I have three words for you, Mozart Conspiracy, and they are all shit.

You started off good. You had a hunky hero who is a little too gun-friendly, which makes for drama llama, a courageous opera-singing heroine, and a ring of deadly old men belonging to an ancient secret society. All the right elements for a gripping read.

and I was gripped, believe me. I finished you in two days, so the going can’t have been that bad.

It wasn’t. It was the ending that was.

SPOILER AHEAD.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you want to read this (and fans of Lee Child, John Grisham, and Dan Brown should), then stop right now because I Am Going To Ruin It For You.

She dies. The gorgeous Welsh opera-singing heroine gets brutally murdered by the bad guy. What the? Wait, back up. She’s not actually dead, is she? It’s just one of those trick deaths, any minute she’ll gasp and sit up and the Leading Man will take her in his strong arms..

Damn Book Club and their Mills and Boon!

But yes, she’s actually dead. What sort of ending is that?! Every single person except the hero dies. And come on, I read Lee Child, I’m not averse to a bit of death. But come on! One man standing in a literal sea of corpses, including the heroine.

It’s just Not Supposed to Happen That Way.

Disappointing. Dis-a-ppointing.

What I figure is, Scott Mariani doesn’t want the leading man married to a whining shrew that has to be dragged around the killing field in the next book. Easier to kill her off and bring in some new love interest to keep people happy.

And yes, there is a next book.

Off to the Library with you.