Categories: uncategorized
Date: 15 April 2008 20:14:51
I have just finished reading Sepulchre by Kate Mosse. I really loved her first novel, Labyrinth and I therefore had high expectations of this one.
It is a time-shift novel, set over two different eras with different characters telling stories which intersect over the decades. The first story is set in 1891 - 1897. It is about the Vernier family, specifically brother and sister, Anatole and Leonie and their visit to the country to stay with an aunt they have never met at her house called Domaine de la Cade near Carcasonne. The story is spooky in places, involves a bit of tarot and at times it got a little confusing,.
The second story was much easier to understand (until the end of the book) and it focuses on a young American woman called Meredith Martin and is set in 2007. She is researching a book on Debussy and her journey takes her France and she also ends up staying in Domaine de la Cade which is now a hotel. Not only is she researching a book but she is also looking into her family history which seems to stem back to the Carcasonne region.
I enjoyed this book but it didn't seem to have the same drive as her first novel and in places it felt a little clunky. The stories about the family were interesting but some of the weird paranormal stuff became a little trying towards the end. I wish she had developed the Debussy theme a little more, as it seems that this could have added a bit more depth to the story. Having said all that, I did enjoy it, it was just the ending which irritated the crap out of me because it all seemed a little convenient and rushed.