What do you think?
Rate this book
The Kennedy Conspiracy
When journalist Mark Bretton is asked to write an article on Professor Abigail Marchant, who has been denounced by the American Psychology Association for her belief that rebirth is a genuine phenomenon, he's more than a little sceptical about the assignment. An ambitious journalist, Mark would much rather be writing about current affairs but, once he meets the beautiful Professor and hears her theories, he can't help but be won over.
Eventually persuaded to undergo regressive hypnosis himself, Mark is shocked and horrified by what he sees. He is returned to the early ’60s when he worked for the Kennedy administration and not only does he learn the truth about the conspiracy that led to JFK's assassination but also his own murder. Struggling to make sense of it all, Mark turns to Abi for help but someone is watching Mark's every move and will stop at nothing to ensure that the truth about JFK's murder never comes to light...
Eventually persuaded to undergo regressive hypnosis himself, Mark is shocked and horrified by what he sees. He is returned to the early ’60s when he worked for the Kennedy administration and not only does he learn the truth about the conspiracy that led to JFK's assassination but also his own murder. Struggling to make sense of it all, Mark turns to Abi for help but someone is watching Mark's every move and will stop at nothing to ensure that the truth about JFK's murder never comes to light...
400 pages, Paperback
First published October 11, 2012
3 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Michael White
46 books138 followersMichael White was a British writer who was based in Perth, Australia. He studied at King's College London (1977–1982) and was a chemistry lecturer at d'Overbroeck's College, Oxford (1984–1991).
He was a science editor of British GQ, a columnist for the Sunday Express in London and, 'in a previous incarnation', he was a member of Colour Me Pop. Colour Me Pop featured on the "Europe in the Year Zero" EP in 1982 with Yazoo and Sudeten Creche and he was then a member of the group The Thompson Twins (1982). He moved to Australia in 2002 and was made an Honorary Research Fellow at Curtin University in 2005.
He was the author of thirty-five books: these include Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science; Leonardo: The First Scientist; Tolkien: A Biography; and C. S. Lewis: The Boy Who Chronicled Narnia. His first novel Equinox – thriller, an occult mystery reached the Top Ten in the bestseller list in the UK and has been translated into 35 languages. His non-fiction production included the biography Galileo: Antichrist. Novels following Equinox include The Medici Secret, The Borgia Ring and The Art of Murder.
White wrote under two further names, Tom West and Sam Fisher. He used the latter pseudonym to publish the E-Force trilogy, State of Emergency, Aftershock, and Nano.
A further novel by White, The Venetian Detective, features characters including Galileo and Elizabeth.
White wrote a biography of Isaac Newton, The Last Sorcerer. He was both short-listed and long-listed for the Aventis prize. Rivals was short-listed in 2002, and The Fruits of War long-listed in 2006. He was also nominated for the Ned Kelly Prize for First Novel (for Equinox in 2007).
He was a science editor of British GQ, a columnist for the Sunday Express in London and, 'in a previous incarnation', he was a member of Colour Me Pop. Colour Me Pop featured on the "Europe in the Year Zero" EP in 1982 with Yazoo and Sudeten Creche and he was then a member of the group The Thompson Twins (1982). He moved to Australia in 2002 and was made an Honorary Research Fellow at Curtin University in 2005.
He was the author of thirty-five books: these include Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science; Leonardo: The First Scientist; Tolkien: A Biography; and C. S. Lewis: The Boy Who Chronicled Narnia. His first novel Equinox – thriller, an occult mystery reached the Top Ten in the bestseller list in the UK and has been translated into 35 languages. His non-fiction production included the biography Galileo: Antichrist. Novels following Equinox include The Medici Secret, The Borgia Ring and The Art of Murder.
White wrote under two further names, Tom West and Sam Fisher. He used the latter pseudonym to publish the E-Force trilogy, State of Emergency, Aftershock, and Nano.
A further novel by White, The Venetian Detective, features characters including Galileo and Elizabeth.
White wrote a biography of Isaac Newton, The Last Sorcerer. He was both short-listed and long-listed for the Aventis prize. Rivals was short-listed in 2002, and The Fruits of War long-listed in 2006. He was also nominated for the Ned Kelly Prize for First Novel (for Equinox in 2007).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 28, 2012
Received this book due to a goodreads giveaway and have to say thoroughly enjoyed it. The context is an unusual slant on the Kennedy conspiracy, regression really is an unexplored avenue. There was a little jumping around in this story between timelines and different characters that took a little getting used to. It was really interesting to hear about a world wide known event from a character who was actually there. My only tiny quibble was the big reveal near the end was slightly spoiled by a sentence a few pages beforehand that actually gave the game away. It didn't really matter as the pacing of this book was so good. A really enjoyable read.
November 22, 2013
I thought this was very good. I'm not really into boundless love and all that but this was actually believable and not too sickly. The thriller parts and the conclusion were good. And it didn't bang on about tired conspiracy theories...I'm willing to be that anyone who picks this up expecting it to be mostly conspiracy will be a bit disappointed.
Showing my age by being impressed this was written by a former Thompson Twin, one of the best (almost) forgotten bands of my 80's childhood.
Showing my age by being impressed this was written by a former Thompson Twin, one of the best (almost) forgotten bands of my 80's childhood.
November 16, 2012
This is the first of Michaels books that I've read and I have to say it was brilliant :) I started reading it last night and couldn't put it down and now I've read it. I'm looking forward to buying some of his other books and reading them :)
July 5, 2014
This book will make you think about a lot of things. Michael white have a unique writing style. This book will take you in the moments of past to the present and what's there in future. Absolutely applaudable.
June 14, 2015
Poorly written, clunky and incredibly far fetched. My son bought this for me as I am interested in the assassination, but it was really quite ridiculous. White could also have done with a very good editor.
April 14, 2020
The blurb on the back cover makes this book seem far more interesting than it actually is, and does not at all suggest the theory of past lives. Sorry if that's a spoiler, but I think if the blurb made mention of it I would not have bothered reading this novel.
Thankfully, I only paid $1.00 at a book sale.
The pace was fast enough to be enjoyable, but I think there were too many past life flashbacks, which destroyed the pace in sections. I was right behind the main protagonist until he suddenly believed the pseudo-science without hesitation. I won't mention too much about the ending, but it needed some work.
Another thing that bugged me about this book, and is the reason I bumped this down to two stars from three, is that it has a slight homophobic theme. The author implies that only heterosexual couples can be eternally paired souls. Lets forget for a moment that the idea of past lives is pseudo-science at its worst, and think about that concept from the author.
Thankfully, I only paid $1.00 at a book sale.
The pace was fast enough to be enjoyable, but I think there were too many past life flashbacks, which destroyed the pace in sections. I was right behind the main protagonist until he suddenly believed the pseudo-science without hesitation. I won't mention too much about the ending, but it needed some work.
Another thing that bugged me about this book, and is the reason I bumped this down to two stars from three, is that it has a slight homophobic theme. The author implies that only heterosexual couples can be eternally paired souls. Lets forget for a moment that the idea of past lives is pseudo-science at its worst, and think about that concept from the author.
July 19, 2020
I love books about the Kennedy family and about time travel, so this marriage of the two made for an enjoyable read. The regression passages which depicted the assassination of JFK were especially moving.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2024
I did finish the book but nearly gave up a couple of times. I loved the idea of 'rebirth' but the story never really came together. The characters were rather weak. Sorry.
Read
June 6, 2025Not quite sure what to make of this book. The story itself was good, it had an exciting pace to it. But I really wasn't that keen on all the past life stuff.
February 22, 2015
The Kennedy assassination has been a topic of interest and conspiracy ever since it happened. A little while ago, Stephen King put his own take on that period of American history by using it as the basis for his novel ''11/22/63''. Now Michael White has done the same, taking a similar tack to King in wondering what would happen if people could go back to that period of time, but using the concept of rebirth instead of one of time travel.
Mark Bretton is an ex-pat living in New York and working as a features writer for the ''New York Courier''. He is not amused to be sent to interview a Professor Abigail Marchant, who is studying the idea of re-birth. Mark is initially sceptical; as a man of science, he doesn't believe in such spiritual things. With this on his mind, as well as the death of his best friend back in England, he gives the idea and the woman herself short shrift, until something happens to change his mind. As Professor Marchant regresses him further into his past life, he realises he was not only someone closely involved in the Kennedy assassination, but he could hold the secret to what actually happened that day in Dallas in November 1963.
At first, I felt that the pace of the book was a little slow, but then it suddenly got rather exciting all in a rush. Although this did give the story a slightly unbalanced feel overall, by the end it was easy to forget that the beginning had been a little slower, as so much happened that it leaves the reader a touch breathless. Just when it seemed that things were about to conclude, White throws in something else and the characters were forced off in another direction.
The basic ideas behind the Kennedy assassination were perhaps nothing new, given that conspiracy theories about who had killed him have been rife over the last five decades, but the methods by which the conspiracy was unearthed was a little different. White also has a decent line in the double cross, such that one character seemed to be on three different sides at various points and very few of the characters could be relied upon to act in a consistent way much of the time. This does allow White to use a little ''deus ex machina'' towards the end, which was slightly annoying, but also helps keep the reader a little unbalanced and never knowing exactly what was to come.
Whilst the story was exciting and frequently unpredictable, the writing style seemed a little simplistic. The author biography suggests that he has teamed up with James Patterson for a soon to be published novel and I can see from White's style how this would be a good match. He writes using very simple language, but with a good eye for keeping the pace high and in many ways the story is more important than those involved in it. This means that character development takes second place to plot development and it is in the early section where White is trying to introduce the characters and give you a feel for them – not entirely successfully – that the pace is at its slowest and the book felt at its least effective.
If you're a fan of James Patterson and his fast paced yet easy beach reading style, there is absolutely no reason why you won't thoroughly enjoy ''The Kennedy Conspiracy''. Whilst I may generally prefer something a little meatier, there is certainly room for this kind of novel and Michael White slots into the genre very nicely indeed and this is a book that could easily slip into your collection quite nicely, too.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
Mark Bretton is an ex-pat living in New York and working as a features writer for the ''New York Courier''. He is not amused to be sent to interview a Professor Abigail Marchant, who is studying the idea of re-birth. Mark is initially sceptical; as a man of science, he doesn't believe in such spiritual things. With this on his mind, as well as the death of his best friend back in England, he gives the idea and the woman herself short shrift, until something happens to change his mind. As Professor Marchant regresses him further into his past life, he realises he was not only someone closely involved in the Kennedy assassination, but he could hold the secret to what actually happened that day in Dallas in November 1963.
At first, I felt that the pace of the book was a little slow, but then it suddenly got rather exciting all in a rush. Although this did give the story a slightly unbalanced feel overall, by the end it was easy to forget that the beginning had been a little slower, as so much happened that it leaves the reader a touch breathless. Just when it seemed that things were about to conclude, White throws in something else and the characters were forced off in another direction.
The basic ideas behind the Kennedy assassination were perhaps nothing new, given that conspiracy theories about who had killed him have been rife over the last five decades, but the methods by which the conspiracy was unearthed was a little different. White also has a decent line in the double cross, such that one character seemed to be on three different sides at various points and very few of the characters could be relied upon to act in a consistent way much of the time. This does allow White to use a little ''deus ex machina'' towards the end, which was slightly annoying, but also helps keep the reader a little unbalanced and never knowing exactly what was to come.
Whilst the story was exciting and frequently unpredictable, the writing style seemed a little simplistic. The author biography suggests that he has teamed up with James Patterson for a soon to be published novel and I can see from White's style how this would be a good match. He writes using very simple language, but with a good eye for keeping the pace high and in many ways the story is more important than those involved in it. This means that character development takes second place to plot development and it is in the early section where White is trying to introduce the characters and give you a feel for them – not entirely successfully – that the pace is at its slowest and the book felt at its least effective.
If you're a fan of James Patterson and his fast paced yet easy beach reading style, there is absolutely no reason why you won't thoroughly enjoy ''The Kennedy Conspiracy''. Whilst I may generally prefer something a little meatier, there is certainly room for this kind of novel and Michael White slots into the genre very nicely indeed and this is a book that could easily slip into your collection quite nicely, too.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
November 4, 2012
A book that has made me want o read more by this author due to the compelling writing style. It didn't entirely work for me however. Thinking about why, I would have to say that the problem for me is that there isn't enough complexity in the plot to do justice to the intriguing quantum physics concept underpinning it - in effect, a missed opportunity to really mess with the reader's presumptions. The journey went from A to B rather predictably and the loose ends tied up rather too neatly for my liking whilst the concept deserved the roller coaster treatment. There was also, I think, a problem with the editing, with the "big reveal" about Patrick having been already talked about in the previous chapter. I got the impression it's had been churned out a bit too hastily and should have been reworked a bit to make it better.
That said, not bad for a Good Reads giveaway, and I liked it well enough to seek out more books by Michael White. And dig out some old Thompson Twins tunes... Those were the days...
That said, not bad for a Good Reads giveaway, and I liked it well enough to seek out more books by Michael White. And dig out some old Thompson Twins tunes... Those were the days...
November 10, 2013
an interesting idea but painfully told.
through the poor of rebirthing people are able to relive and learn from their previous lives.
a science journo is sent to cover the story, he is skeptical of the whole thing. he is also having weird dreams and his best mate is about to die. he is about to find out that he is part of one of the great conspiracies of the 20th century.
i might have enjoyed the book more if there had been any real sense of threat or action, or well anything that might have been interesting.
instead there is a long and tedious retelling of the kennedy assassination from someone who was there, and this is paralleled with what is going on in the contemporary world.
none of it is helped by the leaden prose style.
i shan't be checking out any more of this chap's books that is for certain.
if you see it going cheap - get something else.
through the poor of rebirthing people are able to relive and learn from their previous lives.
a science journo is sent to cover the story, he is skeptical of the whole thing. he is also having weird dreams and his best mate is about to die. he is about to find out that he is part of one of the great conspiracies of the 20th century.
i might have enjoyed the book more if there had been any real sense of threat or action, or well anything that might have been interesting.
instead there is a long and tedious retelling of the kennedy assassination from someone who was there, and this is paralleled with what is going on in the contemporary world.
none of it is helped by the leaden prose style.
i shan't be checking out any more of this chap's books that is for certain.
if you see it going cheap - get something else.
October 19, 2012
Potential spoilers. Decent thriller that in some ways merges several genres, particularly with the more, perhaps supernatural/spiritual(?) elements, The actual conspiracy surrounding the Kennedy assassination is but one facet of White's novel. I was drawn in more by the past lives part of the story. On first glance it all sounds a bit like Quantum Leap, but the character Abigail who is most interested in revisiting her life as a young married woman in the early 1960s proved to be interesting, raising some wider issues about how life is changed in a broader cultural sense, and taking a breather from the much more dynamic conspiracy plot.
Some of the characters were a bit two dimensional but it makes for a good non-demanding read to pass the time. Would recommend it.
Some of the characters were a bit two dimensional but it makes for a good non-demanding read to pass the time. Would recommend it.
November 14, 2012
Won this from first-reads:)
Not my usual book but I have to say it is one of the best books I've read in 2012, its gripping and had me anxious to find out what happens next, it took me a while to finish simply because I had loads of work to do otherwise I would have read it within 3 days, just a brilliant book!
Not my usual book but I have to say it is one of the best books I've read in 2012, its gripping and had me anxious to find out what happens next, it took me a while to finish simply because I had loads of work to do otherwise I would have read it within 3 days, just a brilliant book!
November 5, 2012
A book that does justice to the expression "so bad it's good" It combines some jarringly bad prose, stilted dialogue ( for an ex-Thompson Twin Michael White has a shamefully tin ear for speech ), cliche, and some woefully poor science ( waiving the quantum mechanical get out of jail card is plain lazy ). That said, the plot rattles along and it's fun guessing the next telegraphed plot twist!
February 20, 2016
I like conspiracy stories and stuff about JFK; 11.22.63 was a game-changer in my reading. But this was just poor. Even the writer's editor should be ashamed as Mark seemed to guess the secret about his friend Pat and accept it about 12 pages before the revelation which left him shocked. Bilge.
April 11, 2015
Fast paced
Cleverly written
Blooming loved it!
Cleverly written
Blooming loved it!
February 15, 2013
This is a brilliant book. Don't take any notice of the title it might put you off. Although the assassination of Kennedy is mentioned. it's not the main theme. It's about reincarnation.
September 13, 2013
I didn't know till I started reading this book that the author was an 80's pop star in The Thompson Twins. A real interesting story around real events
January 16, 2014
Sorry, just couldn't get into it
February 13, 2014
Woven loosely on the current conspiracies around the assassination
July 11, 2014
An interesting look at the Kennedy assassination from a different viewpoint.
January 10, 2015
Bullshit. Very upsetting book. Clunky. Badly written. Like a square peg in a round hole that barely fits.
June 24, 2015
One of the most ridiculous plots I have ever read!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews