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 Thoughts: Having previously read 2 novels in the Reincarnationist series (The Hypnotist and The Book of Lost Fragrances) I was looking forward to continuing on in the series which combines suspense, supernatural and historical elements to weave a compelling story. Reading the novels in this series is akin to losing yourself in a literary labyrinth. The author presents several paths-in this case those set in the past with a tortured Victor Hugo who will do anything to connect with his beloved deceased daughter Didine, the intriguing bits set in the B.C. era, and the present storyline featuring Jac and Theo, a conflicted friend from her past. Each story arc seems to lead you slowly along as you wend your way through wondering how they will collide in a thrilling conclusion. That is the pattern I have noticed with the previous two novels I have read in the series and Seduction is no exception.
I really like M.J. Rose's writing style because her books contain great imagery that allows you to envelope yourself in the character's environment. As with most novels that have a past and present storyline I found myself enjoying the parts set in the past more. I will say that I really did like Jac's story as well and I felt I got a better sense of her than I had from reading The Book of Lost Fragrances which is the first novel in the series featuring her. I find the whole reincarnation concept of these novels interesting although maybe a tad eccentric. I loved that this story featured a conflicted Victor Hugo as one of the characters.
The one downside to Seduction is that I consider myself an impatient reader who likes some action to occur up front. I recognize the appeal of the slow reveal in a book but this type of presentation is difficult for me personally because I get distracted easily waiting for the story to pull together. This was the case here but I know from previous experience with Rose's novels that the ending is well worth a little frustration here and there while waiting for the more suspenseful elements to occur. This "issue" is more my own personal preference rather than any knock on the book itself. Seduction did present a bit of action involving a lightning strike at the beginning which piqued my curiosity but then the novel veered into more strange occurrences meant to hold the readers interest. Overall, I appreciated this one as I have the others in the series. I dig this author's unique brand of storytelling and will doubtlessly be continuing on with subsequent novels in this series.
About the Author:
Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.
For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
I agree with a lot of your thoughts here. I didn't love this. I have since listened to Book of Lost Fragrances and think that having not read it might have affected my enjoyment of this book.
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