Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT ROSETTA by Simon Cornish @UnforgivingMuse

Today’s team book review comes from Alison, she blogs at alisonwilliamswriting.wordpress.com

Alison chose to read and review Rosetta by Simon Cornish

Rosetta by Simon Cornish

This is a novella that is packed full of potential. The author can write and write really well, and the idea behind the story is intriguing.

When his former professor dies, Dr Graham Chandlers is asked to read a eulogy at the funeral. He is shocked when the professor’s adopted daughter, the enigmatic Rosetta of the title, performs an ancient ritual over the coffin in a language that only a handful of experts would understand.

Chandlers becomes intrigued by the events that led to the adoption of Rosetta and by what happened on the professor’s final dig. His investigations lead him to develop feeling for Rosetta, and also to uncover the mystery surrounding her and the dig.

The writing is beautifully crafted at times but there are places where it felt a little overdone, as if the author was trying too hard. There were places also where there was too much unnecessary detail. Conversely, I also felt that there was so much here that could have been developed. It was all over far too quickly and far too easily. The investigation could have, and should have, taken longer, and Graham and Rosetta’s relationship deserved far more time to develop. I also found it hard to believe that Graham accepted what had happened quite so easily – without giving too much away, an academic would not be so easily convinced. The answers seemed to fall into his lap.

With a little more depth and development, the plot could be thicker and more involved. Having said that, the characters and the situation are really interesting and the writing is wonderful in places. This deserves to be developed into a full-length novel.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com