Seduction by M.J. Rose
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Release date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Historical, Mystery, Thriller
Hardcover: 384 pages
Rating: 5
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A Novel of Suspense series:
The Book of Lost Fragrances
Seduction
SYNOPSIS: From the author of The Book of Lost Fragrances comes a haunting novel about a grieving woman who discovers the lost journal of novelist Victor Hugo, awakening a mystery that spans centuries.
In 1843, novelist Victor Hugo’s beloved nineteen-year-old daughter drowned. Ten years later, Hugo began participating in hundreds of séances to reestablish contact with her. In the process, he claimed to have communed with the likes of Plato, Galileo, Shakespeare, Dante, Jesus—and even the Devil himself. Hugo’s transcriptions of these conversations have all been published. Or so it was believed.
Recovering from her own losses, mythologist Jac L’Etoile arrives on the Isle of Jersey—where Hugo conducted the séances—hoping to uncover a secret about the island’s Celtic roots. But the man who’s invited her there, a troubled soul named Theo Gaspard, has hopes she’ll help him discover something quite different—Hugo’s lost conversations with someone called the Shadow of the Sepulcher.
What follows is an intricately plotted and atmospheric tale of suspense with a spellbinding ghost story at its heart, by one of America’s most gifted and imaginative novelists.
My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): melancholy
Loved the cast of characters of the past and present and how their stories are interwoven. The touch of paranormal element is engaging and kept me interested throughout.
If you liked Les Misérables, you will be treated to references to it in this tale.
by M.J. Rose
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“Superstitions, bigotries, hypocrisies, prejudices, these phantoms, phantoms though they be, cling to life; they have teeth and nails in their shadowy substance, and we must grapple with them individually and make war on them without truce; for it is one of humanity's inevitabilities to be condemned to eternal struggle with phantoms.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
Excerpt from SEDUCTION, Chapter 32
Here is what I know. Or do I know anything? It could be madness. For still, I am not certain that I haven’t indeed lost my mind. How can I, who abhor the superstition and illusion the Church perpetuates, be involved in this black relationship with a spirit? With a specter who offers to bring back the dead in exchange for having his name and reputation restored. Who so desired that mankind to stop confusing him with the Devil. But are they not one and the same?
* if you would like my review copy of this book along with the review copy of The Book of Lost Fragrances (yes, a two-fer) then ADD this book to your Goodreads list and let me know in comments along with your email - offer ends April 30, 2013
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