The Last Pope (Hardcover)

by Luís M. Rocha (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
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.) ""
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."

From Booklist
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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (August 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399154892
• ISBN-13: 978-0399154898
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #508,177 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #54 in

  Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Portuguese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fascinating thriller, August 17, 2008

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In 1978 with the death of the Pope, the College of Cardinals meets in the Vatican to elect his successor. The Cardinals are divided into two extreme camps between traditionalist Cardinal Agosto Mancini and change agent Cardinal Ignatius Heriot. Thus an unacceptable comprise Cardinal Don Albino Luciani is chosen to sit as John Paul I on the papal throne. He makes clear his intention is to clean up and out the House of God everywhere; a little over a month later, he dies with rumors he was murdered for his ethical cleansing campaign especially to end church-mob ties. A second College of Cardinals session elects Karol Józef Wojtya of Poland as Pope John Paul II.

Three decades later London journalist Sarah Monteiro receives a letter that insists Pope John Paul I was murdered and the attempts to kill his successor were from the same conspiratorial group who also killed Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme. However, Sarah assumes this is a hoax worth checking into, but soon believes the accusations are true when several attempts to assassinate her occur. Due to the grace of God she lives, but fears her days are numbered in single digits.

Conspiracy fans will relish the constant power struggle within the highest levels of the Catholic Church. Luis Miguel Rocha builds his exciting story line upon the underlying premise that Pope John Paul I was murdered. The look back to behind the scenes shenanigans by the competing Cardinals in 1978 is fascinating whether one accepts Mr. Rocha's assertion or not. The present scenario with Sarah on the run is more action-packed, but not quite as interesting as three decades ago is. Still thriller fans will enjoy THE LAST POPE wondering how acrimonious poisoning politics even enter the selection of who will wear The Shoes of the Fisherman (by Morris West).

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Page-turner, June 13, 2009

By	Laura L. Grace "A Reader" (The Midwest) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this author's knowledge of the workings of the Vatican absolutely riveting. I also thought his tying together of ALL the many threads was masterful. You definitely spend some time in this novel wondering what is going on and how this could possibly all come together. But it does. You also spend a lot of time wondering how much of this is real and how much fiction. I gather much of it has a real life historical basis. It's both believable and unbelievable! Big thumbs up if you want a fast, page-turning, fascinating read.

3.0 out of 5 stars The Murder of a Pope, June 1, 2009

By	Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Though I was only in Catholic grade school at the time, 1978, the year of three popes, is one I remember well. The death of Paul VI led to the election of Albino Luciani as John Paul I, the first conclave I remember seeing on TV. But, thirty-three days later, John Paul I was dead, under mysterious circumstances. Conspiracy theory whispers have always surrounded it. And yet, I have never come across a novel about it until now.

In The Last Pope, a mysterious, coded list is sent to an unsuspecting journalist, Sarah Monteiro, who quickly finds herself hunted by the members and minions of a secret society bent on recovering the document. It turns out that this document is linked to the death of John Paul I. So, interspersed with the thriller aspects of the modern-day events, are chapters that take us back to 1978 and before, to events in the life of Alvino Luciani both before and during his short time on the Chair of St. Peter.

As a novel and as a thriller, I find Mr. Rocha's book to be rather ordinary. It follows many of the typical genre standards, with its secondary character corpses, long, ridiculous chase scenes, professional killers who continually fail to kill their amateur target, and a few minor mysteries that are uncovered rather easily. On the other hand, the historical scenes centered on John Paul and the events leading to his death, are quite well done and much more interesting.

In fact, I think Mr. Rocha might have been much better off simply writing a non-fiction piece about what his research has uncovered about the death of John Paul I--what he sees as the facts, what his speculations are, because this is really the only interest in this novel. Obviously, he feels strongly that John Paul was murdered by persons in a powerful, secret society, and that the Vatican is complicit in covering it up. I would have been much more interested had Mr. Rocha separated fact from fiction and spelled out his sources.

Still, the historical pieces are there, interwoven in the text. For anyone interested in a perspective on John Paul I and the mystery of his brief papacy and death, this is a book worth reading.