The Last Pope - Hardcover

Rocha, Luis Miguel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399154892 ISBN 13: 9780399154898

Publisher: Putnam Adult, 2008

Synopsis

Already a New York Times bestseller, The Last Pope is a terrific, fast-paced thriller about the conspiracy surrounding the 1978 death of Pope John Paul I.

1978, Vatican City: On September 29, the world awakens to news of the shocking, sudden death of Pope John Paul I, elected only thirty-three days earlier. The Vatican’s official response: His Holiness died of unknown causes, “possibly associated with a heart attack.” The pope’s body is embalmed within twenty-four hours, preventing any possibility of an autopsy.

2006, London: Journalist Sarah Monteiro returns from vacation to find a mysterious envelope stuffed in her mailbox. Inside is a list of unfamiliar names and a coded message.

At first, Sarah is merely puzzled by the strange delivery. But when a masked intruder breaks into her home, she knows that the list has put her in danger.

Drawn into a vortex of double crosses and terror, Sarah soon learns that the contents of the envelope hold the key to unveiling corruption beyond anything she has investigated— a plot that implicates not only unscrupulous mercenaries and crooked politicians but also princes of the Church, and perhaps even her own father. Indeed, the appearance of the envelope signals a moment of truth that brings to light a number of long-unanswered questions: What really happened during the brief reign of John Paul I? Whose plans were cut short that fatal night in September 1978? And who really benefited from the pope’s sudden demise?

About this title

About the Author

LuĂ­s Miguel Rocha was born in Oporto, Portugal, and worked for many years in London as a television writer and producer. He continues to write for television and film.

Reviews

The election of Don Albino Luciani to the papal throne in 1978 threatens the Vatican status quo in this routine thriller from Portuguese author Rocha, his first novel. John Paul I's views on papal infallibility and such controversial subjects as birth control, not to mention his resolve to clean house of those men of God who sullied the Roman Catholic church by financial chicanery with mob links, lead to his murder soon after he becomes pope. In the present-day, London journalist Sarah Monteiro receives a letter implicating the pope's killers. The same shadowy band turns out to be behind the attempt on the life of John Paul II as well as the assassination of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme. Sarah struggles to stay alive and keep the evidence out of the wrong hands amid predictable action sequences and hairbreadth escapes. An author interview at book's end claiming that John Paul I was actually murdered is sure to please conspiracy buffs. (Aug.) ""
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Rocha is not the first author to allege that Pope John Paul I did not die of natural causes 33 days into his reign in September 1978. This blend of fact and fiction centers on papers pointing to the Vatican’s financial involvement in corruption, through the mysterious Masonic Lodge P2, and the new pope’s intent to replace those involved and to liberalize various church positions. In nonstop action jumping between New York and several European capitals, papers revealing the plot—sent by a priest to his goddaughter, a Portuguese journalist—are hunted down by those who fear their exposure, including a corrupt CIA official. The action is so fast, with a rising murder count along the way, that readers need to be attentive to connect dots and follow multiple plot threads (including the third secret of Fatima). Rocha, convinced that the pope was murdered, includes information clarifying which characters are historical. Although the novel is likely to appeal to fans of conspiracy theories and readers of Dan Brown, it sacrifices storytelling for making the case about the death of the pope. --Michele Leber

Edition details

• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0399154892
• ISBN 13: 9780399154898
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320