Jac L'Etoile longs for nothing more than to forget her tormented childhood. As a child, she was plagued by visions of far away place and strange people. Eventually, Jac found peace by leaving Paris and her family behind. But when her brother, Robbie, goes missing, Jac is forced to return to Paris and confront her demons. Since Robbie's disappearance, it is up to Jac to decide what to do with the family business. The L'Etoile perfume company has made a name for the L'Etoile family in Paris but ever since Robbie and Jac's father's mental health deteriorated, the infamous perfume company has gone into a steady decline. Although Jac has never taken an interest in her family's company, she has always wondered about her father's stories about the legend of Giles L'Etoile. The legend goes that an ancestor of the L'Etoile family witnessed the discovery of an ancient perfume reputed to ignite memories of past life incarnations. When Robbie goes missing after finding the remains of ancient pottery shards at L'Etoile, Jac is forced to accept that the stories her father shared with his children may be real.

The story alternates between Jac's desperate search for her brother and the plight of Tibetan Buddhists. Communist China has demanded that all reincarnated Buddhas register with the government. When the latest Panchen Lama, who helps identify the newly reincarnated Dalai Lama, is found, the boy mysteriously disappears. When rumors of Robbie L'Etoile's mysterious reincarnation tool surface in China, the Chinese Mafia plans to steal the ancient perfume, which threatens China's hold on Tibet. But Robbie's discovery inspires hope of breaking free of China's hold on reincarnation in Tibet, The ancient scent commissioned by Queen Cleopatra, becomes the only clue to help Jac find her brother and the only hope of Tibetan Buddhists who are slowly being decimated by Communist China.

THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES takes readers into the mysterious world of reincarnated souls while weaving a riveting tale about a mysterious family ancestor. M.J. Rose takes the plight of Tibetan Buddhists and puts it front and center of a reincarnation legend dating back to reign of Cleopatra. THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES makes reincarnation believable for the most skeptic Westerner, while engaging the reader in the bizarre disappearance of Robbie L'Etoile. Readers will delight how M.J Rose unfolds the captivating and exotic story of Cleopatra's perfume while brilliantly tying the story together with Robbie L'Etoile's ancient discovery and Tibetan Buddhists' struggle with China.

Book Summary

Jac L'Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances--and of her mother's suicide--she moved to America.

Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with its financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing--leaving a dead body in his wake--Jac is plunged into a world she thought she'd left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother's disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L'Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation - or is it just another dream-infused perfume?