The Chopin Manuscript

A Serial Thriller

By: Lee Child, David Corbett, Joseph Finder, Jim Fusilli, John Gilstrap, James Grady, David Hewson, P. J. Parrish, Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Alfred Molina

Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

15 thriller masters. 1 masterful thriller.

Former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton possesses a previously unknown score by Frederic Chopin. But he is unaware that, locked within its handwritten notes, lies a secret that now threatens the lives of thousands of Americans. As he races from Poland to America to uncover the mystery of the manuscript, Middleton will be accused of murder, pursued by federal agents, and targeted by assassins. But the greatest threat will come from a shadowy figure out of his past: the man known only as Faust.

The Chopin Manuscript is a unique collaboration by 15 of the world's greatest thriller writers. Jeffery Deaver conceived the characters and set the plot in motion; the other authors each wrote a chapter in turn. Deaver then completed what he started, bringing The Chopin Manuscript to its explosive conclusion.

The Chopin Manuscript was written by:
Jeffery Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme series)
David Hewson (Nic Costa series)
James Grady (Six Days of the Condor)
S. J. Rozan (Bill Smith/Lydia Chin series)
Erica Spindler (Last Known Victim)
John Ramsey Miller (Winter Massey series)
David Corbett (Blood of Paradise)
John Gilstrap (Scott Free)
Joseph Finder (Power Play)
Jim Fusilli (Terry Orr series)
Peter Spiegelman (John March series)
Ralph Pezzullo (Jawbreaker)
Lisa Scottoline (Daddy's Girl)
P.J. Parrish (Louis Kincaid, Joe Frye series)
Lee Child (Jack Reacher series)

©2007 International Thriller Writers, Inc., Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, David Hewson, James Grady, S. J. Rozan, Erica Spindler, John Ramsey Miller, David Corbett, John Gilstrap, Joseph Finder, Jim Fusilli, Peter Spiegelman, Ralph Pezzullo, Lisa Scottoline, and P. J. Parrish (P)2007 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• 2008 Audie Award Winner
  Audiobook of the Year

"Innovative and unique, The Chopin Manuscript, written by masters in the field of thrillers, is far more than the sum of its parts. Here each author shines, blending individual skill and energy, into a riveting, crackling-paced tapestry of murder, mystery, and mayhem. Not to be missed!" (James Rollins, author of The Judas Strain)

"A GREAT story, written by one GREAT author after another, in one GREAT chapter after another. A stellar achievement of collectivity that blows from the starting gate at 100 mph and never slows down. A thrill-a-page from 15 GREAT thriller masters. Don't miss this one." (Steve Berry, author of The Venetian Betrayal)

OUTSTANDING!!!

Fast paced and exciting! The way each author crafted his/her individual chapter was nothing less than stellar in the seamless way the chapters coalesced and flowed.

Thank you, Audible, and I hope more will follow!

Thoroughly enjoyed!

Would you listen to The Chopin Manuscript again? Why?

I would love to listen again to track the various characters through the chapters. There are a lot of characters due to the introduction of new ones with each author but definitely worth another listen.

What did you like best about this story?

I love a complex plot with twists and turns and this one was a humdinger.

Chopin and Mozart interconnected?

interesting project for a great book. 10 authors, 18 chapters, no collaboration. more please WOW

a kick to listen to

I had no idea what to expect, but this was a really good "read." While occasionally the different voices didn't mesh, and the plot took gigantic leaps, I thought it worked. Because of the different authors, this wasn't a linear plot, and was often incredible. But many thrillers are. Part of the satisfaction came from listening to what the next author did to keep the complex plot from totally exploding.

Alfred Molina was good, but his reading was not varied enough for the character changes.

I listen to many audio books, read lots of thrillers and mysteries, and I'd try another serialized, multi-author work in a minute after listening to this one.

A Great Experiment

I have to admit that the process of this books creation was the draw to purchase it. That was the best part of the story. However, the product wasn't awful. I am no literary expert, but I know what I enjoy. In the end, I enjoyed this story.

It was frustrating that it did seem like each new chapter was the beginning of a new book. Yet there was enough consistency that I wasn't too lost at every change.

Personally, I did not like the ending. Maybe I am a cinderella-optimist, but I was sad to find out who the villian was. I did not want it to be that person (I am trying not to give away any secrets). It kind of worked in the story, but I don't have to like it. Since there was no hint of "why" earlier on, it did not work as good as it could have had the story been authored by one person.

The narration was EXCELLENT!! The accents were wonderful and distinction between characters was superb.

Do not buy this selection if you are a music lover, get it for the suspense value. And as a compliment to the authors working together.

Interesting for a writer, notsomuch for others

If you're not a writer, or are a hard-core thriller reader, this book will probably seem mediocre at best. As each chapter was done by a different author, the story changes direction with each change in scene -- sometimes jarringly so. Characters, locales, and threads are lovingly introduced and coddled by one author, only to be forgotten or killed off by another author in the chain. This leads to a noticeably disjoint story that is too amused with itself to bother entertaining the reader.

Writers will get more out of this book, primarily as a lesson in how NOT to write a cohesive story. This book is audible proof that you might be an astounding writer with a mastery of language, but you have nothing if you can't bring everything together into one good narrative.

Only slightly behind that lesson is another: as a writer you have to check your ego at the door. This book reeks of testosterone-fueled power trips, and not by the characters. You might think that this would be a sore spot to the authors, but they are all but proud of this fact during the interviews presented after the book.

In the end, as a free download this audiobook is worth every penny. However, as entertainment it falls short.

Loved The Chopin Manuscript!

Creative Genius! 15 Authors threading together a mystery thriller into tantalizing suspense, one chapter at time. Unpredictable twisting plot, and involved, well developed characters. The narration by Alfred Molina was spectacular! Job well done with heavily accented characters of European origin. Clear separation of chapters with sophisticated instrumental piano intros to lead the way. Loved this Audible! Looking forward to the next read in the series, the Copper Bracelet. ~D

fun book

Book was fun...a nice change, but not great

Would make a great movie!

This was one of my favorite audio books so far. Each chapter really builds on the next.

disappointed

This book was so highly touted by media reviewers I expected more. To me it read like a screen play and I kept casting the characters in my mind. There were ceertainly a lot of twists and turns in the plot as one would expect with the variety of authors. I think that is also the reason it just never came together for me.