I have enjoyed Oliver Pötzsch’s Hangman’s Daughter books, which are a historical mysteries that focus on Bavaria in the 1660s. So, I though I would give The Ludwig Conspiracy a try. It is a novel loosely based in King Ludwig II, the Mad King of Bavaria. He’s the king who built the famous fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle.
Unlike the Hangman series, this book goes back and in the present and during the life of King Ludwig. Ludwig died under mysterious circumstances on June 13, 1886. His death was officially deemed to be a suicide by drowning, although there was no water in his lungs. As a result, there have been lots of theories and conspiracies about whether or not he was actually murdered. This novel delves into some of those conspiracies.
The novel opens when Steven Lukas, the owner of a bookstore that specialized in rare books finds that he has a journal, written in code, that explains how Ludwig actually died. The journal was hidden in Lukas’ store by a professor, who, in the opening scene of the novel is killed by thugs after the book.
Lukas soon finds that these shady characters are after him for the journal. Enter Sara Lengfeld, who claims to be the niece of the dead professor. She, too, wants to find out the truth of King Ludwig’s death. Together she and Lukas attempt to decipher the journal, all the while being chased by mysterious hooligans.
After Lukas’s bookstore is broken into and ransacked, he and Sara find themselves on the run from the police as well. Unfortunately, there was too much in this novel that stretched the imagination. There were car chases, shootings, murders, etc. It read more like a thriller movie, than a good satisfying book. The scenes narrated by Ludwig's physician, however, are more interesting.
I’ll stick with the author’s Hangman series.
Read: Sept. 12, 2019
2 Stars
