Lia Carrer is an aspiring historian hoping to complete her dissertation on medieval Languedoc, but she's also grieving the loss of her husband. She hopes to find some sense of peace in France, but she soon finds herself embroiled with three men, each of whom has a connection to Lia and her research. An interesting read, one that I wish had been slightly more compelling, but still a good book. ( )

In Another Life tells the story of Lia Carrer, a young widow who lost her husband in a biking accident two years earlier. She returns to the country she loves best, Languedoc in the south of France to work on her dissertation about the Cathars. From her first day, she encounters strange happenings and meets people who seem familiar in ways that they should not. There's Lucas, the enigmatic photographer, with whom Lia is collaborating on a book. There's Raoul, the quiet vintner who lost his own wife and children. And there's devious Father Jordi Bonafe who leaves clues for Lia regarding the Cathars and the murder of Archdeacon Pierre de Castelnau, the event which precipitated the massacre of the Cathar people in 1208.
The Cathars believed in reincarnation for souls that were killed without a chance at redemption. Lia is forced to confront this belief as events unfold and she becomes the instrument for atonement of these lost souls. This is a finely written book, truly descriptive of the beauty of the Languedoc region. I've been to some of the locations in the book and the author absolutely nails the mystical allure of the ruins, countryside, and towns. The story moves along at a good pace, and the two timelines are skillfully woven in to make a cohesive and interesting story. This is a lovely story with themes I will ponder in days to come. I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read this wonderful book. ( )

In Another Life by Julie Christine Johnson is a romance novel. Lia Carrer is a widow and she is returning to France to start again. Her husband, Gabriel died under mysterious circumstances (he was a professional mountain bike racer). He was in the Tour D’Arques (in France) when he was hit by Mercedes. The car that hit him was never found. Lia quit working on dissertation, and her work as a professor suffered as well. Lia lost her job at Cascade University. Lia decided it was time for a new start. She will be staying at Le Pelerin, a cottage belonging to a friend. Lia meets Raoul Arango who draws her into an old mystery dating back to 1208. Lia and Raoul will have to research the past to unravel the mystery.

In Another Life is a good novel to help you go to sleep. The novel contains quite a bit of history as well as many descriptive sentences on scenery, country, food, house, etc. I was just not drawn into In Another Life (I did not find it entertaining, engaging, nor enjoyable). I have to admit that I had to work to finish this story. I give In Another Life 2.5 out of 5 stars. It just went on for too long. Some writers have a knack for combining history with fiction and making it interesting and magical. Unfortunately, it did not happen in this novel.

I received a complimentary copy of In Another Life from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

In Another life, the author mixes elements of Time Traveler's Wife, Outlander and The DaVinci Code to weave a tale of three men who are stuck between the 13th Century and the 21st Century. Ms. Johnson has done an extraordinary job of research to write this tale. The tale does start out slow but builds up to an amazing tale of love and lost. ( )

This book mixes historical fiction with the paranormal, with the latter genre dominating the plot.

The story, set in the Languedoc region of France, goes back and forth in time between the present and a time some 800 years earlier.

[Historically, the Languedoc was a region in the central south of France and northern portion of Spain, also known as Occitania. Both names come from the Occitan word for “yes,” which is “òc.” Dante was apparently the first to have used the term “lingua d’oc" to distinguish this region from others in France where the word for yes was “oïl” or “oui.” Today, "Languedoc" not only refers to approximately this same area of France (in Spain the area is called Northern Catalonia), but also to the single-biggest wine-producing region in the world, responsible for more than a third of France's total wine production. And in fact, the Languedoc vineyards were the first to be replanted after the devasting fungus Phylloxera hit France in the 19th Century.]

In the 11th, 12th, and beginning of the 13th centuries in Languedoc, the very interesting Christian sect of Catharism was particularly strong. (You can learn more about their beliefs here.) Pope Innocent III (who served from 1198 until his death in 1216) was determined to wipe out this challenge to his hegemony (especially since Cathars rejected tithing) and eventually authorized a crusade to eliminate the Cathars. Like many other leaders throughout history, he required a popular justification for the invasion, and found one in the 1208 assassination of his papal legate Pierre de Castelnau, who had gone to Languedoc. Pope Innocent III declared Pierre de Castelnau a martyr and launched the Albigensian Crusade. (Cathars were also known as Albigensians.). By the mid-13th Century, the Languedoc Cathars were all but eliminated.

The question of whether the Pope actually had de Castelnau killed in order to make a case for the subsequent attack on the Cathars has never been answered, so this is the mystery around which the author constructs her story.

The main protagonist, Lia Carrer, was in Seattle working on a doctoral dissertation about the Cathars - in particular, their belief in reincarnation - when her husband Gabriel died in an accident. She wasn't up to finishing her dissertation until now, eighteen months later, when she goes to Languedoc to get started again on her research.

Before long however, she is surrounded by people who originally lived in 1208, and the only explanation seems to be that this phenomenon is a manifestation of the Cathar reincarnation doctrine. However, none of the characters in the book, including the one supposedly doing a dissertation, seem to understand what "reincarnation" actually means. ( Newly released souls go into new bodies, not identical bodies somehow moved forward in time.) What happens in this story is closer to paranormal and yet that also doesn't fully explain much either, like how all the 1208 people suddenly became fully functional 2008 people (who know how to use their IPhones better than I do), or why Lia keeps running into random other 1208 people with messages for her. (The eventual theory of a hole in the fabric of time that all the characters simultaneously managed to find is not only unconvincing but still doesn't address all the plot problems.)

In any event, after all that, there was really no good or even definitive resolution to the story.

An Afterword clarifies which parts/characters/places are factual, and which were created by the author.

Evaluation: I enjoyed learning about the Languedoc region and Catharism, but wish the plot had been constructed better. ( )