Sepulchre (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Leonie Vernier stood on the steps of the Palais Garnier, clutching her chatelaine bag and tapping her foot impatiently..." (more)
Key Phrases: Madomaisèla Léonie, Abbé Saunière, les tarots, Domaine de la Cade, Monsieur Baillard, Victor Constant (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Contrivance, cliché and expository overkill overwhelm bestseller Mosse's tale concerning a rare tarot deck that helps link the lives of two women living eras apart. In 1891, Parisian teenager Léonie Vernier and her brother visit their young aunt at an estate in southern France. After finding a startling account of her late uncle's pursuit of the occult, Léonie scours the property for the tarot cards and Visigoth tomb he describes, unaware that more tangible peril in the form of a murderous stalker is seeking to destroy her loved ones. Present-day biographer Meredith Martin is in France finishing a book and tracing her ancestry when she sees a reproduction of the same tarot, which bears her likeness. She investigates the connection when she, too, arrives at the estate, now a hotel in which a new battle between good and evil rages. Mosse (Labyrinth) conveys so much unnecessary information through so many static scenes of talk, reading and interior monologue that the book's momentum stalls for good soon after its striking opening. Mosse's fans will hope for a return to form next time. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From The Washington Post

Kate Mosse has capitalized on the success of Labyrinth with a new novel boasting similar elements: strong female heroines, dual narratives connected across a vast span of years, the villages of southwestern France and even a search for historic artifacts. But this time it's a quest for family secrets -- not a treasure hunt -- that binds the twinned tales.

In 1891, 17-year-old Léonie Vernier simply can't understand her older brother, Anatole, and his extreme sensitivity about his private life; she never met his last lover but does try to ease his grief at the woman's burial during the book's opening scene. So when the siblings are invited six months later to visit Domaine de la Cade, the country estate of recently widowed Aunt Isolde, Léonie anticipates some quality time with Anatole -- and a chance to catch up on her macabre reading. She discovers "stories about devils, evil spirits and ghosts associated with this region" and explores a creepy old sepulchre on the estate's grounds. But stolen glances between Anatole and their surprisingly beautiful aunt leave Léonie feeling the odd woman out. Worse, she's ignorant of a greater danger lurking behind the pair's secretiveness: a lover from Isolde's past -- spurned, duped and now hell-bent on revenge.

Shift to 2007: Meredith Martin takes a break from researching her biography of composer Claude Debussy to delve into her own family history. She's led by an old photograph and a piece of sheet music titled "Sepulchre 1891" to visit -- you guessed it -- the Domaine de la Cade. En route, she stops for a Tarot reading and finds the spitting image of herself on the face on one of the cards -- La Justice, of course. Once she arrives at the ancient estate, she becomes embroiled in a contemporary mystery involving the "accidental" death of one of the domaine's co-owners.

Mosse achieves an admirable completeness here -- not just in the dual stories' tight parallels but in the vividly rendered settings, the careful interweaving of historical detail, even the nuanced depictions of these characters, particularly Léonie. But despite Mosse's stylistic skill, the story skirts dangerously close to cliche -- figures lurk in distant shadows, the wind whistles, storms rage. At least four major incidents take place on Halloween, and just when you think the book has everything but a mob of angry villagers, you get that too: "on the distant horizon . . . a line of flaming torches, gold and ochre against the black night sky."

All of this might seem damning if Sepulchre weren't such a giddy read. Throughout, Mosse intertwines her literary influences and the story at hand as playfully, intricately and suspensefully as she melds the material and the supernatural, past and present. Everything intersects in a goose bump-inducing finale at the sepulchre, which bears an inscription warning all who enter: "Fujhi, poudes; Escapa, non." (Flee, you may; escape, you cannot.) But really, with a book this much fun, who would want to do either?

Copyright 2008, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; Reprint edition (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425225844
• ISBN-13: 978-0425225844
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,624 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Second Effort, April 8, 2008

By	Robert Abidor "Arizona Bob" (Arizona) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sepulchre (Hardcover)

I purchased Sepulchre from Amazon UK so got to read it well before the US release. I too disagree with some of the harsh criticism that Mosse's book received. Part of the joy of reading period historical fiction is becoming part of the atmosphere. You can't do that in a few pages. You need to set the scene, create interest in characters and situations and come to understand where the author is taking you.

I found Sepulchre to be more similar to The Historian than to Labyrinth. A fairly complex plot over several time periods and places requires a depth of material. I found the descriptions of Paris excellent and in fact purchased Zola's Debacle after reading one of the character's discussion of the work. The action in the Carcasonne region is compelling.

I did not find the characters at all one dimensional. All express feelings and reactions that are well within the expected range. The story line is always interesting. Perhaps the reader needs some familiarity with French fiction of the period, like Victor Hugo's works to fully understand what Mosse is attempting. Also, the subject area should be very familiar to readers of recent fiction as it has been used in the DaVinci Code, The Templars and several other stories. The rich historical venue is a perfect setting for Sepulchre.

I found Mosse's second novel to be a fascinating addition to understanding the Church's purge of the Cathars and the treasures and threats that area possesses. Summer is coming. Sit on your favorite chair, take a cold drink and be prepared to be totally entertained by Sepulchre. I was.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthy read, April 25, 2008

By	S. Ling "historical fiction fanatic" (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sepulchre (Hardcover)

I am in total agreement with the reviewer who wrote the following: "I found Sepulchre to be more similar to The Historian than to Labyrinth. A fairly complex plot over several time periods and places requires a depth of material." Anyone who enjoyed the novel "The Historian" will enjoy this book, and vice versa. The books have the same feel to them. Anyone who does not enjoy heavy description of location, atmosphere and ambiance will get bogged down, I agree... but for those of us who expect the author to paint word pictures so as to draw us into the narrative will not be disappointed. You can see, hear and feel where the characters are in this book. I look forward to more books by Ms. Mosse.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings, April 26, 2008

By	Sandy Kay (Twin Cities, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sepulchre (Hardcover)

There were things I enjoyed about this book and things I didn't. I have not read Labyrinth so I can't compare it to that book.

I did enjoy the historical detail and the descriptions of the places. I wouldn't have minded even more detail on the Visigoths. I didn't enjoy the frequent untranslated French phrases; many times I could guess what they meant but often I was in the dark.

When I realized the novel centered around a set of tarot cards, I worried that it might be a little too "woo-woo" for me. It came close, but so much of the book was about the threats from human evil that the supernatural parts were tolerable. However, I didn't think the author explained how the ancient set of cards along with Leonie's picture cards were able to be reproduced if they were buried.

I have mixed feelings because I liked the book enough to finish reading it, but probably wouldn't recommend it to my friends.