Jac L'Etoile longs for nothing more than to forget her
tormented childhood. As a child, she was plagued by visions
of far away place and strange people. Eventually, Jac found
peace by leaving Paris and her family behind. But when her
brother, Robbie, goes missing, Jac is forced to return to
Paris and confront her demons. Since Robbie's
disappearance, it is up to Jac to decide what to do with the
family business. The L'Etoile perfume company has made a
name for the L'Etoile family in Paris but ever since Robbie
and Jac's father's mental health deteriorated, the infamous
perfume company has gone into a steady decline. Although Jac
has never taken an interest in her family's company, she has
always wondered about her father's stories about the legend
of Giles L'Etoile. The legend goes that an ancestor of the
L'Etoile family witnessed the discovery of an ancient
perfume reputed to ignite memories of past life
incarnations. When Robbie goes missing after finding the
remains of ancient pottery shards at L'Etoile, Jac is forced
to accept that the stories her father shared with his
children may be real.
The story alternates between Jac's desperate search for her
brother and the plight of Tibetan Buddhists. Communist China
has demanded that all reincarnated Buddhas register with the
government. When the latest Panchen Lama, who helps identify
the newly reincarnated Dalai Lama, is found, the boy
mysteriously disappears. When rumors of Robbie L'Etoile's
mysterious reincarnation tool surface in China, the Chinese
Mafia plans to steal the ancient perfume, which threatens
China's hold on Tibet. But Robbie's discovery inspires hope
of breaking free of China's hold on reincarnation in Tibet,
The ancient scent commissioned by Queen Cleopatra, becomes
the only clue to help Jac find her brother and the only hope
of Tibetan Buddhists who are slowly being decimated by
Communist China.
THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES takes readers into the
mysterious world of reincarnated souls while weaving a
riveting tale about a mysterious family ancestor. M.J. Rose
takes the plight of Tibetan Buddhists and puts it front and
center of a reincarnation legend dating back to reign of
Cleopatra. THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES makes reincarnation
believable for the most skeptic Westerner, while engaging
the reader in the bizarre disappearance of Robbie L'Etoile.
Readers will delight how M.J Rose unfolds the captivating
and exotic story of Cleopatra's perfume while brilliantly
tying the story together with Robbie L'Etoile's ancient
discovery and Tibetan Buddhists' struggle with China.
Jac L'Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her
memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up
surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume
company. In order to flee the pain of those
remembrances--and of her mother's suicide--she moved to
America.
Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited
the company along with its financial problems. But when
Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family
archives and then suddenly goes missing--leaving a dead body
in his wake--Jac is plunged into a world she thought she'd
left behind.
Back in Paris to investigate her brother's disappearance,
Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L'Etoile has
been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock
the mystery of reincarnation - or is it just another
dream-infused perfume?