The Map of Bones

October 28, 2024
Mosse juggles two tales, two centuries apart in the fascinating if uneven conclusion to her Joubert Family series (after The Ghost Ship). In 1688, Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee, lands in Cape Colony, Southern Africa, after fleeing rampaging Catholic soldiers in Provence. Suzanne desperately wants to discover what became of her ancestor, Louise, who captained her own vessel to Africa, disrupting slaver ships before she vanished somewhere near the middle of the continent. After some lucky finds and numerous near-death experiences, Suzanne is shipwrecked off the coast of England, where she records her discoveries. Then, in 1862, Isabelle Lepard sets out to uncover the remainder of the story—including the fate of Louise’s lover, who was born a woman but passed as a man—so she can write a historical account and open a Joubert Family Reading Room in London. The motivations for Mosse’s heroines feel rather contrived, as do shoehorned-in recaps of the Jouberts’ family history (“Forgive me for repeating what you know, gran’mère, but it helps me to order my thoughts”). Still, series fans will appreciate the vivid historical detail, headlong pace, and gratifyingly feminist finale. Flaws aside, this sends out Mosse’s saga on a high note. Agent: Maria Rejt, Soho Agency.

November 2, 2024

Nearly 200 years separate the two women in the final volume of Mosse's Huguenot family saga (after The Ghost Ship). Suzanne Joubert travels to South Africa in 1688, escaping the religious violence back in her native France and hoping to unravel the mystery of what happened to her cousin, the pirate and ship captain Louise Reydon-Joubert. Suzanne's travels to the interior and back reveal a dramatic family secret that will later spur one of her descendants to also travel abroad for answers, two centuries later. In 1862 England, Isabelle Lepard, also a member of the Joubert family, is building a family archive. However, she is missing the story of Louise and insists on traveling to South Africa to discover her fate and fill in this last bit of her family's history. But Isabelle's voyage comes with a hidden danger that still lurks around the Jouberts, and it may cost her her life. VERDICT A satisfying and dramatic conclusion to Mosse's centuries-spanning family saga. The detailed, woman-centric series showcases her talents as a storyteller and is both well-considered and well-written. Devoted Joubert fans will adore the finale, but new readers can also enjoy the novel, which works as a stand-alone.--Laura Hiatt

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