Father Michael Dominic is a recently ordained Catholic priest assigned to work in the Vatican Library's Secret Archives, which aren't so much secret as reserved for elite scholars.
Dominic is a classical medievalist whose rapid rise in the church was engineered by his mentor, Cardinal Enrico Petrini, who's known Michael since he was a boy.
One of Dominic's jobs is to help digitalize the Vatican archives, so researchers around the world can have access to the documents housed there. Michael, who's not permitted to be in the archives alone, is supervised by kindly Brother Calvino Mendoza, a portly septuagenarian who wears the brown robe and leather sandals of his Franciscan order.
Brother Mendoza is very excited about exhuming documents unseen for centuries, and - instead of asking for assistance - injures himself retrieving a large book from a high shelf.
After helping Mendoza back to his room, Dominic returns to lock the archives and can't help but peek into the book Mendoza retrieved. The tome's handling exposes a secret compartment containing two documents: writings by the ancient seer Nostradamus, and a blackmail letter directed to the Vatican.
Dominic photographs the hidden pages and consults Professor Simon Ginsberg, a religious scholar who teaches in Rome.
Dominic and Ginsberg determine that 16th century Nostradamus made predictions relevant to current times, and an early 20th century priest named François Bérenger Saunière, who had a small parish in Rennes-le-Château, France, extorted huge sums from the Holy See.
Bérenger Saunière used the funds to purchase an extravagant estate, embellish his church, provide a comfortable home for his housekeeper, and beautify the village of Rennes-le-Château.
Dominic is keen to discover what Saunière used to coerce the Vatican and gets the opportunity to investigate after he makes the acquaintance of Parisian journalist Hana Sinclair, who writes for Le Monde.
Hana is researching an article about the Vatican bank conspiring to hide gold stolen from Jews during WWII, and the two researchers are natural allies.
Michael and Hana end up going to Rennes-le-Château together, where they serendipitously acquire a papyrus document that could undermine the very foundations of the Catholic church.
The priest and reporter aren't the only ones interested in the earth-shaking discovery. The Vatican Secretariat of State, Cardinal Fabrizio Dante - who spies on everyone in the Holy See - has gotten wind that Dominic is on to something.
So Dante arranges for a Croatian Europol cop named Petrov Govic - a secret Nazi sympathizer who's been working for Dante for years - to follow Dominic and Hana, intercept their emails, tap their phones, and report back to him.
When Cardinal Dante learns the contents of the papyrus document unearthed in France he means to get it by any means necessary, and things take a dramatic turn from there.
Historical elements of the story include references to the Crusades; the brutal Inquisition; the controversy surrounding Pope Pius XII, who remained silent while Jews were exterminated by the Nazis; and a secret pact connected with WWII French resistance fighters called the Macquis.
The novel is enhanced by engaging secondary characters, picturesque descriptions of the Vatican.....
......and forbidden romantic sparks between Hana and Father Dominic.
This connects with my major quibble about the story - almost everyone who meets Michael comments on how handsome he is, and marvels that he became a priest. It's just a bit much. 😏
I enjoyed this exciting thriller, which held my attention from beginning to end.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Gary McAvoy), and the publisher (Literati Editions) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
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