The Memorist

Reincarnationist #2

by M.J. Rose

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.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Historical, Suspense

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

New York Times Bestseller, M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother's favorite books before she was allowed. She believes mystery and magic are all around us but we are too often too busy to notice... books that exaggerate mystery and magic draw attention to it and remind us to look for it and revel in it.

Her most recent novel, The Last Tiara, will be published Feb 2, 2021

Rose's work has appeared in many magazines including Oprah Magazine and she has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, WSJ, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the '80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors - Authorbuzz.com

The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose's novels in the Reincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and currently serves, with Lee Child, as the organization's co-president..

Reviews

[Mª Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐

[Melodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the the Reincarnationist series. While it picks up the main character of Malachi Samuels in his quest for proof of reincarnation, there is a new group of characters who struggle with their own beliefs.
This time the proof sought is an ancient flute and music,supposedly hidden away by Ludwig van Beethovan.Just like the first story, the reader is treated to multiple plot lines,locations and time periods. All does come together eventually but this one was harder for me to follow and maintain interest in.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found by chance at the library. About reincarnationists. At the end I'm not at all convinced of the viability of reincarnation. But an interesting story. BEGGING for a good editor. Oh my, the awful sentences I could have fixed!

[Barbara ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable thriller which could have been more enjoyable without the whole terrorist angle. A rather predictable ending - at least from the terrorist angle. I enjoyed it but didn't love it.

[Juli · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the concepts.... now want to add Vienna to my travel wish list.... will definitely read next in the series after a brief genre change...

[Jessica (thebluestocking) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free from the publisher. All content and opinions are my own.

The Memorist is the second in a thriller series by M.J. Rose.

Meer Logan has always been haunted by the memories of someone else and the ellusive music that accompanies the memories. She has devoted her life to the study of false memories and to the study of music, hoping to rid herself of the dreads caused by these episodes.

Her father, Jeremy Logan, on the other hand, has devoted his life to the study of Jewish mystical beliefs and to recovering Jewish treasures. He believes Meer is remembering her past lives. Ever striving to help Meer, he finds a gaming box Beethoven gave to his closest friend - the same box Meer has drawn obsessively since childhood. The box possibly holds the secret to the location of one of the memory tools.

David Yalom is a journalist who earned three Pulitzers from his reporting on terrorism. His career, though, cost him everything he loved and now he’s at a crossroads with his memories.

Malachai Samuels is a child psychologist who has helped hundreds of children suffering from past-life memories, but he hasn’t been able to help Meer. When he hears of the gaming box and its possible connection to a flute that can aid recollection of past lives, he knows he must do everything he can to decipher the clues and find that flute.

The box is in Vienna, and all of the characters find their way there too, hoping to find the flute and make peace with their memories - past lives and present.

This was a fast-paced, intriguing, well-researched thriller. Though the general genre was firmly established by The Da Vinci Code, The Memorist is very original - due in large part to the reincarnationist background. Fun details about Beethoven’s life and the romps through the historic sites of Vienna had me hooked. Though there are dozens of characters in several eras, I had no trouble following along with the clipping pace.

There were a few things that bothered me, like the stale description of what it feels like to sink into a past life memory. Also, I felt like some of the characters were a little too flat. That being said, this book accomplishes what it sets out to do - to entertain.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Memorist (M.J. Rose)
A lot of characters and it jumped around a bit. Somewhat hard to follow, but an interesting plot. I Feel I should read the first book in the series (The Reincarnation), possibly helping me to enjoy this more. Meer is the main character and she has flashbacks/visions/hallucinations. It is believed that she is experiencing past lives. The story gets complex when a mystical flute from long ago is found, then stolen. There is also a possible connection to Beethoven and his music, tied into this flute. Her father believes her past memories hold the key to this flute and the findings of it. The main story is set in Vienna , which I found interesting. I just had a hard time with connecting Beethoven, his music and reincarnation.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me this was a forgettable national treasure type book. It was ok while reading..I had some issues with errors in the book (huge pet peeve of mine when characters names are wrong), but I could read this at the beach or on a trip and be fine. Just not one I will remember. Predictable..not really any twists if the author was trying to make some, so just became boring and a little long for what it is.

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked it up at a library sale and didn't realize it was part of a series. I guess the theme for the series is reincarnation. Meer has had past life intrusion her whole life but she doesn't want to admit to it. Her father, the Indiana Jones of finding Judaica, is a huge believer and in contact with a group who are dedicated to scientifically proving that reincarnation is real.

Her past life is tied into a bone flute that can make people remember their past lives, the song written by Beethoven and then hidden (maybe by her in a past life) Meer goes to Vienna to meet up with her father and his friend, her therapist, because the game box from her past life memory has surfaced with a letter by Beethoven about the flute and what happened to it. Her father has also enlisted the help of an oboeist with the Vienna symphony, Sebastian, whose son her father is sure is now catatonic lost in his own past life. Sebastian's group is playing a huge concert that'll be televised and unbeknownst to them has been targeted by David Yalom, a journalist whose entire family was killed by a terrorist group and for some reason he decides to kill everyone at this symphony in turn (I think the head of the terrorist group was supposed to be but it was a muddy mess) and then this means we have also all the people doing security for the symphony and oh the FBI is after Malachi, her father's friend and her therapist for art theft.

And there is the problem with this book. WAY too many points of view, way too many side stories. Honestly David's added nothing and frankly we could have lost it (and gave one past life role to someone else). It was just overwritten. Otherwise it was interesting but not memorable. I am not moved to find any more of this series.

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating of 3.5

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good supernatural thriller. The book's plot revolves around the concept of reincarnation (a doctrine which I find completely ridiculous, but it's fiction, so who cares?), and Rose does a nice job of weaving together disparate story lines from both the present and from various past lives of the major characters. Giving Beethoven a starring role in one of the past lives is a nice touch.

But while I am willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of a good story, one item was simply too much: a key element of the story is the decoding of an ancient song; the code is revealed when the protagonist, Meer, recognizes that a series of markings on some lines actually represent notes on a musical staff. The problem is that some of these markings represent sharps. Anyone with even a rudimentary musical education realizes that sharps (and flats, too) are noted on the musical staff with additional symbols: either with the marking for a sharp (#) placed directly in front of the note, or with the key of the piece of music represented at the beginning of the bar by one or more sharp (or flat) symbols. It is simply not possible, in Western notation, to show a sharp without these symbols, and so one of the keys to this story--the decoding of an ancient song, a song that includes sharps--is not even musically accurate.

Still, this was a nice little read. (It was 453 pages, but Rose writes in very short chapters, and it's a very quick read.)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Reminiscent of Dan Brown but with MUCH better writing and more interesting characters. I didn't realize this was a sequel to Reincarnationist but I don't think not having read that took away from this in any way (and it only made me want to read the first!) The book is suspenseful and smart and just overall an enjoyable, fast read despite being on the longer side. This isn't my normal fare, but I'll definitely pick up the first and many more from MJ Rose.

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was somewhat hard to follow a lot of characters.maybe if i had read Reincarnation the first book in the series i would have enjoyed this book more. Meer Logan is the main character she has always been haunted by someone else,s memories and the elusive music that comes with the memories. She has devoted her life to studying music and false memories in the hope she can rid herself of the dread caused by these episodes. If you believe in reincarnation than this is a good book to read.

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this almost as much as the first. It has been compated a lot to The DaVinci Code but in some ways I think it was as good, if not better. I really liked the FBI agent character and look forward to his storyline in the third book.

[Meredith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear, and here's another one I had to quit on. I bought the Kindle version, which I tend to read late at night in bed, and way too much back-and-forthing was required for me to grock all the players, places, and times. I couldn't just settle in and take up the storyline.

[Vickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more 3.5***. I enjoyed it but there are lots of characters and plot jumping. It was hard for me do follow since I was listening to an audio version. I love the historical fiction of M.J. Rose, but this one didn't do as much for me as a few of her other books.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me about 100 pages to really get into it, but I think overall it was a better story than the first book.

[Tapley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. In retrospect, the way the story turns out is a tad predictible, but it kept me on the edge of its seat, and I liked the unusual elements of the plot (i.e. the reincarnation aspects)

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't even finish this book its gotten so ridiculous! And I give up on maybe one book a year.

[Shaunda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished reading 📚 the Memorist. Another interesting insight into reincarnation.

I still don't believe in it, but the storyline was most intriguing.

How does playing a certain sound on a flute cause one to go back in time?

Well this is exactly what happens in the Memorist.

Ludwig Von Beethoven acquired a flute that if played correctly could transport one back to another time & experience what that person was experiencing at that time. Wow, right?

He also realized that this flute was to dangerous to have every one know about, but too special to be destroyed.

So he'd leave clues with his trusted friends.There were 3 or 4 people, that way not just one person had all the knowledge, but all would be privy.

So starts the adventure. In comes Meer, our herione. She's had these moments where she's in places in the past that she knows she has never been.

She is being called names, she does not recognize. She see things she does not understand. What does all this mean?

Malachi from the Phoenix Foundation has been working with Meer, since she was a child. But has had no success.

Until Jeremy, Meer's father ask Malachi to show Meer a letter.

Meer reacts to this letter ✉, & sets off to Vienna to find her answers.

Excellent story. I really felt for Meer, and some of the other characters.

But I'm not going to spoil it for you.

Its a good read, with some history too.

I know I enjoyed it, and hope you will to.

Until then, Happy Reading 📚!!!!

Ciao 💋

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is my usual practice (albeit unintentional) I picked up the 2nd book in this series and read it before the 1st. It incorporates beliefs and theories of ancient believers in reincarnation (not surprising based on the title). A young woman who studied music at Julliard, her father who is an "Indiana Jones" type who specializes in recovering lost and priceless antiquities, members of a secret society dedicated to preserving the mystery and integrity of the ancient Jewish beliefs, detective/FBI individual with several agendas, the leader of a global security firm., and lastly Beethoven. All of these are seeking several related items with the power to show some - but not all - people who come in contact with the "flute" and something written by Beethoven past iterations of themselves.

It is an interesting premise and Rose does a creditable job of weaving truth, fact, legend and fiction into a compelling story. There are a few places where the heroine, Meer, is written to behave in a less-than-believable way, but I guess it has to be that way for the story line to "work."

The writing and descriptions of intentions, emotions and motives are well developed and overall, I liked the book. I may or may not read the first in the series, the Reincarnationist.

[Noellasue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started the book not realizing it was part of a series. It starts out slow, going from time period to time period, and character to character. It was difficult to understand until about a third of the way through. By then the characters are familiar enough to begin to know where one is in the story. Then about tw0-thirds through the book, another older time period is introduced.

Meer Logan is haunted by memories of the past, the ancient past, memories that aren't hers.

There is Beethoven, there is a flute that plays a melody that she can't quite grasp, especially when she returns to present day time. There is a terrorist and then there are people who are trying to steal the flute once it's found.

As I mentioned, the book started out very slowly, the middle began to make sense, but by the end I was tired of the story. There were 453 pages, and I began to skim the pages at around the 430th page.

I seriously doubt I'll read any of the rest of the series.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story of a lady who has been reincarnated. However, she is rather annoying, as the subject of the story, Meer Logan does not believe in prior lives, and yet she was experiencing constant regressions. So I was not sympathetic with Meer Logan.

Meer Logan has odd dreams, about another time, another past. Her family and friends have tried to help her, but she fights them all the way.

There is some connection with Beethoven and a flute, she is pulled back to a time gone by, a secret society, and a person who will murder to find the answer to the mystery. She puts herself into danger by trusting the wrong person. At last she finds, the connection, the story of the past, who she was, and now where she will be going. Ms. Logan has become a believer.

[Ree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel starts with a chilling premise: what if, somewhere hidden in the world, lies an ancient artifact that, when played, anyone within hearing range, is automatically transported back into their past lives? The implications are staggering! Once again, Malachai is after another of the Lost Memory Tools, determined to prove that reincarnation exists. When a dear friend says he may have a lead, Malachai is on his way. So is the daughter of his friend. Once they land, the story moves in so many different ways that I had trouble even putting it down! Such an incredible book! And the ending absolutely blew me away. Absolutely magnificent and utterly horrifying all at once. All in all, outstanding!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2nd in the Reincarnationist series. The only character that continues from the previous book is Malachi Samuels and his search for memory tools. The story is really that of Meer Logan though, and her past lives. Meer resists the idea of past lives, but has heard music her own life that her with the “dreads”.

The story moves between the present day, 1814 in Vienna, Austria and ancient India and revolves around the search for a bone flute and its song, which has been discovered by Ludwig van Beethoven.

I enjoyed the main story. I thought the secondary plot of David Yalom was unnecessary to the main plot and could have been edited out.

[D.B. Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inside cover ratings describe this book as similar to DaVinci Code by Dan Brown - and it does have the same feel. It is fast paced, taking place in just over a week and spanning several countries.
There are a lot of subplots that provide numerous perspectives to add to the interest as well. Love the topic matter - do we reincarnate and if so, can we remember parts of previous lives. Interesting, entertaining read.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to be lost in a book especially a book of this magnitude. A story told through generations of memories that is absolutely beautiful. This book got me in the core as I related to having memories thatI’m not sure are mine. This is a book that tore me because It was so good I just wanted to keep reading but yet I wanted to savor it and for it not to end! I highly recommend.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started this book, I wasn’t sure if I would like it. By the end I was flipping pages as fast as I could read, wanting to know what happened next. Emotional, moving, evocative, and deep, this was a book to savour.

[Rachy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of tropes, with the reincarnation theme being the only new twist. A lot of the plot holes are left unfilled or resolved so briefly and poorly I'm not sure what happened.

And basically everything Jewish was awfully inaccurate.

[Jodie Scales · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into the story, but I was glad I didn't give up. Much like the first book in the series, The Reincarnationist. Same premise with different historical flashbacks (glitches).