Base Notes, Lara Elena Donnelly
Base Notes, Lara Elena Donnelly
List: $44.99 | Sale: $31.50
Club: $22.49

Base Notes

Author: Lara Elena Donnelly

Narrator: Avi Roque

Unabridged: 16 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/01/2022


Synopsis

A lasting impression is worth killing for.In New York City everybody needs a side hustle, and perfumer Vic Fowler has developed a delicate art that has proved to be very lucrative: creating bespoke scents that evoke immersive memories—memories that, for Vic’s clients, are worth killing for. But the city is expensive, and these days even artisanal murder doesn’t pay the bills. When Joseph Eisner, a former client with deep pockets, offers Vic an opportunity to expand the enterprise, the money is too good to turn down. But the job is too intricate—and too dangerous—to attempt alone.Manipulating fellow struggling artists into acting as accomplices is easy. Like Vic, they too are on the verge of burnout and bankruptcy. But as relationships become more complicated, Vic’s careful plans start to unravel. Hounded by guilt and a tenacious private investigator, Vic grows increasingly desperate to complete Eisner’s commission. Is there anyone—friends, lovers, coconspirators—that Vic won’t sacrifice for art?

About Lara Elena Donnelly

Lara Elena Donnelly is the author of the Nebula-, Lambda-, and Locus-nominated trilogy the Amberlough Dossier. She has taught in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as the Catapult classes in New York and the Alpha SF/F/H Workshop for Young Writers.In the summer, she wears The Cobra & the Canary. In the winter, Nudiflorum. And some others in between, to keep things interesting.As of this writing, she lives on the grounds of the old Hamilton Estate, with a screenwriter and a small mask-and-mantle tabby pretentiously named after a bitter Italian aperitif. For more information, visit www.laradonnelly.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on February 27, 2022

3.5 stars! How fragrances can elicit memories is a topic in this new thriller. About the book: “Author of the Nebula- and Locus-nominated AMBERLOUGH series Lara Elena Donnelly’s new novel BASE NOTES, in which twenty-something perfumier Vic Fowler has built a deadly side-hustle to cope with the crushin......more

Goodreads review by Becky on January 06, 2022

The writing just didn’t flow smoothly or naturally for me due to the overuse of nonstop descriptive wording. Such as “He lifted his wrist to the young man’s face in a way no blood relation would dare outside a particular subgenre of pornography. Andrew wrinkled his surgically delicate nose, and my an......more

Goodreads review by Abi on April 08, 2022

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Base Notes is a novel that has grown from Donnelly's short story 'The Dirty American,' which is wonderful and full of the humanity I missed in Base Notes. This is not Amberlough and it was my fault in trying to find that heart in this book. Base Notes doesn't have Amberlou......more

Goodreads review by Ladz on January 05, 2022

Read a NetGalley eARC Content warning: murder, manipulation, blackmail, gore, eye surgery, strangulation Vic Fowler is an artist, a perfumist whose business is struggling as they’re trying to achieve the height of luxury and artistry in New York City despite everything about their lifestyle pointing t......more


Quotes

“Scent is everything in Donnelly’s unique, voluptuous thriller…Manhattan’s beau monde served up in juicy, evocative prose.” Kirkus Reviews“This intoxicating thriller keeps the reader guessing. With luck, Vic will be back for an encore.” Publishers Weekly“Art. Love. Scent. And murder. Lara Elena Donnelly’s new book has it all.” Salon