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Alex Connor

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The Hogarth Conspiracy: A Novel Paperback – September 4, 2012

by Alex Connor (Author)

4.2 399 ratings

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Alex Connor's follow-up to The Other Rembrandt once again whips up a riveting mix of art, historyand murder. Could a single scandalous painting rock two British monarchies, centuries apartand threaten the lives of everyone who knows of its existence? It could--if the painting contains proof of a liaison between a prostitute and a prince.
The evidence, a painting by William Hogarth done in 1732, was supposedly destroyed. But hundreds of years later, on a private jet, Sir Oliver Peters learns that it still exists. Dying of cancer, and desperate to secure his family's well-being, Sir Oliver resolves to find the missing work. But when a fellow passenger who also knows the secret is murdered, he realizes he's battling more than time.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

On a private flight to London, intoxicated art-dealer Bernie Freeland makes a stunning revelation to an unlikely gathering of rival dealers, female escorts, and the flight’s crew, disclosing his acquisition of a previously unseen William Hogarth canvas from 1732 depicting Frederick, Prince of Wales, with his prostitute mistress. The existence of the painting, priceless largely because of its threat to the Crown, launches a storm of greed and duplicity that soon turns deadly. Former art dealer (and ex-con) Victor Ballam is hired by an interested party to use his expert knowledge of the art world to find the killer. Quickly realizing that he’s become a target without allies, Ballam knows his survival depends on finding the painting first. Connor (The Other Rembrandt, 2011) puts the painting, the suspects, and Ballam in constant motion, which creates some confusion between the numerous characters and their relationships, but art-thriller fans will happily carry on to untangle craftily intertwined agendas. Match with Paul Malcolm’s Tim Simpson series, Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon novels, and the numerous Da Vinci Code read-alikes. --Christine Tran

About the Author

Alex Connor's work has been featured in the Times, the Telegraph, Observer, Hello!, the Daily Mail, and many foreign newspapers, such as Le Figaro and La Sicilia. She is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ SilverOak (September 4, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1402790066
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1402790065
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.5 x 9.25 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.2 399 ratings

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Alex Connor

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Welcome, I write historical fiction, and conspiracy thrillers set in the art world, which have been published worldwide in many languages. I like to give my readers a new slant on a famous painter, ie. Caravaggio, and tell his story alongside the machinations of the 21st century art world.

I am very passionate about art and history. Especially historical intrigue, corruption, and uncovering the past.

My next trilogy is set in the Medieval Ages and covers new - and explosive - ground. It tells the story of the rivalry between the church and the nobility, set against the brutality of the dark ages. This trilogy is wide sweeping, with a cast list of characters spanning sixty years. All of them are involved, or caught up, in blood-thirsty politics and wars. This is the most ambitious series I have written, and it promises to be eye opening.

The last book of my trilogy about THE BORGIAS was published in July 2022. Taking a different slant, I'm investigating the corruption and depravity at that time in Rome - not just outside the family, but inside as well. In its true that the BORGIAS were seeped in decadence, greed, simony and sexual excess - yet their contemporaries were also villains when it suited them. The likes of Cardinal della Rovere, Savonarola, Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci, who became a military advisor to Cesare Borgia.

TEMPESTA MALEDETTA was published 23rd July 2020 - Launched in Rome by Newton Compton. The theft of Giorgione's painting, 'The Tempest', unites London, Venice and New York - brought to their knees by the coronavirus - with the Venice of the 16th century, devastated by plague.

September 2020

HEAD OF ZEUS, London, published THE WOLVES OF VENICE

Book Two and Book Three of THE WOLVES OF VENICE trilogy were published in 2020 and 2021.

TEMPESTA MALEDETTA

'Formidable. Conquers and seduces the reader. Spectacular." Matteo Strukul

QUERCUS UK 2011 - 2016

published THE REMBRANDT SECRET

LEGACY OF BLOOD

THE MEMORY OF BONES

THE ISLE OF THE DEAD

THE CARAVAGGIO CONSPIRACY

THE BOSCH DECEPTION

2017 - THE CARAVAGGIO CONSPIRACY was published in Italy by Newton Compton and was at the top of the best seller charts for months. No 1 Amazon World Bestseller.

Newton Compton then published my Caravaggio trilogy:

THE CARAVAGGIO ENIGMA - 2018

MALEDIZIONE CARAVAGGIO - 2019

EREDITA CARAVAGGIO - 2019

THE ISLE OF THE DEAD - known as IL DIPINTO MALEDETTO - won the ROME PRIZE in 2017

Newton Compton published THE GOYA ENIGMA in 2019

THE WOLVES OF VENICE.

Vol One was published in 2019

Vol Two will be published July 2020

Vol Three in Spring 2021

HEAD OF ZEUS published the English version of THE WOLVES OF VENICE 2020

Four of my thrillers have reached the top of the bestseller charts. They have been published in UK/USA/Italy/Russia/Poland/Hungary/Bulgaria/France/ Portugal and many other countries.

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4.2 out of 5

399 global ratings

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JodyG37

The Hogarth Conspiracy: A Novel

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2013

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This novel has it all! It's well written, mirrors history, and feeds my interest in art. I highly recommend it.

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2018

This is a great book n if you follow my reviews I can be critical. Right at the start I loved the art,mystery n eventually the tainted hero. The plot has many characters n twists. Very well written plus flows into one situation after another. Plenty of suspense n action. Some grisly details from the female author.

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BOOKLOVER EB

"The painting has incredible power."

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2013

People have killed to get their hands on precious works of art. That is one of the themes of Alex Connor's "The Hogarth Conspiracy," a lengthy potboiler that is filled with horrendous violence, treachery, and countless twists and turns. The novel concerns a valuable painting by William Hogarth that has disappeared. If this masterpiece were to fall into the wrong hands, the information that it reveals could topple the British monarchy.

Connor's large cast includes Victor Ballam, a disgraced former art dealer, unjustly convicted of fraud, who has recently been released from prison; Sir Oliver Peters, a dying man hiding an explosive secret; Bernie Freeland, an unstable hedonist; Charlene Fleet, a cruel and avaricious woman who runs an exclusive brothel; and Thomas (Tully) Harcourt, a failed actor who joins forces with Victor to retrieve the missing Hogarth.

The premise is fascinating, and it contains all of the ingredients that should make for a suspenseful page-turner. Wealthy and influential individuals plot to outmaneuver one another; hapless victims who know too much are summarily eliminated; and a lone man, Victor Ballam, risks his life to untie the myriad threads that he hopes will lead to the truth. Flashbacks to the eighteenth century narrated by Hogarth fill in the historical background.

Unfortunately, Connor puts her imagination into overdrive. The result is a plot that is so convoluted and confusing that few readers will want to stay the course until the end. The author indulges in passages of melodramatic prose such as, "There's blood on that painting. To the ruthless, a little more will count for nothing." The bodies quickly pile up (some die in the most gruesome ways imaginable), various individuals double-cross one another, and through it all, Victor tenaciously (some would say foolishly) carries on his quest to solve the mystery of the vanished Hogarth. This book is another example of why less can be more. If Connor had pared her narrative down to a more manageable size and developed her story more realistically, "The Hogarth Conspiracy" could have been a much more compelling and entertaining thriller.

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Top reviews from other countries

HM Holten

A Harlot's Progress – Past and Present

Reviewed in Germany on April 19, 2020

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Hogarth’s painting in the lost series ‘A Harlot’s Progress’ causes mayhem and murders when art dealers meet on a private flight bound for London. Connor takes her readers to seedy and coarse surroundings and uses violence as a plot device.
The convincing flashbacks to Hogarth’s time may feature the best writing in this thriller. The murders in the book’s present are graphic and frankly disturbing. All in all, the plot builds up to something spectacular, but in the end, everything falls flat. The reason is one of those barely concealed hooks to interest the reader in the next volume of a series. There are likeable and credible characters, but others are less aptly portrayed.
Where did Ms Connor get the idea that an illegitimate child would threaten the royal succession In England – or any country?
By the way, when looking at the print of that lost painting, number two in Hogarth’s prints known as A Harlot’s Progress, it becomes clear that the harlot isn’t pregnant. Moll Hackabout (Hogarth’s protagonist in the prints) aka Polly Gunnell (Hogarth’s model in Legacy of Blood) isn’t pregnant until plate three, and the print shows evidence of her dalliance with a notorious highway robber. Before then, she has come down in the world – the bailiffs are arriving to take her to Bridewell. In plate six, her son is portrayed as a halfwit. That would imply that an illegitimate halfwit would have the power to endanger the succession in the Royal House. Is that likely? Other than that, there isn’t much to say for or against the book. Reading it, you get drawn into the plot, but if the premise for the story is hard to swallow, there isn’t much chance that it will convince a wider audience.

Carlos Vivanco Pastore

Interesting, but not great

Reviewed in Spain on May 21, 2015

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Although I have enjoyed reading this novel, I have found the plot a bit confusing with far too many characters. There were times which I had to go back few chapters to figure out who was who. Having said that, Alex Connor's work has a hook which forced me to go all the way to the end of the book.

His previous work ("The Rembrandt's secret") was far much better.

Rusty

Unfinished intrigue

Reviewed in France on June 28, 2014

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A good imaginative story, but an awful lot of padding. I was left wanting to know what would eventually happen to Victor.

Beadee

Excellent service and a good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2012

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I had excellent service from this seller and additionally loved the book. Just loved the references to events and persons in real life back in 18th century, which made the story quite a good page turner. Loved the unexpected ending. Hope I haven't given anything away.

Waters

Good book

Reviewed in Australia on April 7, 2015

Verified Purchase

I could not put the book down very good read, I just didn't like the ending so much it left some unanswered questions.

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