A Matter of Degrees by Alex Marcoux crosses literary boundaries the same way that it crosses centuries, nations and time and space itself.  Novalist Jessie Mercer seems to have the ability to conjure up stories based on other people’s lives—lives that her own will intersect with at some point in time.  As Jessie struggles with a story about the mystery religion of ancient Egypt, she learns that her brother, Steve, has committed suicide, or so she has been told.  However, when she journeys to New York to settle his affairs, she soon discovers that Steve led a double life and that he was heavily involved with the Masons.  Jessie begins to think that Steve was murdered and decides to try to find out what might have gotten him killed.  Aided by Rachel Addison, a reporter on the TV news program Over the Edge, who worked with Steve, and who has received a warning to stop her own investigation into secret societies, Jessie dons a new persona and infiltrates the Masons.