Book Review: In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault

In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Publish Date: July 26, 2011

Paperback, 384 pages 
Fiction, Mystery
ISBN: 978-0062046345

My Review:
I just keep lucking up on my reads lately.  In Search of the Rose Notes sounds intriguing from the blurb, but the blurb does not do it justice at all.  The book is so much more.  It's amazing, it's haunting, it's just a great suspense read that kept me turning pages.  I have really been enjoying this different suspense genre that drives the book at a pace that different from the breakneck speeds of a James Patterson or a Brad Thor or the like.  This is character-driven suspense, not action-driven suspense and I am learning that I really like this kind of suspense.

I was drawn in from the first page as you watch the live of Nora, Charlotte and Rose slowly unravel before you.  Switching from the present when Nora has gone back to visit with Charlotte when Rose's remains have finally been found to the past during the time leading up to Rose's disappearance and some afterwards makes the book interesting.  It really gives the characters a chance to develop to see them as budding teenagers and then again as twenty-somethings trying to make sense of this chapter in their lives.

I loved this book and did not put it down.  I would not have if I did not have to go back to work this week and have my husband's birthday fall during this week - pretty inconsiderate of hubby and work, wasn't it, to interrupt a really good book.  I just don't know what else to say, I don't want to give anything away, jusst get your hands on this book any way you can and read it.  It's suspenseful, it has great characters and it will suck you right into Nora and Charlotte's world and won't let you out until the last page is turned.  I'm not even sure it lets you out then since I'm still thinking about them now.  It's just that good.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

About the Book:
Eleven-year-olds Nora and Charlotte were best friends. When their teenage babysitter, Rose, disappeared under mysterious circumstances, the girls decided to “investigate.” But their search—aided by paranormal theories and techniques gleaned from old Time-Life books—went nowhere.
Years later, Nora, now in her late twenties, is drawn back to her old neighborhood—and to her estranged friend—when Rose’s remains are finally discovered. Upset over their earlier failure to solve the possible murder, Charlotte is adamant that they join forces and try again. But Nora was the last known person to see Rose alive, and she’s not ready to revisit her troubled adolescence and the events surrounding the disappearance—or face the disturbing secrets that are already beginning to reemerge.

About Emily Arsenault

Emily Arsenault is the critically acclaimed author of The Broken Teaglass, a New York Times 2009 Notable Mystery. She lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.

Visit Emily at her website.

 

 

 

Emily’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, July 26: Sarah Reads Too Much
Wednesday, July 27: My Reading Room
Friday, July 29: Reviews from the Heart
Monday, August 1: Life In Review
Tuesday, August 2: Reflections of a Bookaholic
Thursday, August 4: Reading Lark
Monday, August 8: The Whimsical Cottage
Tuesday, August 9: Chaotic Compendiums
Wednesday, August 10: A Bookworm’s World
Friday, August 12: Cozy Little House
Monday, August 15: Reviews By Lola
Friday, August 19: “That’s Swell!”

FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher through TLC Book Tours for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.