The Bosch Deception by Alex Connor

The Bosch Deception #1

by Alex Connor

Brabant, 1473. A clandestine brotherhood hides a secret that could bring down the Catholic Church. Their chosen hiding place - the art of Hieronymus Bosch. London, 2014. An excommunicated priest approaches both the Church and the art world, claiming to possess an artefact that will destroy their reputations. This man, Nicholas Laverne, is poised to end over 500 years of silence and injustice. Yet, unknown to Nicholas, he has just summoned a killer intent on silencing him.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Ebooks

Paperback

First published June 30, 2014

About the author

Alexandra Connor (aka Alex Connor) was born in UK and lives in England. She is an author, artist and art historian. Also arts presenter on TV and in 2018 won the Rome Prize for Isle of the Dead, aka Il Dipinto Maledetto. Fellow of Royal Society of Arts, listed in Debretts 'Prominent People of Today.'

Reviews

[Ренета Кирова · Rating 3 out of 5]

Почти едно след друго прочетох три книги на тази авторка и схемата на написване е една и съща. Хваща някой известен художник и създава легенда около него за живота му. В света на изкуството започват убийства, измами, надпревара кой да се докопа до тайна картина, информация или златен ланец, криещ тайни. Започва една въртележка от пътувания, схеми за измами, гадни убийства, разследване и намиране на убиеца. В тази книга беше намесена и католическата църква, а Никълъс е бивш свещеник, отлъчен от църковната клика. Той намира златен ланец, принадлежал на Йеронимус Бош, в който са скрити бележки, с които може да предизвика фурор в средите на изкуството и да удари в сърцето самата църква. Действието в книгата протича, също както в предните две, които четох.

[Margaret Bromhall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading this book and it is one of the best books I have read.

It has it all intrigue ,the exposure of a secret which confounds the art world and escapism. I have read Alex's books before and she writes the kind of books I enjoy
.I couldn't put this one down. I am an avid reader and will definitely recommend this book to other readers interested in the genre.

[Jannani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Extremely thrilling and very unpredictable! Couldn't figure anything out prematurely! Quite well written while incorporating history and conspiracy. Definitely an amazing read. Sorta like dan brown novels but without the predictable aspect.

[Robin Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review

After the high that was the Caravaggio Conspiracy i had some very high expectations for this new book, possibly too high. The story as ever with an Alex Connor book is a little dark, very twisty and packed full of unexpected surprises. What i felt it lacked was a clear central character chasing down the clues, it needed Gil Eckhart. Don’t get me wrong it has characters that peck away at the clues, who try to unravel the plot, who search for the meaning and the answer, but me personally i like to have that single character pulling it together, Nicholas Laverne could not do that because he had another role to fill. It does though still have the great characters that Alex Connor is known for and the powerfully twisting plots she is known for.

A major bonus with this authors crime thrill rides is the education, there are not many thriller writers who leave me feeling i have learned something, before this book i knew nothing about Hieronymus Bosch, the book has led to finding out more, just as the last book led to learning more about Caravaggio. Any books that inspire that response is a winner in my book (pun intended).

As an avid reader of Historical Fiction and Fantasy i always need my secret (or not anymore) pleasure on hand, and that’s a great thriller. Alex Connor as ever falls into that category, based on my rating of the last book this one is a 4/5 but that’s probably because she knocked it out of the park with The Caravaggio Conspiracy, once again a winner for the author and for Quercus, i look forward to the next book.

(Parm)

Novels
The Rembrandt Secret (2011)
aka The Other Rembrandt
The Hogarth Conspiracy (2011)
aka Legacy of Blood
The Memory of Bones (2012)
Isle of the Dead (2013)
The Caravaggio Conspiracy (2013)
The Bosch Deception (2014)

Novellas
Unearthing the Bones (2012)
Blood on the Water (2013)
The Forger, the Killer, the Painter and the Whore (2013)
The Garden of Unearthly Delights (2014)

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been wanting to read this ever since I had bought it but for some reason I kept putting it off. Mostly as I feared it might not have lived up to its predecessors, and unfortunately I was right. Major downside is that I guessed the major twist at the end as soon as the character was introduced (no, not Bosch). Although the storyline was excellent, I found that it was not as fast-paced as the previous ones. Hopefully this is just a blip in the series

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing religious conspiracy thriller - one I very much enjoyed even though they are not my "thing" - full review to come, as with a few others, when my Wimbledon obsession is complete.

[Sam Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy and enjoyable read - good mix of history, art and the present day. Well worth a read

[E Cheong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read 70%

[Srini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good mix of art and mystery. I personally did not know much of Bosch till I read this book. End could have been better though.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very fast, entertaining read but rather silly and unrealistic.