With a shared love for the paranormal, pre-teens Nora and Charlotte spend every afternoon obsessing over the supernatural with their babysitter, 16-year-old Rose. One day, Rose eerily disappears while walking home and ironically, Nora is the last person to see her alive. Nora and Charlotte use their vivid imaginations to conjure reasons for Rose's disappearance, thinking it may have something to do with alien abduction or some type of otherworldly entity. Using their paranormal Time-Life books as guides, the two girls try to locate Rose by using magic spells and holding seances. After years have passed and Nora and Charlotte are adults comfortable in their own separate lives, the remains of Rose are discovered and Nora is inexplicably pulled back to her hometown. Nora soon realizes that when viewing the disappearance from an adult perspective, she may have known what really happened to Rose all along.
In Search of the Rose Notes
is incredibly captivating and you'll find that it's easy to tune out everything going on around you while you read it. The mystery surrounding Rose's disappearance is not at all predictable or easy to solve, which makes your experience reading it worthwhile.While I read In Search of the Rose Notes
, I found myself disliking Nora's character because she appears flighty, forgetful, and lacking in confidence. However, weeks later when I think about this novel, I realize that her character needed those characteristics to convince readers that her largest task was to retrieve her forgotten memories regarding Rose's disappearance.The supernatural undertones in this novel really add to the overall tone of the mystery, leaving readers wondering if Rose's disappearance has anything to do with the occult or the paranormal.
In Search of the Rose Notes
reminded me strongly of In the Woods
by Tana French
, so readers who enjoy French's novels should definitely read this latest novel by Arsenault.Emily Arsenault's first novel is called The Broken Teaglass
(2009), which has definitely been added to my wish list!Our review of In the Woods by Tana French:
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- In the Woods
I also loved In the Woods by Tana French, and I have seen Emily Arsenault books around in bookstores, but never thought to check her out. It sounds like the author did a good job of blending real-life stuff with paranormal stuff. Thanks for this review Dreamworld!
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