Sheet Music

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 336 pages
• Published by: Ballantine Books
• Edition: 1st Edition April 29, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0345451066
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0345451064
• Book Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 1.3 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
Justine Pagett, the heroine of this overwrought thriller by Rose (Flesh Tones), is an American journalist living in Paris, where she fled after her mother's death three years ago. When a scandal breaks over one of her exposes-the subject accuses her of seducing him to get the story-Justine hopes to revive her career by taking an assignment in her native New York. She is to write a profile of reclusive composer and conductor Sophie DeLyon. But some of Sophie's devoted students don't want her story to be packaged for mass consumption and try to sabotage Justine's project. On the eve of Justine's arrival at the DeLyon estate, Sophie disappears. While unraveling the mystery of Sophie's life and disappearance, Justine must face her father and sister, also living in New York, from whom she's been bitterly estranged since her mother's death. She also has to contend with her feelings for her ex-lover Austen Bell, a composer and cellist who is also Sophie's protege and ex-son-in-law. Austen is just the kind of man Justine wants to avoid-one that she may actually fall in love with, something she has been steadfastly avoiding since her mother died. The mystery plot is gripping, but it is often overshadowed by exploration of Justine's grief and angst. This emotional terrain is familiar, the more so because Rose tends to use obvious symbolism ("no matter what I eat, I am never full," Justine tells us). Rose's fans will be willing to unearth the suspense story buried in all this earnest soul-searching, but this lackluster effort is unlikely to win her new readers.
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Kirkus Reviews
After three lusty thrillers (Flesh Tones, 2002, etc.) Rose again strings a taut line of suspense.

Reader Reviews
M.J. Rose gets better and better with every book. I loved Lip Service, In Fidelity and Flesh Tones -- and I knew that I'd love Sheet Music. Again, Rose mixes suspense and erotica in this beautiful and lyrical account of a young journalist who gets more than she bargains for when she tries to redeem herself after a scandal with one of her articles. Justine Pagett flees from New York to Paris after the loss of her mother. Her grief doesn't allow her to see past what she wants. She returns to New York to research Sophie DeLyon, a distinguished composer. Little did she realize that she'd have to dig up more than she had anticipated after Sophie mysteriously disappears. There are various twists throughout the novel. The ending is flooring. Sheet Music's language is sensual, beautiful, dark and stark. I love how the author describes food and music in an erotic manner. The aspects of erotica in this novel, as opposed to her first two novels, are more subtle -- used as an undertone this time. M.J. Rose is quite versatile. Sheet Music is one of the best suspense novels I've read all year. You won't find bloody scenes and gruesome details in this one, for this is a clever erotic/psychological thriller. Highly recommended... Comment | Permalink | (Report this)