The Mozart Conspiracy: A Novel

✍ Scribed by Scott Mariani

• Publisher: Touchstone;HarperCollins Publishers
• Year: 2008;2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 202 KB
• Category: Fiction

✦ 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 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. In the tradition of Robert Ludlum and Dan Brown, Scott Mariani’s The Mozart Conspiracy is an electrify­ing thriller and the start of an exciting new series.

From Publishers Weekly

British author Miriani makes his U.S. debut with the second in his series featuring ex-SAS warrior Ben Hope, a fast, exciting read in The Da Vinci Code tradition. Ben is on his way home from a mission when he receives a message from Leigh Llewellyn, an old flame and international opera star, saying she needs his help. Leigh is the sister of Ben's late friend, Oliver, who was at work on a book on Mozart when he died under mysterious circumstances. When Ben takes Leigh to the English countryside to guard her, deadly thugs attempt to kill them both. A lost Mozart letter, written in 1791 shortly before the composer's death and first discovered by Leigh's father, implicates a shadowy European group known as the Order of Ra, which remains a powerful secret force in Europe today. None of this matters much to either Ben or the reader as he singlehandedly kills his way to the top of the evil cabal. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

First-time author Mariani channels Dan Brown on steroids in this exciting (and violent) historical puzzle thriller that postulates a link between the secret order of Freemasons and the mysterious death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Former British SAS officer Ben Hope travels the globe as a crisis-response consultant (aka 'a hero for hire') performing good deeds like rescuing kidnapped children from pedophiles and protecting famous politicos from assassins. Fifteen years after Hope dumped her, ex-flame (and now famous opera star) Leigh Llwewllyn calls him out of the blue and asks for his help. Her brother, Oliver, who had been in Austria researching the death of Mozart, recently died under mysterious circumstances, and now she fears for her own life. The reunited couple attempt to complete Oliver's research but find they have aroused the malevolent interest of a sinister group of power brokers whose origins date back to the eighteenth century. Persistently under attack by murderous agents of the cabal as they get closer to solving the riddle of Mozart's death, Ben uses every weapon at his disposal to dispatch his assailants, including an iron skillet, a nail gun, a pool cue, and even his bare hands. Racing along at breakneck speed and promising more in a series, this action read will excite fans of Brown, James Rollins, and Robert Ludlum. --Michael Gannon