Sheet Music Reviews

AOL's Fiction Fourum Review

"M.J. Rose is known for writing earthy, intriguing, erotic treatise, and even dabbling in suspense, but in SHEET MUSIC, Ms Rose delves to the very depths of suspense writing, and delivers a stunning read. Carefully weaving together a story told in first person is difficult. Readers are either bored quickly with I, I, I, or don't bother to pick up the book because of their previous negative experiences with first person writing. It takes a stellar class author to write a first person narrative and do so successfully. M.J. Rose is just such an author. Readers will find themselves so caught up in the story that by the end of the first chapter they will forget this is first person writing.

The suspense in SHEET MUSIC is intriguing, however the in-depth
self-examination by Justine is truly realistic. Being a writer is important
to this heroine, and she considers herself a real expert on human nature.
Soon she discovers she may be an expert everywhere but within her own nature.

M.J. Rose successfully weaves Justine's personal revelations into the mystery of Sophie's disappearance, producing a story chock full of suspense, hidden secrets, and a complete surprise in the villain. It even took this die-hard mystery reader completely by surprise...an event that does not happen often in books."

AOL's Fiction Fourum Review

"M.J. Rose is known for writing earthy, intriguing, erotic treatise, and even
dabbling in suspense, but in SHEET MUSIC, Ms Rose delves to the very depths
of suspense writing, and delivers a stunning read. Carefully weaving
together a story told in first person is difficult. Readers are either bored
quickly with I, I, I, or don't bother to pick up the book because of their
previous negative experiences with first person writing. It takes a stellar
class author to write a first person narrative and do so successfully. M.J.
Rose is just such an author. Readers will find themselves so caught up in
the story that by the end of the first chapter they will forget this is first
person writing.

The suspense in SHEET MUSIC is intriguing, however the in-depth
self-examination by Justine is truly realistic. Being a writer is important
to this heroine, and she considers herself a real expert on human nature.
Soon she discovers she may be an expert everywhere but within her own nature.

M.J. Rose successfully weaves Justine's personal revelations into the mystery
of Sophie's disappearance, producing a story chock full of suspense, hidden
secrets, and a complete surprise in the villain. It even took this die-hard
mystery reader completely by surprise...an event that does not happen often
in books."


I LOVE A MYSTERY NEWSLETTER

"The poster girl for self-publishing, M.J. Rose garnered media attention when her self-published first novel (an e-book) hit Amazon's Bestseller List and became the first self-published novel to be purchased by the Literary Guild. I had heard of Rose, naturally, but had never read any of her fiction when I began SHEET MUSIC. Described by one reviewer as, "A smart, sexy, grown up Nancy Drew," it is a singularly inappropriate description for this
intelligent, beautifully written erotic thriller about a young woman who,
still grieving the death of her mother, sets out to solve the mystery behind
a famous composer's disappearance.

(Rose's) greatest strength lies in her lucid and elegant
prose.... (the) tale is relayed with passionate fluency that seems to lend it almost symbolic significance. No wonder that this spokeswoman for independent publishing has been snapped up by mainstream giant Ballantine! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."



Dorothy L Review

"M.J. Rose delves into some important issues in Sheet Music.
The novel examines obsession and selective memory. The reader realizes that some characters will untangle their emotions, while others will succumb to their blackness. Rose also studies the deep effect of music and art on individuals and she observes the isolation of pushing the artistic envelope.

I highly recommend Sheet Music, which portrays characters that stay with
the reader after the last page, and whose sensuality and empathy touch the heart. Readers of mysteries, romance, and self-awareness novels will all enjoy this book."-- Debby Atkinson

January Magazine's Best of Summer 2003 includes Sheet Music

"Cosmopolitan called M.J. Rose's last two books sizzling summer reads. We'll get on the bandwagon with that, for at times Rose's novels seem absolutely meant for the beach -- best read during an undisturbed chunk of time, the better to enjoy the sensual prose and plot lines that are invariably present in this writer's work. In Rose's latest work, Sheet Music, sensuality is everywhere: food-related scenes that read like foreplay, the lush background of an oceanfront estate and a soundtrack of classical music that seems to permeate every corner of the novel. "

Chichago Tribune - Summer Reading Pick - "Lusty Literature"

"Another hot, erotic thriller from the author of "Flesh Tones" and "In
Fidelity."

After a self-imposed banishment, American journalist Justine Pagett returns
from Paris to New York, where she takes on an assignment to profile the
strange composer and conductor Sophie DeLyon. But DeLyon disappears when
Pagett arrives, and the journalist quickly gets caught up in the mystery.

Fortunately for lovers of lusty literature, Pagett is also caught up in the
intrigues of a former lover who happens to be Sophie's protege.



."

Romantic Times - 4 1/2 Stars - Top Pick
"In this clever meshing of scintillating mystery and romance, Rose combines a young journalist's search for the perfect story with the disappearance of a famous musician. Chock full of suspense and hidden secrets, this haunting, dramatic novel will absorb readers."

Cosmopolitan Magazine - May 2003
"Hot Summer Read... Scorching beach book."

Working Mother Magazine - May 2003
"Must Read. Journalist Justine Pagett becomes entangled in three relationships that eventually collide in this page turner."

Kirkus Reviews
"After three lusty thrillers... Rose again strings a taunt line of suspense."

The Bookreporter
"If seduction is an art, then M.J. Rose is one of the masters. And just as her last novel FLESH TONES was breathtakingly sensual, her latest story, SHEET MUSIC, will leave you panting."
-- Roberta O'Hara

Diane's Books, of Greenwich CT says
"SHEET MUSIC reads like a smart, sexy, grown up Nancy Drew."

Caroline Leavitt, author of Coming Back to Me
"No one writes so simply and superbly about such lush things as food and sex as M.J. Rose--and at the same time, gets deep inside the heart and mind of a wonderfully complicated heroine. Literate and page-turning, Sheet Music's all about how we think we know the people we love--and we don't. And how we love them anyway. Enthralling."

Mariah Stewart, author of The President's Daughter
"Smart and sensual, SHEET MUSIC strikes all the right notes. M.J. Rose takes us along on a journey of the soul, through loss and discovery, endings and beginnings, love and deception. With characters so real they step off the page, SHEET MUSIC is a don't miss read."