The Mozart Conspiracy

An entertaining and readable thriller. It's interesting to see how much better this one is than the first in the series. It's a steep learning curve. Having already read some of the later volumes I know he does get much better. All the elements are in place here and it just needs tightening up a bit. The prominence given to the love interest, for example, and the scenes with the cute kid are just a bit to Hollywood. We literally do not care and in later novels Mariani has worked out that we want scenes of extreme violence told in an amusing way, of which there are plenty here.

Intriguing start, good dialogue and character development.It did have good momentum early, but the lead character - Ben Hope blundered into one scrape too many and the narrative lost its power. Hope comes off as too amateurish allowing himself to be captured after accepting drugged drinks from a strange woman. It also should have been re-titled as Mozart wasn't that germane to the story line.

I'm not a fan of the genre ("the hero, with a wry smile and thinking of his mother, broke the henchman's neck with the third toe of his left foot"), so add a star or two if you are. I was afraid even before I received this that it would be another Amber Room, the nadir of my reading life. The Mozart Conspiracy, however, is better than that. It's plausible, if you accept the overarching secret society premise, and the characters have a little depth--maybe more if you read more Mariani. Overall, if you like thrillers, you'll probably breeze through this one and be fairly happy with it.

Ben Hope is a great new hero. Would enjoy more books with him as the main character. The language is pretty rough in this though. That will keep me from reading more of Mr. Mariani's books, I'm afraid, though. There are several great authors of thrillers/police/political books who do not find it necessary to use blue language to make it "more realistic" as is claimed by those who do use the language, so I will stick with them. It is a shame though, because this was a great read.

Second thriller to feature ex SAS soldier Ben Hope. Whe Ben's old army buddy Oliver Llewellyn turns up dead in an icy Austrian lake, Ben's path crosses again with his ex girlfriend, and Oliver's sister, opera singer Leigh Llewellyn. Ben and Leigh soon find themselves in the crosshairs of some powerful and ruthless people, all the while unravelling the truth behind Mozart's death. This book is an exciting and quick read that feels like a movie, so clear are the action sequences. Lots of fun.

SYNOPSIS
A centuries-old mystery. An “accidental” death. A conspiracy that may end in murder. Former British Special Air Service officer Ben Hope is running for his life. Enlisted by Leigh Llewellyn—the beautiful, world-famous opera star and Ben’s first love—to investigate her brother, Oliver’s, mysterious death, Ben finds himself caught up in a puzzle dating back to the 1700s.

At the time of his death, Oliver was working on a new book about Mozart. Though the official report states that Oliver died in a tragic accident, the facts don’t add up. But as Ben and Leigh dig deeper, they find that Oliver’s research reveals that Mozart, a notable Freemason, may have been killed by a shadowy and powerful splinter group of the show more organization. The only proof lies in a missing letter, believed to have been written by Mozart himself. When Leigh and Ben receive a video documenting a ritual sacrifice performed by hooded men, they realize that the sect is still in existence today and will stop at nothing to keep its secrets.

From the dreaming spires of Oxford and Venice’s labyrinthine canals to the majes­tic architecture of Vienna, Ben and Leigh must race across Europe to uncover the truth behind the Mozart conspiracy before they become its next victims.

Dan Browne and Robert Ludlum’s love child would read like this…

Says what it does on the tin: fast and furious; pacey and punchy written with on eye on the film market I would guess.

I listened to it in audio book format during the tedious daily commute and it was fine for that but not sure I would have stuck with it if I was reading it...if you know what I mean show less

The adverstisement reads: "James Bond meets Jason Bourne meets The Da Vinci Code". Having read 2 out of those 3 I would say it does not quite meet that level. It is a good thriller but I do not think the character development is as good as that by Dan Brown. And the story line is not as fun as a James Bond book. At too many points in the story I found myself questioning the validity of a character's action. Ok, after saying all that, I do not think it is a total waste of time, rather I categorize it as light fun reading that does not require much attention. Definitely entertaining, but not as much as say, Satori which I read recently. If you could buy only one to read, go with Don Winslow's Satori.

Oh and I read and have the advanced show more reader's edition not the hardcover. show less