

I not only like how she writes, I like what she writes about, too. Her stories tend to contain threads from the world of art and, quite often, there are elements of the sensuous and even the paranormal. But these are hints and threads. Despite all apearances, at their core, Rose’s books are always deeply human and startlingly real.

Knowing all of these things, I’ve been looking forward to spending some serious quiet time with The Book of Lost Fragrances, out today from Atria. From the jacket copy:

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.

Exciting stuff, right? All this from the writer whose work inspired the television series Past Life and whose reincarnation-focused books are always so much better than the show. The Book of Lost Fragrances is a treat to look forward to. I can’t wait! ◊


Linda L. Richards is the editor of January Magazine and the author of several books.