It’s 1791 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is enlightenment Vienna’s brightest star. But six weeks ago, the great composer told his wife he had been poisoned. Now he’s dead.

Wolfgang’s sister Nannerl returns from the provinces to investigate his death. She finds traces of something sinister: a Masonic conspiracy that reaches from the gilded ballrooms of Viennese society to the faceless offices of the Imperial secret service.

Only when watching Wolfgang’s bewitching opera The Magic Flute does Nannerl truly understand her beloved brother. For, encoded in his final arias, she detects a subtly crafted blueprint that Mozart hoped would create a radical new future. Did it seal his fate instead?

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Reviews

This is an even better mystery novel than the author’s prize-winning series about the Palestinian detective Omar Yussef–and that’s saying a lot. —Literary Review, London

Rees nails the details of Mozart’s Vienna with precision, seasoning his story with musical details that will delight fans of classical music. The author renders Nannerl very sympathetic and teases in a touch of romance that is both bittersweet and unexpected. A beautiful book. – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Award-winning British novelist Matt Rees cleverly weaves music, crime, and conspiracy into a sumptuous historical whodunit. – Marie Claire

Mozart fans and code crackers will enjoy the clever musical riddle. – The Times, London

The Da Vinci Code, but this time with Masons and musical manuscripts. – NPR