The Alchemist's Secret cover art

The Alchemist's Secret

Ben Hope, Book 1

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The Alchemist's Secret

By: Scott Mariani
Narrated by: Will Rycroft
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About this listen

THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

Introducing the explosive first Ben Hope adventure

‘James Bond meets Jason Bourne meets The Da Vinci Code’ J. L. Carrell

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.

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…

‘Compelling from the first page until the last, Mariani and Ben Hope entertain in a gripping tale that will have you turning the pages well into the night’ MARK DAWSON

The Ben Hope series is a must-read for fans of Dan Brown, Lee Child and Mark Dawson. Join the millions of fans who get breathless with anticipation when the countdown to the new Ben Hope thriller begins…

©2007 Scott Mariani (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers Limited 20th Century Action & Adventure Crime Thrillers Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Military Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Suspense Thriller & Suspense War & Military Exciting

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All stars
Most relevant  
One of those can't put down books or can't stop listening should I say. Loved it

Great read

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Very predictable , the usual doesn't kill the bad guy formulaic story ! In fact the whole book is totally written to a standard formula! Not a single bit of originality ! It's like these authors write books for people with s low iq , dumbed down for the masses I suppose .

Very predictable

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Overall a good listen. Starts well building nicely with some good character building. The background of the Albigensian Crusade and persecution of the Cathars very interesting. Unfortunately the second half or more fails to match the beginning becoming formulated and pretty unbelievable.

I found Will Rycroft's narration very flat; OK Ben is a cold character but the main narration should not be in that form. He performed most of the characters well but his American female accent is poor, and as Roberta Ryder is a major character in the book this was a major let down.

Entertaining & Educational. Good, not great

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I have just listened to every book in the Ben Hope series. Scott Mariani is a great author. The stories are all so different, brilliant, entertaining, exciting and so well written. The characters are all brought to life by superb narration. I am waiting with anticipation for the next book in the Series. Hurry! I will have withdrawl symptoms!! Thank you Lillian

Fantastic Series!

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From start to finish. Nothing is quite what you expect. There are many twists which make this a fantastic read/listen. I must now find more by the same author

The narrator manages to catch the feel of the story & keeps you interested. An excellent performance

Enthralling

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I really wasn’t sure about this book, I don't know why, maybe because I was not familiar with the author. However, I really enjoyed it, good strong characters, yet there was also a build up of tension that made me feel edgy.

The story was good, I did actually semi guess the twist at the end, but it was none the less enjoyable for all that.

I will be looking for more books by Mr Mariani and also the narrator was good too.

What a good surprise

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I've read a number of Mariani's Ben Hope novels on holiday on eBook. They are like 'Reacher-lite' but with a Brit! The plots rattle along, Hope himself is quite appealing, the women always seem a bit superficial to the story, and the storylines are far-fetched but enjoyable escapism. This was my first audiobook - and it was fine. The series is not top of my list for next purchase, but will probably be my fallback option when I'm waiting for a favourite author's next issue.

Meh - neither loved nor hated it

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Brilliant book, an explosive start from chapter 1 does not slow down at any point, looking forward to listening to it again

Brilliant

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scott has a wonderful way of keeping you gripped to his stories. could not stop listening.

fantastic story kept me gripped

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Fantastic story, characters coupled with tension and real thrills. I have read the entire series several times so it is fantastic to now have it on audiobook. Narration was excellent!

Superb

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