I won a copy of this and look forward to reading it!A haunting tale of past lives with some mystery and intrigue thrown in, I think it would make a great movie. ( )

Rose did a good job of maintaining the suspense and weaving together the various threads. I liked this one. ( )

Good read - well written - ( )

The Memorist is author M.J. Rose’s follow-up novel to The Reincarnationist and she has again taken themes of reincarnation, this time weaving 19th century Vienna and the musical world of Ludwig van Beethoven with modern-day terrorist plots. A fast paced historical thriller, The Memorist takes the best elements of The Reincarnationist and improves upon them.

Although there is one carry-over character present, The Memorist is most assuredly a stand-alone novel.

One of the pleasures of reading an M.J. Rose novel is her approach to historical fiction. While much of The Memorist takes place in present day Vienna, her forays into the 19th century are impeccably researched. She incorporates fascinating details into her story, many of which the reader might dismiss as part of the creative license a historical fiction writer so often invokes. It isn’t until reaching the author’s note at the end of the novel that the full extent of Rose’s research becomes apparent.

If the plot synopsis above sounds vaguely familiar, it's because the plot of The Memorist is almost identical to that of her earlier novel, The Reincarnationist. New characters, new memories of past lives, and new artifacts for the protagonist to chase, but the plot movment is the same.

However, the improvements over The Reincarnationist are quickly apparent. Characters are more fleshed-out and their motivations better explored, giving the reader closer relationship with the characters.

Rose’s penchant for over-populating her novels with characters is still present, but the improved characterizations make it much easier to keep track of just who is who.

But the very best quality of The Memorist is Rose’s ability to meld time and place, even over the span of centuries, while still maintaining a tight, fast-paced thiller that keeps you guessing to the end.

Recommended, of course, for anyone with interest in reincarnation, but also for those who have a love of classical music (Beethoven plays a pretty big role in this novel!) or for those who just want to see a good example of blending modern day with the past. ( )

The Memorist is the second in a series of books about reincarnation, lost memory tools, and the struggle of Meer Logan to find herself through her past. Her father struggled to help his daughter call her past-life memories to the surface, but Meer found her life bearable only when she avoided the triggers that called those memories to the surface.

M.J. Rose's narrative technique easily transports readers to Vienna, the home of Ludwig von Beethoven, and to Vienna in the past when Beethoven lived and taught in the city. She carefuly weaves a suspenseful tale to find a lost memory tool once in the possession of Beethoven. Meer not only struggles with the surfacing memories, but with whom she should trust of her father's friends and how deeply she should not only confide in them, but lean on them when the memories flood her mind.

"Margaux's lovely home was filled with cleaver and important people, fine food and charming music. It was all a patina. The threads that held the partygoers' polite masks in place were fragile. Everyone in Vienna had an agenda and a plan for how the reapportionment of Europe would work best for them now that Napoleon was in exile. . . . So even here tonight, at what purported to be a totally social gathering, nothing was as it seemed." (Page 226)

This paragraph illustrates the facades built up around her father, her long-time confidant Malachai, and her father's sorrowful, new friend Sebastian. The face they present to one another does not represent reality; her father hides many things from her, just as she prepares speeches she believes he wants to hear. While this story is a thriller reminescent of The Da Vinci Code, it is much more, illuminating the relationship between Meer and her father and the secrets that lie beneath.

"'Yes, behind the facades of these elegant buildings are ugly secrets and dirty shadows. . . .'" (Page 297)

Readers will enjoy the shifting perspectives from chapter to chapter and the subplot that lurks beneath the surface and could change everything for the main characters and Vienna. Music, art, and mystery are the order of the day in The Memorist, and they are woven together beautifully.

"Lifting the plastic cover over the keys she put her fingers on the yellowed ivory and began. The piano had obviously been kept tuned and she was surprised at how differently this two-hundred-year-old instrument played from the ones she was used to. There was more power and feel to its sound, less control, less sustaining power and it seemed she could do more with its loudness and softness." (Page 252)

Meer underestimates her abilities, and readers will love the evolution of her character. The only drawback in the novel for readers may be the repetition of several descriptive lines as Meer enters her past memories and "a metallic taste fills her mouth." Aside from this minor annoyance, this novel is action-packed, thrilling, and absorbing. M.J. Rose has done her research and created a believable world in which reincarnation is a viable theory with the potential to be uncovered through the use of various tools. ( )