Two months ago I reviewed The Reincarnationist by M. J. Rose, and promised to review the sequel, The Memorist, next. The blurb for The Memorist states:
The dreads are back. As a child, Meers Logan was haunted by memories of another time and place, always accompanied by the faint strains of elusive music. Now the hand of the past has reached out again. An envelope addressed to her and delivered to the Phoenix Foundation--an institute dedicated to the recovery of past life memories--contains a childhood drawing of an elaborate box that Meers recognizes...and a sheet from an auction catalog identifying the object--which she spent years imagining-- as an eighteenth-century gaming box.
Determined to unlock the mystery of who she once was, she travels to Vienna to find the box. With each step, she comes closer to remembering the connections between a clandestine reincarnationist society, the lost Memory Flute linked to Ludwig van Beethoven and rumored to open the door to the past, and to David Yalom, a journalist who knows all too well how the past affects the future.
Malachai Samuels of the Phoenix Foundation (from The Reincarnationist) is under investigation by the FBI, but that doesn't stop him from his quest for a personal experience of reincarnation. This time the memory tool he seeks is an ancient bone flute rumored to have once been possessed by Beethoven. Since childhood, Meer Logan has been haunted by a tune and images of an ornate memory box along with what she believes to be false memories of another lifetime. Malachai helped her through the difficult times then, so she turns to him now. When the box in her visions turns up in Vienna, she goes there and the visions return with a vengeance. Again, there is someone willing to kill for the memory tool as well as an Israeli journalist out to avenge the deaths of his family by terrorists. The plot is fairly complicated, but the plot comes together nicely at the end, with a few loose ends for the next book. (I hope.) The flashbacks to previous lives are fascinating, and I found the ending to be satisfying and emotional; a beautiful story in many ways.
Linda
The Book Review Club is the brain child of Tween/Teen Author Barrie Summy. Click on the Book Club graphic to read her review and for links other club members.
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11 comments:
Sounds like a good one. So many books, so little time!
This one is definitely worth the time it takes to read it. Linda got me to read it, and I loved it!!!
Sounds like a terrific read. I love a complicated mystery!
I have been meaning to read both of these. Is there enough time?
Jenn, you'r so right. Too many books and not enough time. That's the story of my life. ;)
Teresa, so glad you enjoyed the book.
Barrie, complicated is definitely the word for this one.
Patti, there's never enough time, but I have to say, once I'd started these books, I could hardly put them down.
I, too, love a complicated mystery!
Then I think you'll like this one, Sarahlynn.
intriguing! I'll have to check it out. nice review. If you have time, stop by to read my book review thanks :P
Kaye, thanks for dropping by.
When I read it, I particularly liked the references to the Kabbalah and the soul's journeys.
I liked that, too, Barbara. It was interesting to get another perspective on belief in reincarnation than the East Asian one we usually read about.
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