The Ludwig Conspiracy: a Historical Thriller / Oliver Potzsch 435 p.

I've enjoyed this author's Hangman's Daughter series and expected to feel the same way about his new stand-alone.  Ludwig II, king of Bavaria, died in mysterious circumstances in 1886, and controversy rages in Germany to this day about whether this strange man, who ordered the construction of the famous castles of Neuschwanstein and Herrenchiemsee, among others, was mad and whether he was murdered as a result.  The authentic mystery is the backdrop for our novel, which alternates between Ludwig's era and the present.  Steven Lukas, a reclusive antiquarian bookseller, unwittingly becomes the owner of an encoded text which reveals the truth about Ludwig and for which shadowy figures are willing to kill. Throw in a hot, chain-smoking art appraiser, and you have a story.  (She's quite a bit younger than Steven, but why should that be a problem?)

Disappointment.  The 19th-century chapters were effective, and Potzsch does a nice job of portraying Ludwig while keeping his edges fuzzy, just as he should be.  The contemporary chapters are dreadful, though, the dialogue clunky and many of the 'thrilling' scenarios completely implausible, particularly those which involve technology.  (Germans don't carry cellphones?) 

But Potzsch is smart and thoughtful, so I wonder if he hasn't just picked the wrong genre.  The whole story is suffused with regret - Ludwig refuses to face modernity, and worries for the direction Germany is heading. Sounds like an obvious foreshadowing, but it's done with delicacy.