If seduction is an art, then M.J. Rose is one of the masters. Her
talent lies in recognizing that anyone and anything can be a
seducer --- a cello concerto, a savory bruschetta, or seashell. Her
last novel FLESH TONES was breathtakingly sensual. Now, in SHEET
MUSIC, she takes seduction to a new level.

Justine Pagett, a woman who was a child star as the junior member
of a mother-daughter team of cookbook writers, has spent a lifetime
surrounded by the intoxicating smells of the kitchen. She learned
early from both her parents, who were stellar cooks, that food
holds power and the ability to enthrall. When her mother, her
lifeblood, dies, Justine runs away from her grief and her family
--- and into the arms of a chef who would be her momentary undoing,
a chef who seduces her with apple slices and honey from Provence.
"My lips close over the firm flesh. I bite down. Smell lavender.
Feel sunshine. Taste a combination of tart and sweet. Hear the
crisp snap…This is how he seduces me --- with food and drink
--- with tastes and tasting." Seduction is the linchpin of all the
relationships in SHEET MUSIC.

Shattered emotionally and professionally by this short-lived
coupling, Justine returns to the U.S., accepting an assignment to
write a biography of the mysterious, exceptionally talented
composer, Sophie DeLyon. A Svengali figure, DeLyon has endowed an
institution where only the brightest talents become her devoted ---
nearly obsessive, definitely possessive --- prodigees. DeLyon
captivates her students --- male and female, young and old --- and
commands (maybe demands) a questionable loyalty from all. She
beguiles with the promise of eternal fame and unequalled talent.
She appears well loved by all, but when she suddenly disappears
without a trace, her distraught family, students and faculty all
become suspect. Someone is not telling the truth, but all seem at a
convincing loss.

Austen Bell is one of DeLyon's grieving former students and,
coincidentally, Justine's ex from an earlier time. A cello player,
he handles his instrument like a lover and his lovers with the same
passion as his music. Another of Rose's authorial strengths:
effective and telling flashbacks to their steamy relationship
seamlessly woven into the present-day story. "Music always set the
tone of our lovemaking. Romantic with Chopin, we were violent with
Stravinsky, and reverential with Beethoven. We translated sound to
touch, to physical rhythm."

Justine and Austen rekindle their attraction just as the mystery
heats up. Though seduction of all varieties drives the plot of this
erotic thriller, it is Justine's coming to terms with her loss and
her power that completes the tale. As always, M.J. Rose renders
hot-blooded characters with great dimension in SHEET MUSIC.