And For His Next Trick …

Great Scott, etc. Formerly known as THE FULCANELLI MANUSCRIPT, Scott Mariani’s (right) thriller has been magically transformed into THE ALCHEMIST’S SECRET for its paperback incarnation. Quoth the blurb elves:

Where there’s Hope there’s trouble! Ben Hope lives on the edge. A former elite member of the SAS, Ben is tortured by a tragedy from his past and now devotes his life to finding kidnapped children. But when Ben is recruited to locate an ancient manuscript which could save a dying child, he embarks on the deadliest quest of his life. The document is alleged to contain the formula for the elixir of life, discovered by the brilliant alchemist Fulcanelli decades before. But it soon becomes apparent that others are hunting this most precious of treasures – for far more evil ends. When the secrets of alchemy hidden within the pages remain impenetrable, Ben teams up with beautiful American scientist Dr Roberta Ryder to crack the code. It seems that everyone – from the Nazis during WW2 and powerful Catholic organisation Gladius Domini – wants to unearth the secrets of immortality. The trail leads Ben and Roberta from Paris to the ancient Cathar strongholds of the Languedoc, where an astonishing secret has lain hidden for centuries …

Yes, yes, but is it any good?

‘Scott Mariani brings it all to the table in this fast-paced thriller that rockets off the first page and never slows down. THE ALCHEMIST’S SECRET is packed with dark intrigue, danger around every corner, bullets flying, sexual tension, and an endless assault of nasty villains bent on stopping ex-SAS Ben Hope from finding the secret to an ancient manuscript. It’s everything a thriller should be and more.’ – Joe Moore, international bestselling co-author of THE GRAIL CONSPIRACY

‘THE ALCHEMIST’S SECRET establishes Scott Mariani as an author to watch.’ – M.J. Rose, international bestselling author of THE VENUS FIX, THE HALO EFFECT and THE REINCARNATIONIST

‘What a ride! THE ALCHEMIST’S SECRET is a non-stop thrill … Scott Mariani is surely the UK’s answer to Steve Berry.’ - Elaine Flinn, author of TAGGED FOR MURDER (Barry Award)

‘An amazing book, by an amazing author. I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the last line.’ - Peter Brendt, author of THE HUNT FOR THE HOLY GRAIL

‘Fans of mystery thrillers like THE DA VINCI CODE will find THE ALCHEMIST’S SECRET an even more breathless and exciting read.’ – In Focus Magazine

‘THE ALCHEMIST’S SECRET is a gripping, fast-moving mystery thriller that has been described as ‘like THE DA VINCI CODE, only better’. Filled with suspense, fascinating historical intrigue, endless twists and turns, vivid characters and stunning locations, this is a book everyone agrees is hard to put down. As well as a thriller roller-coaster ride, it is a highly literate and intelligent novel. I enjoyed it very much and recommend it to readers.’ – Waterstone’s Bookseller

So there you have it – Scott Mariani and the worst-kept SECRET in town. Ain’t magic wonderful?

“Ya Wanna Do It Here Or Down The Station, Punk?” # 394: Scott Mariani

Yep, it’s rubber-hose time, folks: a rapid-fire Q&A for those shifty-looking usual suspects ...
What crime novel would you most like to have written?
L.A Confidential by James Ellroy.
Who do you read for guilty pleasures?
M.J. Rose, author of sexy thrillers The Venus Fix and The Halo Effect. One hot lady, and a great writer.
Most satisfying writing moment?
Getting a letter from a female reader telling me she was in love with my main character Ben Hope.
The best Irish crime novel is …?
That’s a hard one. There are lots of good ones. But I really loved The Grounds by Cormac Millar.
What Irish crime novel would make a great movie?
Am I allowed to say my own one? I do have a film producer interested ... Seriously, though, I think The Four Courts Murder by Andrew Nugent has a lot of film potential. I’d want to change the title, though - no offence, Andrew.
Worst / best thing about being a writer?
The worst: sitting around, waiting, hoping for publishers to get back to you. The best: when the juices are flowing and you know a really good story is coming together.
The pitch for your next novel is …?
Who really killed Mozart? And how is that connected to the brutal murder, two centuries later, of pianist Oliver Llewellyn? Ex-SAS man Ben Hope investigates.
Who are you reading right now?
Nothing. Last thing I finished was another in a long line of John Grisham novels.
The three best words to describe your own writing are …?
‘Scott Mariani is ...’ Now, if you’d asked for six words, you might have found out something!

Scott Mariani’s The Fulcanelli Manuscript is available in all good bookshops

The Rime Of The Not-So-Ancient Mariani

Is Scott Mariani (right) the only Crime Always Pays correspondent with 18% Egyptian blood in his veins? Erm, we’d imagine so. Irish-American, mainly, but based in Wales, Scott’s the guy behind The Fulcanelli Manuscript. ‘What the blummering flippery is that?’ we hear you cry. Take it away, Scott …

“The idea for The Fulcanelli Manuscript was a coming together of a whole bunch of elements. The main part of the story is the hunt for a mysterious alchemical elixir that could save the life of a little girl. The alchemical material is something I’ve been researching for years. The Fulcanelli of the title was a real-life alchemist, whose disappearance in 1920’s Paris has never been explained. Rich ground for me, I thought. It was originally going to be a non-fiction book, and then about two years later I had the idea of incorporating it into a thriller with this character who had been floating around in my mind for a long time. His name is Benedict Hope, and he’s a kidnap and ransom consultant: in other words, he’s the guy who can fetch your loved ones back out of trouble when baddies have snatched them away. The various strands came together – I have a renegade scientist, a couple of crazy religious maniacs, a super-intense coffee-addicted neurotic French cop, a self-mutilating lunatic, a seriously sexy Italian historian lady who comes close to stealing our hero’s affections. And a lot of bullets. Oh, and a huge secret that could change the course of civilisation as we know it ... The action takes us from the west coast of Ireland to Canada, via the south of France and a nice Irish pub in Paris. You CAN get good Guinness in Paris ... that was the best part of the research, naturally!”

Dan Brown, your ass is grass. For a download of the first chapter of The Fulcanelli Manuscript, alchemise yourself all the way over here …