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The Rose Trail: Book One of The Spirit Level Series Kindle Edition

4.4 out of 5 stars 188 ratings

Award-winning B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree WINNER OF 'CHILL WITH A BOOK AWARD' June 2017 Can a golden pomander contain the power of the past through the scent of roses it carries? Fay, lost and lonely, feels trapped and unable to move on from tragedy. Haunted by restless spirits her life is not her own. When she meets an old rival she is drawn into a chain of events that both terrifies and fascinates her. Meadowsweet Manor is also unable to escape its own tragic history from the English Civil War. Only when Fay follows a trail of roses back through hundreds of years can she unlock its secrets and redeem her own. Is it chance that brings Fay and Persephone together? Or is it the restless and malevolent spirit who stalks them both? Once rivals, they must now unite if they are to survive the mysterious trail of roses they are forced to follow into a dangerous, war-torn past.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I do love a challenge and this book presented me with several. Not only was there a great deal of research for the historical section, there were five voices to convey. Fay is the narrator of the piece and a flawed and troubled character. Definitely not your average heroine.

From the Inside Flap



I am indebted to Jane at jdsmith-design.com/
for designing the brilliant cover picture from some pretty random ideas

Heartfelt thanks to Phil for his eagle-eyed editing and to Tom for his objectivity and insights
This book is dedicated to Jo for her constant belief and encouragement in this story












Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01MXVO9WM
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 6, 2016
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 2nd
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.7 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 428 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 3 ‏ : ‎ The Spirit Level
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 188 ratings

About the author

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Alex Martin
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'The Plotting Shed' was my first writing space at the bottom of my Welsh garden. Now I split my time between Wales and France and plot wherever I am. I still wander aimlessly in the countryside with my dog and my dreams and I can still be found typing away with imaginary friends whispering in my ear, but these days I have the joy of seeing my stories published and the treasured feedback from readers who've enjoyed them.

Now I have nine novels on Amazon and a collection of 3 short stories, called Trio (a free copy of which is available at The Plotting Shed).

My first novel, The Twisted Vine, is based on my adventurous escape from real life when I picked grapes in France in the 1980s. I met some amazing people there but none as outrageous as those that sprang to life on my screen.

Award-winning Daffodils, the first in "The Katherine Wheel Series", is quite a different book based in Wiltshire where I grew up. Katy's life and the rigid social order that confined her were radically altered by the catalyst of the First World War as it slowly eroded the age-old way of English country life. The sequel, Peace Lily, takes the characters into 1919 after the armistice. They each have to carve out new lives in the aftermath of the Great War and find their way into the new modern age. The next book is Speedwell, when the four protagonists race into the motoring era of the roaring 'twenties. Willow, a novella, bridges the gaps between the generations in Speedwell and the next two books, Woodbine and Ivy. The children in Willow are on the brink of both adulthood and the Second World War in Woodbine, and this conflict will dramatically impact on their lives, just as the First World War did on their parents'. The Katherine Wheel Series concludes in Ivy, the sixth volume where Lottie is trapped in occupied France, Isobel is torn between love and duty and Al flies planes for the ATA. All the disparate threads of the previous five books are drawn together into a surprising climax.

I've also published something totally different. The Rose Trail is a ghost story with the English Civil War as its backdrop. The story slips between the time of the English civil war and the present day and is woven together with a supernatural thread in a ghostly voice. I'm happy to add that The Rose Trail has won 2 awards since publication: Chill with a Book award and a B.R.A.G Medallion. Now its sequel is published, Triskelion, Book Two of The Spirit Level Series, where Fay and Percy take on their first professional assignment in the wild lands of Anglesey, an island off North Wales. A rock star's creativity is frustrated by a ghost who lived near his music studio 2000 years ago. This Druid priestess is determined to be heard by everyone.

I am currently working on a new novel about three friends set in the present day with only a hint of a ghost!

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
188 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's plot unique and engaging, with one review noting how battles are woven into the narrative. Moreover, the characters receive positive feedback, and customers appreciate the historical accuracy, with one review highlighting how past and present elements interweave seamlessly.

11 customers mention "Story quality"11 positive0 negative

Customers praise the book's unique plot, with one review highlighting its compelling narrative structure and another mentioning its tragic love stories.

"...Oooo, say no more, I'm buying it. The plot is so unique and kept me up late for many nights reading...." Read more

"...The historical research is excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the battles between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers, as told through..." Read more

"...Distortions are both interesting and heartbreaking, As are the modern day segments of the story...." Read more

"Alex Martin has written quite the engaging story. Parts of it can get quite spooky and sad but will keep you turning pages. Highly recommended" Read more

5 customers mention "Character development"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the characters in the book, with one mentioning that the historical ones are particularly interesting.

"I really like Alex Martin's honestly drawn characters and the humour which makes them so human and fallible...." Read more

"...in a beautiful ancient mansion in great Britain, The the main characters are so likable, they feel like long lost friends...." Read more

"...Alex's description of the English countryside, her memorable characters, fears of the war, and lives lost and changed drastically, made each story..." Read more

"...She remained true to her style and I liked the characters and plotline and the way the past and present interwove without jarring...." Read more

4 customers mention "Historical accuracy"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the historical accuracy of the book, with one noting how the past and present interweave seamlessly, while another highlights the excellent research.

"...The historical research is excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the battles between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers, as told through..." Read more

"The pre-and-post WW1 time period was a fascinating, past time of major change...." Read more

"...Her historical fiction has always been cinematic and enthralling, so I read this change in genre with interest to see if she maintained the colour..." Read more

"...Easy to follow & not too much history to confuse" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2017
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Alex Martin's The Rose Trail had me hooked when I read that it was a "time slip" novel. Oooo, say no more, I'm buying it. The plot is so unique and kept me up late for many nights reading. I didn't want to leave the characters in peril. My favorite was Fay, as she unfolds on the pages of this adventure, showing her vulnerable, tragic past, and how she's coped and just got on with it. Fay's funny comments and quips about herself made me laugh out loud, and nod my head, saying, "Yes, that is EXACTLY how I feel." I love historical novels and Alex Martin weaves plenty of historical scenes into this story. She delves into the realm of haunted houses and restless spirits for the modern day characters to deal with, but then she gives you all the back story of how they got that way in their own time, in the past. The friendship between Fay and Percy grew throughout the story, showing the best side of human nature. It provided balance for the other forces at work. It is not often that a book of fiction causes me to look at my own reality differently, but The Rose Trail certainly does that. Please tell me that there is a sequil in the works!!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I really like Alex Martin's honestly drawn characters and the humour which makes them so human and fallible. The Rose Trail is an entertaining book with delightful insights into the past and how history can affect the future. The historical research is excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the battles between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers, as told through two families with members on both sides of the war.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This is such a good story about women's friendship, and tragic love stories. Distortions are both interesting and heartbreaking, As are the modern day segments of the story. Set in a beautiful ancient mansion in great Britain, The the main characters are so likable, they feel like long lost friends. The historical characters are also interesting and realistic. I'm hoping that Alex Martin writes a sequel because I would love to hear more about what happens to Fay and Persephone.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Alex Martin has written quite the engaging story. Parts of it can get quite spooky and sad but will keep you turning pages. Highly recommended
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2019
    Format: Kindle
    Should have loved this - it had a great plot - ghosts, loss and plenty of emotion but somehow it failed to connect with me. Probably due to the characters, they just felt a bit stilted and insincere. I just didn't like either of the two main ones and the dialogue was just a bit forced and cold.
    She had always been able to see ghosts and had suffered bullying because of it. Plus the one time she had gone along to help a ghost, her one true love died. Maybe if she had put up more of a fight he would still be here. Now all grown up she reconnects with one of her schoolmates. Only to suffer a nose injury in a game of squash. Feeling out of it she takes up the offer to spend the evening at the family home of her friend. Add in a restless ghost that is intent on being reunited with her love even though she split a family apart to do so. Possession and attacks follow. Can the two women give this restless soul and the two brothers she pit against the other peace. Especially when it becomes clear that she is the cause of her own lovers death.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Good details about war from viewpoint we don't always hear. Middle story of 3. Probably wouldn't have been as interesting to read without reading book 1 first.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    The pre-and-post WW1 time period was a fascinating, past time of major change. Alex's description of the English countryside, her memorable characters, fears of the war, and lives lost and changed drastically, made each story more memorable as to families changing. I just WISH there were more of her books!
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I've been somewhat of a fan of Alex Martin since she began writing.
    Her historical fiction has always been cinematic and enthralling, so I read this change in genre with interest to see if she maintained the colour and atmosphere.
    I thoroughly enjoyed it.
    She remained true to her style and I liked the characters and plotline and the way the past and present interwove without jarring. A great story.

    For lovers of time-slip novels, this is recommended.
    One person found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Welsh Annie
    5.0 out of 5 stars A timeslip novel I thoroughly enjoyed...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Timeslip stories can miss their mark should one of the threads be stronger than the other, but the balance of this book was just perfect. In the present day, I loved Fay and Percy (a short form of Persephone that’s so much nicer than the one her husband uses…), two very different and wonderfully drawn characters. Fay’s ability to see dead people has always marked her out as “different”, and I loved the fact that she decided to suppress it by becoming an accountant (what better way to quieten rebellious spirits, eh?). Their partnership as amateur sleuths is so very well done – there’s a wonderful wry humour, with a touch of near slapstick at times that I really enjoyed, and a rather lovely developing warmth to their unlikely friendship. Fay’s personal history is heartbreaking, and I did like the way it was woven into the story alongside the main historical thread – and its resolution most definitely brought a tear to my eye.

    I can be a bit of a wuss about restless spirits and the supernatural, but was relatively comfortable with the content here – it’s suitably disturbing in places, as it needed to be, but the touches of humour lightened things rather nicely. The transitions between the timelines were excellent, and very convincing. And then there’s the historical thread, which I thought was just wonderful, a superbly researched and presented story of the 17th century: strong and well-rounded characters, a family divided over the issues of the day and the love of a woman, with fascinating insights into the political situation and the religious divide, scenes of war vividly and compellingly described. The Battle of Roundway Hill was an event I wasn’t previously aware of, and the book brought it to life for me – and it’s always rather good when you can extend your knowledge while enjoying a novel. In fact, I particularly liked the way location was used to anchor and trigger events across the timelines, particularly the hill itself and the surrounds and labyrinthine depths of Meadowsweet Manor.

    What I really did want to say though is that this was an absolutely cracking story, that I raced through in a couple of sittings, and thoroughly enjoyed. There’s enough historical depth to satisfy the most ardent fan of the finer detail, but not too much to put off the reader who might prefer the sleuthing and supernatural touches. I’m guessing it’s unlikely to happen – I know the author’s focus is more on her Katherine Wheel series at present – but I’d love to see this book’s characters developed into a series, as there’s considerably more mileage in that lovely partnership of Fay and Percy. I really loved this book.
  • granny4
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on July 8, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Good read!
  • Hilary Shepherd
    4.0 out of 5 stars Tale of the unfinished
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    A good-natured frolic through the world of ghost-busting in the company of the unlikely Fay Armstrong and her even more unlikely side-kick, the bimbo Persephone, who uncover a forgotten and apparently unfinished tragedy from the Civil War. Nice comic touches in the modern story as Fay and Persephone (Percy) battle with the spirits, and interesting outcome in the ghost-part of the tale, where the central characters of brothers Ralph and Will and the young woman they are both in love with turn out to be rather more complex and subtle than they at first appear.
  • SuzM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Tragedy, comedy and history
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    The Rose Trail is a great mixture of amateur detection and supernatural riddles, with dramas of the present day crashing painfully into dramas of the seventeenth century. A time when the country was riven by civil war, religious bigotry, totalitarian rulers, rebellious subjects wanting liberty, and families divided - not so very different from some events today. I love the story of the past, with two brothers at war over politics and love, but I also adore the two present-day protagonists, Fay and Persephone, so very different, but linked by an uncomfortable way with the desperate touch of the past. Ghosts need to find peace – those of the distant and the more recent past. Fay and Percy make a great team of detectives and I suspect (hope) there will be many more investigations to come.
  • Elaine Fryatt
    5.0 out of 5 stars An enthralling book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I received an ARC of this book. I loved this book, the storyline greatly appealed to me and the history it contained. Fay has always been able to see spirits. The love of her life is Robin, whom she met when she was 11 at school. She trains to become an accountant and purely by chance meets up with an old school friend. The book develops into an enthralling adventure for them both as they slip back back and forth in time. My thanks to the author, Alex Martin, for an excellent book.

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