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Summary
Summary
Award-winning author Matt Rees takes readers to 18th centuryAustria, where Mozart's estranged sister Nannerl stumblesinto a world of ambition, conspiracy, and immortal music while attempting touncover the truth about her brother's suspicious death. Did Mozart's life endin murder? Nannerl must brave dire circumstances tofind out, running afoul of the secret police, the freemasons, and even theAustrian Emperor himself as she delves into a scandal greater than she had everimagined. With captivating historical details, compelling characters, and areal-life mystery upon which everything hinges, Rees--the award-winning authorof the internationally acclaimed Omar Yussefcrime series--writes in the tradition of Irvin Yalom'sWhen Nietzsche Wept, Louis Bayard's The Pale Blue Eye, andPhillip Sington's The Einstein Girl to achievethe very best in historical fiction with Mozart's Last Aria.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this engaging, well-paced book from crime novelist and journalist Rees (The Collaborator of Bethlehem), Mozart's estranged sister, Madame Maria Anna Berchtold von Sonnenburg (called Nannerl by her family), travels to Vienna to investigate the mysterious circumstances of her brother's sudden death. According to Nannerl's sister-in-law Constanze, Mozart had premonitions of murder before he died. In Vienna, Nannerl finds a web of deception, scandal, and fear revolving around the colorful, dangerous Freemasons, implicating Mozart in shadowy activities and pointing to his death by poison. Meanwhile, Nannerl's own musical career-once overshadowed by her prodigy brother's-is revived as she pays tribute to his compositions. Despite her reservations, she finds herself drawn to a powerful baron, himself caught up in all the intrigue. Combining Dan Brown or Elizabeth Kostova-style historical conspiracy theory with cozy detective novel, Rees's latest offers a genuinely felt reverence for the power of Mozart's music and its lasting impact in the world. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This historical crime novel set in the late eighteenth century brings together three crucial elements: Amadeus Mozart's death, his involvement in the secret society of Viennese Masons, and his sister Nannerl's quest to uncover a web of secrets surrounding his demise. After Nannerl receives a letter from her sister-in-law saying Mozart has died of a fever, she journeys from her home outside of Salzburg to pay her respects in Vienna only to discover that Mozart may have been poisoned, and many shady characters, from high society and low, are implicated in the mystery. Rees, author of the Omar Yussef mystery series, set in contemporary Palestine, intrepidly re-creates the world in which Mozart lived, a world filled with periwigs, corsets, and concert halls. His creative interpretations of the musician's operas, including The Magic Flute, bring new vigor to Mozart's music and life while maintaining a believable grasp on history. An excellent choice for mystery fans and historical-fiction readers.--Paulson, Heather Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Rees's first stand-alone novel after the award-winning Omar Yussef mystery series (The Collaborator of Bethlehem) delves into 18th-century Austria and the intrigue surrounding Mozart and his contemporaries. Mozart's estranged sister, Madame Maria Anna Berchtold von Sonnenburg, a distinguished musician in her own right and known to her family as Nannerl, travels to Vienna to uncover the true circumstances of her brother's death. Mozart's friends and supporters claim he was poisoned, and Nannerl discovers multiple possible motives for his murder, including debts, reported liaisons, entanglements with secret societies, and even treason. Similar in appearance and adept at performance, Nannerl impersonates her brother to unmask the murderer. VERDICT Replete with biographical detail and musical references, this novel animates Mozart's life and times with a varied cast of patrons, lovers, and villains. This absorbing Viennese soap opera is a solid choice for readers who like fiction about historical figures caught up in suspenseful intrigues such as Matthew Pearl's The Dante Club or Gyles Brandreth's Oscar Wilde mysteries.-Cathy Lantz, Morton Coll. Lib., Cicero, IL (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
