SEDUCTION by MJ Rose

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

I must admit that I wasn't a fan of M.R. Rose's THE REINCARNATIONIST. It just didn't grip me.  Still, I was intrigued by the premise of this new book. After Victor Hugo lost his beloved daughter in 1843, he began to get involved in the spiritualist world with a series of seances as he desperately tried to contact her.  Those seances may have brought something beyond his daughter.  In the present, mythologist Jac L'Etoile travels to the isle of Jersey to research its Neolithic roots. While there, she reconnects with troubled childhood friend Theo Gaspard and is drawn into his family's secrets while uncovering other hidden mysteries on the island.

There are three story threads in this novel.  The first thread is Victor Hugo and his seances on the isle of Jersey in the 1800's. The second thread follows Jac in the present as she tries to uncover both the mythological roots of the isle as well as the family secrets of the Gaspard Family and Victor Hugo.  The third thread follows a set of Neolithic druids. There is a lot going on here!!!  Still, Rose manages to create a compelling and entertaining novel. I had a hard time putting it down. All three threads were equally interesting.  My main problem with the novel is its title.  A terrible title for such an entertaining book!  I worry that the title will be off-putting for some readers.  The title and book cover make it look like a romance novel when it is truly a novel of mystery and suspense.

BOTTOM LINE:  Recommended. An entertaining novel with both historical and fictional roots.  This would make a great vacation read.