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The Mozart Code cover art

The Mozart Code

By: Rachel McMillan
Narrated by: Angharad Price
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Summary

No matter how you might try to hide in a war to escape your past, it is always close at hand.

Lady Sophia Huntington Villiers is no stranger to intrigue, as her work with Alan Turing’s Bombe Machines at Bletchley Park during the war attests. Now, as part of Simon Barre’s covert team in post-war Vienna, she uses her inimitable charm and code name Starling to infiltrate the world of relics: uncovering vital information that could tilt the stakes of the mounting Cold War. When several influential men charge her with finding the death mask of Mozart, Sophie wonders if there is more than the composer’s legacy at stake and finds herself drawn to potential answers in Prague.

Simon Barrington, the illegitimate heir of one of Sussex’s oldest estates, used the previous war to hide his insecurities about his past. Now, he uses his high breeding to gain access to all four allied quarters of the ruined city in an attempt to slow the fall of the Iron Curtain. He has been in love with Sophie Villiers since the moment he met her, and a marriage of convenience to save Simon’s estate has always kept her close. Until now, when Sophie’s mysterious client in Prague forces him to wonder if her allegiance to him - and their cause - is in question. Torn between his loyalty to his cause and his heart, Simon seeks answers about Sophie only to learn that everything he thought he knew about his involvement in both wars is based on a lie.

“Murky espionage and burgeoning passion twine beautifully together in The Mozart Code’s superbly evocative prose - an enchanting read!” (Kate Quinn, New York Times best-selling author of The Rose Code)

“Vienna is the new Paris in The Mozart Code, a World War II spy novel with deft, chess-like plotting, and plenty of old-fashioned romance.” (Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times best-selling author of the Maggie Hope novels and Mother Daughter Traitor Spy)

The Mozart Code is a smart, luscious romance, a thrilling suspense, and a thunderously good read. McMillan is a rising star in historical fiction.” (Aimie K. Runyan, best-selling author of The School for German Brides)

“Rife with secret codes, haunting melodies, betrayal and sacrifice, at its heart this is a story about the courage it takes to love and be loved. Highly recommended!” (Kimberly Brock, author of The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare)

The Mozart Code left me breathless.” (Joy Callaway, international best-selling author of The Fifth Avenue Artists Society and The Greenbrier Resort)

  • Post World War II historical romance
  • Stand-alone novel (features characters from The London Restoration)
  • Book length: 95,000 words
©2021 Rachel McMillan (P)2021 Thomas Nelson

Critic reviews

“A damaged post-war city and two damaged post-war hearts collide in Rachel McMillan’s latest gripping romantic drama. Ex-codebreaker Sophie Villiers and her MI-6 marriage-of-convenience husband, Simon Barre, are thrown together in Vienna on the hunt for a double agent, a priceless relic, and just possibly love. Murky espionage and burgeoning passion twine beautifully together in The Mozart Code’s superbly evocative prose - an enchanting read!” (Kate Quinn, New York Times best-selling author of The Rose Code)

“Vienna is the new Paris in The Mozart Code, a World War II spy novel with deft, chess-like plotting, and plenty of old-fashioned romance. McMillan’s meticulous research and love of music, architecture, and history shine through in this evocative read.” (Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times best-selling author of the Maggie Hope novels and Mother Daughter Traitor Spy)

“Rachel McMillan’s The Mozart Code is two parts romance, one part intrigue, with some of the most lavishly detailed settings seen in historical fiction for quite some time. McMillan’s love of her characters, the irrepressible Sophie Villiers and Simon Barre, as well as for the splendors of Vienna and Prague, shine through on every page. Above all, the love that Simon feels for his Sophie, and she for him, despite all that would keep them apart, kept me hurtling through the pages. The Mozart Code is a smart, luscious romance, a thrilling suspense, and a thunderously good read. McMillan is a rising star in historical fiction.” (Aimie K. Runyan, best-selling author of The School for German Brides)

What listeners say about The Mozart Code

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  • ML
  • 11-06-23

Exciting plot

Very well-researched and compelling story, although quite complex in structure..
A pity that the narrator did not check her pronunciation of German names and terms as this became annoying. However her voices of the characters was excellent.

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Good story, spoiled by narration

This is an intriguing story, set in postwar Vienna and Prague with lots of action and tension. However, for me, the narrator ruined it by using dreadful accents for the lead characters. The exaggerated upper class accents sounded like something from a bad comedy and made it impossible to have any empathy with or liking for the characters.

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Enjoyable

Enjoyable story and sound. Makes me want to visit Austria! Slightly different tone towards the end with some gruesome bits!

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