The Diabolical Conspiracy is my first book by Bryan Smith. I am giving it between 2 ½ and 3 stars but would read him again. His writing style is polished and fluid and the pacing was very good for a novella. I have heard some readers say that they prefer his full length novels and I will definitely give one a try but will chose one with a subject matter that won’t be one that makes me want to bail, which I do more often since I have gotten older.

The thing that dropped the score dramatically was what I thought was completely unrealistic characters and their actions. I saw no realistic characters at all, really—all were pure pulp: with the men given the standard trait of completely at the whim of their sex drive and women all beautiful and evil. For me, you have to get beyond this. Characters count. I have this one nagging thought though—this story works as a satire, although a very dark one. Stories this dark work better for me when they have humor and this one needed some lighter elements.
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