(2007)Found this book while watching a forgettable new show on Fox, Past Lives, which in the credits was based on this book. Dealing with reincarnation, I quickly found that this book had nothing to do with the TV show, thankfully. Here we find a photographer that is working with the Phoenix Foundation, which studies reincarnation stories of children. After a bad accident, he starts to have ?lurches? back to ancient Rome where he is having a forbidden affair with a Vestal Virgin. Funny how those with past lives never are peons slogging away in the fields to stay alive. Despite this, the book was fun and provided some suspense to the end. BooklistAfter a bomb explosion nearly kills photojournalist Josh Ryder, he begins experiencing flashbacks¥or, perhaps, memoriesÂ¥of events that seem to have happened to him 1,600 years earlier, in another life. Convinced these episodes aren't figments of his imagination, he enlists the aid of the Phoenix Foundation, a group that specializes in past-life research. Later, when he becomes involved in the unearthing of an ancient tombÂ¥and experiences a connection with its long-buried residentÂ¥Josh realizes he has a chance to right a wrong that happened a millennium and a half ago, not to mention an opportunity to solve a series of modern-day murders. This is one of those books that succeeds in spite of itself: even though the writing is merely competent, the story itself is so appealing that you can't stop reading. Josh Ryder is a difficult character to pull off (among other things, he's a man in love with a woman who lived 1,600 years ago), and at times he comes off a little loopy. But for the most part he, like the novel itself, is surprisingly well grounded in the real world.

Interesting, better than i was expecting, although the style did take some getting used to. Early on it seemed as just as the chapters were starting to take off they ended, but I lost that feeling as I read on. The one thing I did hate was the ending, I hate when books are left open ended, in as much. They are your characters, don’t leave it to me to infer what happened to them, tell me. ( )

Brilliant premise but the book did not live up to it for my liking I'm afraid. I found the story slow in places and it was too easy to put down. Shame. ( )

Short story is ... I left the book in my car, and was too lazy to go out and get it, and decided to start another one instead. I finished that one quickly and realized I don't care how this one continues or ends ... so didn't finish it.

It sucked.

Adrianne ( )

I really, really tried to read this book - but finally had to admit I could not force myself to finish. While there is nothing technically wrong with the writing…there is nothing special about it, either.

The characters are flat and uninteresting, and it is very easy to make comparisons to the zillions of action novels/movies from the 80s. I read a lot of other reviews (hoping for reasons to continue), and saw many comparisons to The Da Vinci Code. I think it is more like Labryinth by Kate Moss.
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