The plot will seem pretty familiar to those who have read Dan Brown's 'Angles And Demons'. The Pope has passed away rather suddenly and all the Cardinals have come together to elect the new leader for the Roman Catholic Church. There are 4 strong contenders and so it looks like it will be a few days before the verdict is out. Though the Dean Of The College Of Cardinals, Cardinal Lomeli, hopes that everything will go as planned, the whole exercise turns out to be a classic case of the saying 'Man Proposes, God Disposes'.
First, Lomeli is informed that one of the contenders, Joseph Tremblay, was asked to resign from all his positions by the Pope, just before he died. Then, the story of a child sired out of wedlock by another contender, Joshua Adeyemi, tumbles out of the closet in a very dramatic manner. As if all this isn't enough, it soon emerges that the late Pope had turned an unknown Archbishop, a Filipino, into a cardinal, In Pectore i.e. in secret. Add into the mix the simultaneous terrorist attacks on the Church all over the world while the Conclave is in progress as well as Lomeli's secret ambition of becoming the Pope and you have the makings of a plot that will keep you glued to the book for hours. Only bathroom breaks are allowed :-)
I must confess that not being a Christian, it was rather difficult to follow the titles and procedures in the beginning - despite being familiar with the positions such as Camerlengo, thanks to Dan Brown! The book is fairly sprinkled with anecdotes about past Popes and various processes involved in electing one - though Catholics may be aware of them, they are interesting to others coming from different faiths. Any reader of crime fictions worth his or her salt will be able to guess who will emerge as the Pope. No surprises there! But the ultimate twist in the tale is absolutely delightful because once all is revealed the reader will unmistakably remember a couple of hints that the author had thrown her way. There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that you as a reader have utterly failed to take them. :-)
The book is a slim offering - fit to be devoured over a lazy weekend, listening to the patter of the raindrops and with a cuppa steaming hot tea. What more could a book-lover ask for?
First, Lomeli is informed that one of the contenders, Joseph Tremblay, was asked to resign from all his positions by the Pope, just before he died. Then, the story of a child sired out of wedlock by another contender, Joshua Adeyemi, tumbles out of the closet in a very dramatic manner. As if all this isn't enough, it soon emerges that the late Pope had turned an unknown Archbishop, a Filipino, into a cardinal, In Pectore i.e. in secret. Add into the mix the simultaneous terrorist attacks on the Church all over the world while the Conclave is in progress as well as Lomeli's secret ambition of becoming the Pope and you have the makings of a plot that will keep you glued to the book for hours. Only bathroom breaks are allowed :-)
I must confess that not being a Christian, it was rather difficult to follow the titles and procedures in the beginning - despite being familiar with the positions such as Camerlengo, thanks to Dan Brown! The book is fairly sprinkled with anecdotes about past Popes and various processes involved in electing one - though Catholics may be aware of them, they are interesting to others coming from different faiths. Any reader of crime fictions worth his or her salt will be able to guess who will emerge as the Pope. No surprises there! But the ultimate twist in the tale is absolutely delightful because once all is revealed the reader will unmistakably remember a couple of hints that the author had thrown her way. There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that you as a reader have utterly failed to take them. :-)
The book is a slim offering - fit to be devoured over a lazy weekend, listening to the patter of the raindrops and with a cuppa steaming hot tea. What more could a book-lover ask for?
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