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The Conspiracy

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Member Reviews

I loved the way the book keeps you asking for more. Original, refreshing and engaging. It's a book that kept on well into the night. The Conspiracy by Laurence O Bryan is a must-read.

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i enjoyed reading this book, I thought it was a well done story with a interesting premise. Mr. O'Bryan has a great writing style.

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He’s a vaccine scientist, but he couldn’t save his wife.

Robert McNeil blames himself for his wife’s death. When he's asked to join a U.S. State Department mission to China, he accepts. The mission, headed by Faith Gordon, a China specialist, is tasked with finding out the truth about the origins of the virus.

McNeil's vaccine, developed at a lab outside London, is one of the leading contenders for rapid vaccine deployment globally. The Chinese want to find out everything about it.

When McNeil pushes for explanations in China, he ends up in prison, in the hands of an official who tortures enemies of the Chinese state. The Americans with him are also abducted.

A Chinese secret society, pledged to overthrow the Communist Party, wants to use McNeil to help them achieve their objective.

Does McNeil have any chance of uncovering the conspiracy?

A gripping story. The first in a roller-coaster rapid-release series with a shocking twist.


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Finally finding a book which story and content is about this whole COVID19 pandemic that got me freaked out. This book is heavily about Coronavirus so for the ones that don't enjoy this kind of topics and conspiracies, please no need to read this!

This is such a page turner and a well done writing! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

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Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have read several of Laurence O'Bryan's book before and had high hopes for this new series. I was not disappointed. Clearly written in response to the current world situation the plot revolves around conspiracies around the origins of the covid pandemic whilst the central protagonist races to find a vaccine.
Quick, fast paced and exciting..

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I really enjoyed this book. Character development was good. The plot was very interesting. Not a lot of typos.

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This is a very timely book, with it revolving around conspiracies over the Coronavirus Pandemic. Rob is a scientist who is developing a vaccine. His wife has mysteriously just died of Coronavirus and China, Russia and the US are all competing by fair means, or more likely foul, to get him working for them.

This was a quick read and the plot moves along very quickly. At times though I felt it could have done with a bit more character development. It’s a good read and there is plenty of skulduggery going on and has quite an insight into China and Chinese politics. It is all set up very nicely for a sequel, which I notice has already been published. Quite compulsive reading and I will definitely quickly get hold of the next book to see how it all ends.

Overall I would give this book 4 stars and I am happy to recommend it, always enjoy reading Laurence’s books. I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing a copy of this book to me for an open and honest review.

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Truly ripped from the headlines! The story involves conspiracy theories at the country level. How far will China go to cast blame for the covid virus onto some foreign scientist? And then there is Russia. Spies, corruption and the basis of a thriller. I read this one in one sitting. I think it as good as an answer as any we have heard. Lies abound. I liked the book.

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The Conspiracy is based on the Coronavirus. A UK based vaccine scientist Robert McNeil joins the US State Department to find out the origins of the virus. The Chinese and Russians become involved. I was a little disappointed waiting for the twist and found the ending abrupt.

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The conspiracy is a story of today. One which incorporates China, Russia, the US and the UK in one thriller and corona virus. How each countries operatives are affected by it never mind just the people who are killed by it.
A story that is well researched without bogging us down with too much techno jargon while flicking between all the different countries by way of the chapters.
Even with the detailed story it is a fast moving one which is aided by short chapters so you just need to read one more.
This does look like it may be a series and I am hoping so. I am looking forward to seeing how the characters develop moving forward. Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of the book.

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‘The Conspiracy’ is romping gallop through the major political epicenters of the UK, China and Russia.
The deadly novel Corona virus has spread globally, and everyone’s behavior has changed - PPE is the order of the day and while normal folks go about their business in the ‘new normal,’ behind the scenes, Governments and scientists are scrambling to control the pandemic and find a viable vaccine. China has the additional pressure of proving that Wuhan was not the source of the outbreak.

Set against this backdrop, the main protagonist, Dr Rob McNeil is an Oxford scientist working to develop a vaccine, a ‘virus eater’ that will enable people to develop the means to counter not just the current virus, but any potential variant.

Dr McNeil is persuaded to go to China by a member of the American Government, to investigate the origins of the outbreak in Wuhan. Once there, things do not go as planned and the team end up in a Chinese prison.
Mr. Wang, a Chinese bureaucrat looking to move up in the Party, is in charge of ensuring that Rob does not find any evidence at Wuhan and to get him to reveal how the new vaccine works. Once China has developed the new vaccine, it will be in a position to decide which countries get it and can demand, in exchange, recognition of China’s power and legitimacy.

Vladimir, a Russian agent and vodka aficionado, goes in London and breaks into Rob’s lab. He seems to be the Russian Government’s go-to black ops guy – handy with a gun and knife, asks no questions and is dispensable.
What is the role of Russia and China in the origins and spread of this deadly pandemic? Will Rob and his friends ever get out of China alive? Will they be able to withstand torture to keep the vaccine secret? What is really going on and who are the good and bad guys?

Usually, the Chinese or Russian agents are easily identified as the bad guys. Their actions certainly show that they are capable of violence, however, Wang and Vladimir are unexpectedly nuanced characters, each with their own motivations and it is this that makes this book intelligent.

The author has done his research well and the settings and situations ring true. The pace and style is Dan Brown-esque with short chapters featuring alternating characters. It is well written and entertaining. I would certainly recommend ‘The Conspiracy’ as an engaging thriller.

Note that not all of the secrets are revealed in this book, you will have to read the sequel to find out more.

Thank you to NetGallery for providing an e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

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When Robert Mc Neil is nearly killed in a suspicious car accident, nothing is the same any more, especially as he discovers that his wife is also dead.

His work involves cutting-edge research into the corona virus, into defeating it, and surely no one would have wanted to tinkle with it to make it more deadly. Or to claim credit for any significant understanding of it. Nevertheless, it does seem that other countries, including Russia and China, are also following events and are not shy of a little assassination, should anyone get in the way. What could their agendas be?

Faith, who works for the American Embassy in London, persuades Mc Neil to fly to China to hopefully get to the bottom what what is going. What danger could Rob be in, and what could possibly go wrong?

This is a spy thriller where the reader is dragged into the action from the very first page. And the suspense is sustained throughout. The odds appear to be against Mc Neil being able to bring his vaccine for the virus to the masses before more powerful bodies of self interest get their hands on it first.

Other interesting characters are soon introduced and woven into the plot: careerist Wang, proficient in the arts of both physical and psychological torture and the sociopathic old hand at espionage Vladimir, whose love of vodka is barely surpassed by love of the motherland.

It could be clear straight away who the bad guys are, both individually and politically, yet the characters here are portrayed as being as as nuanced with mixed motives, rather than black and white. This subtlety is welcome, where the telling could have been that much more one-sided in its approach. This is skillful story-telling with cliff edges that will keep the pages turning late into the night.

A highly entertaining read and whilst this novel works as a standalone, there is more to come - this one is art of a series..

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Oh, boy. As a born Conspiracy Theorist, I expect conspiracies under every rock, but after a year of Coronavirus, and 300,000 + fatalities, I really hope the backdrop of THE CONSPIRACY is only fiction, and not a reflection of actual events. Though, who knows?


The theme of THE CONSPIRACY and its sequel THE CONSPIRACY II is of course the current Pandemic of Covid-19, the race to avoid transmission and to discover and produce new effective vaccines, but also the intense race to lay blame. Multiple nations leap on that one, while pharmaceutical corporations compete for the best scientific minds and the biggest profits.


A stunning tragic beginning propels American scientist Robert McNeil, partner in a cutting edge Oxford laboratory, into the vaccine race, from London to Paris to Oxford to Wuhan to Moscow, intensively working to save lives while himself drowning in grief.


THE CONSPIRACY is a heart-in-throat read of constant suspense and implacable terror.

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I thought the concept of this book was very good, and the storyline had obviously been thought out. It’s also a very ‘current events’ book so makes you think but I wouldn’t call it a thriller,

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Great timing for this book as we all question what has happened and how in relation to the global pandemic. I didn’t find myself getting heavily invested in the characters and wonder if the author deliberately reduced the focus on them in order to keep the pace of the plot line fast. And the plot was fast and complex and compelling! People who like thrillers will enjoy this, but so will people who like following the path of a good mystery.

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This review was made possible through NetGalley.com

Since COVID made its appearance at the beginning of this year, many things in this book have happened: blame, manipulation, and a race against time. It definitely gets the reader thinking about who is "innocent" and that there are always more factors than who's right and who's wrong.

The attention to details was something that I liked, but became annoyed with. For example, the face masks. Their color, their style, the way they fit over the face; it all became too much at one point. And perhaps that's what it was intended to do. A blatant reminder of a blip in the norm. The lack of traffic was another topic that got boring.

I enjoyed the shorter chapters, enabling me to stop as needed. However, some of these chapters could've been eliminated or merged into larger ones.

The mention of Rob's wife Jackie seemed to be nothing more than "moral inspiration". Anytime Rob was faced with a hard choice it was "Jackie would've wanted me to do this. This is what she would've wanted." It seemed when there was nothing else to guide his decision making it was Jackie.

Overall the characters were likeable and developed nicely. Everyone had their own agenda and means that they wanted to reach. It was verbal plays of power and manipulation with no clear ending, similar to the current world. It's definitely a story to get people thinking and talking about what is going on in today's society all across the world.

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In general, I found The Conspiracy to be a likable novel. The writing, however, and structure of the novel left a lot to be desired. Has Mr. O'Bryan focused on the story he wanted to tell and just stuck with that, it might have made a better read.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

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As if we haven't had enough of Covid-19 this story delves into various conspiracy theories about how it might have been developed and escaped/released. There are archetypical bad guys - Russian (vodka-drinking of course), Chinese (torture instruments) and Americans (brash with gizmos), a viral specialist Brit hero trying to come to terms with his wife's death form the virus and so on. And to add insult to injury we didn't even get a proper ending, But then we haven't for the real thing. Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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The Conspiracy by Laurence O'Bryan
Pub 27 Nov 2020

If you find the discussion of Covid 19 upsetting, then pass on this book. The book is very enjoyable with the three major nation-states involved. Not a great deal is said in the United States but a great deal is stated on China and how they are reacting. The plot twists here made the book very enjoyable and the Russian spies were thrilling to read.

The main characters are of course the Chinese and an officer named Wang. In this book, they are taking the virus very seriously. Really nice to see the Russians play the United States and China against each other. I also enjoyed seeing the United States not being portrayed as a less than responsive and weak country. I understand that this book is part of a series and I myself am looking forward to reading more.

#TheConspiracy

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This is a timely tale. It pulled me in, though there were a few places where the story lagged. Overall, I kept reading, as I was curious to see how things played out. The ending felt like there could be an upcoming sequel. Lots of connections to what's currently going on around the world. I would've appreciated a more even pacing and a bit more character development.

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Well, Laurence O'Bryan has tapped into a Conspiracy that seems to have the whole world in it's grip. This novel is a great read, Once you start reading, you know that everything that is written could have happened. Many people today are still at that stage where they are wondering how Coronavirus got out and then got out of hand. The Chinese, Russians and Americans (along with help from the Brits) are all scrambling to get a handle on this virus. Kidnapping and getting answers from the top scientists seems to be the way to keep the world at bay, when it comes to blame for letting this deadly virus get out in the first place.

If you want to enjoy a page turner, that is timely and quite plausible, then The Conspiracy is for you.

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