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"Fantastic - Thrilling - Riveting"

Covering a subject that has long held interest for me international best selling author M.J. Rose has written a fascinating novel about a woman who has been tortured her entire lifetime by snatches of memories she could never put to rest. The "dreads" were how Meer Logan referred to glimpses of terror and soul searing memories that were always accompanied by odd notes and strains of music; music she could never remember when she came back from those paralyzing moments of dread.

After seeing a strange letter sent by her father Meer sets out on a journey to Vienna to perhaps discover her past thru the unearthing of a box; a special box which holds clues of a lost flute linked to Beethoven; and links to a secret reincarnationist group. Meer also runs into David Yalom - a man whom she'd never met but was another link to Meer's past. David a man who lost everything and planned to show the security industry a first hand look at terrorism and prove those who could not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

*** Edge of the seat drama and suspense are two of the vital elements in this book but the most fascinating for me is something I've always thought to be a reality - reincarnation. Ms. Rose's well written story offers a look at the heart wrenching pain that is felt by Meer as she suffers from memories, or as she refers to them "the dreads". Each memory gives small glimpses of women from other past lives who had been involved in situations that involved perilous events culminating with loss, and always accompanied by strains of music so beautiful and achingly sweet which Meer could never recall after the episodes were over. While keeping Meer in the dark, Ms. Rose manages to keep the reader on pins and needles as she gives little clues into Meer's past lives, as well as introducing other characters who keep the action and suspense racing along in a sub-plots with twists and turns of betrayals along with a race against time to stop a terrorist attack. These past events seem to be repeating themselves in the present and until Meer can bring all the memories forth it seems that tragedies from the past are doomed to repeat themselves.

Bottom line: I found this book to be highly riveting, loaded with thrills and intensely appealing. Whether or not you're a believer in the possibility of reincarnation I highly recommend this novel for the sheer fact of being a most compelling and entertaining read.

Reviewed by Marilyn Rondeau
Posted October 26, 2008

International bestseller M.J. Rose has written a gripping and unforgettable novel about a woman paralyzed by the past, a man robbed of his future, and a centuries old secret. The dreads are back. As a child, Meer Logan was haunted by memories of another time and place, always accompanied by the faint strains of elusive music. Now the past has reached out again in the form of a strange letter that sets her on a journey to Vienna to unlock the mystery of who she once was. With each step, she comes closer to remembering connections between a clandestine reincarnationist society, a lost flute linked to Ludwig van Beethoven, and David Yalom, a journalist who understands all too well how the past affects the future. David knows loss first hand--terrorism is a reality that cost him his family. He's seen every solution promised by security experts around the world--and he's seen every solution fail. Now, in a concert hall in Vienna, he plans to force the world to understand the cost of those failures in a single, violent act. Because those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it...

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