The Third Secret [Mass Market Paperback]

Steve Berry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2006

Explosive in both its pace and its revelations, The Third Secret is a remarkable international thriller. Bestselling author Steve Berry tackles some of the most controversial ideas of our time in a breakneck journey through the history of the Church and the future of religion.

Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the Church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary’s words–or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows.

Vatican City, present day: Papal secretary Father Colin Michener is concerned for the Pope. Night after restless night, Pope Clement XV enters the Vatican’s Riserva, the special archive open only to popes, where the Church’s most clandestine and controversial documents are stored. Though unsure of the details, Michener knows that the Pope’s distress stems from the revelations of Fatima.

Equally concerned, but not out of any sense of compassion, is Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican’s Secretary of State,. Valendrea desperately covets the papacy, having narrowly lost out to Clement at the last conclave. Now the Pope’s interest in Fatima threatens to uncover a shocking ancient truth that Valendrea has kept to himself for many years.

When Pope Clement sends Michener to the Romanian highlands, then to a Bosnian holy site, in search of a priest–possibly one of the last people on Earth who knows Mary’s true message–a perilous set of events unfolds. Michener finds himself embroiled in murder, suspicion, suicide, deceit, and his forbidden passion for a beloved woman. In a desperate search for answers, he travels to Pope Clement’s birthplace in Germany, where he learns that the third secret of Fatima may dictate the very fate of the Church–a fate now lying in Michener’s own hands.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For Steve Berry, it's a fortuitous coincidence that his third novel, a Vatican-centered conspiracy thriller titled The Third Secret, was published in the immediate aftermath of Pope Benedict XVI's anointment in Rome. While this exuberantly contrived yarn would likely have drawn an audience at any time, it benefits from coming before readers just after they've been primed with news reports about papal succession, the relative influence and legacy of pontiffs, and the increasing tug-of-war between Roman Catholic progressives and conservative traditionalists.

Set in the near future, Secret introduces Jakob Volkner--Pope Clement XV--a German "caretaker pope" who, nearing the age of 80, was elected as John Paul II's successor. But three years into his papacy, the thoughtful Clement has begun to quietly express skepticism about papal infallibility and the Church's restrictive dogma, and to make odd requests of his longtime secretary, Monsignor Colin Michener, an Irish-born but American-reared priest whose vows of celibacy have been tested--and found wanting. Clement has also made repeated visits to a guarded sanctum within the Vatican archives, where sacred and historic documents are stored. And he's dispatched Michener to Romania to locate an elderly cleric who, in the 1950s, translated three cryptic prophecies, purportedly offered by the Virgin Mary in 1917 to a trio of children in Fatima, Portugal. Those secrets have since been fully disclosed to the world. Or have they? That’s the question facing Michener in the wake of Clement's shocking suicide, as he pursues a twisted trail of clues, crimes, and religious forecasts from Rome to Bosnia to Germany, accompanied by his former lover, journalist Katerina Lew. But making any additional secrets known to the world will put Michener in confrontation with doctrinal reactionaries, led by Cardinal Alberto Valendrea, the Vatican's Italian secretary of state, who's determined to follow Clement as the Vicar of Christ--even if that requires inventing a few new sins and flouting a 900-year-old prediction of doom for the next pope.

Attorney-author Berry, praised previously for The Amber Room and The Romanov Prophecy, enriches The Third Secret with glimpses behind the locked doors of a papal selection process and knowledge of centuries-old Catholic prognostications that, while employed judiciously in these pages, nonetheless suggest a prodigious amount of research. He's less successful with his casting. Valendrea is a wincingly unnuanced scoundrel, and Ms. Lew achieves scarce definition beyond being a raven-tressed temptress to powerful prelates. Thankfully, Berry does better by Michener, who finds himself at a crossroads, carrying on in Clement's name even as he searches for confirmation that his own life of devotion and service has been meaningful. Although the secrets "revealed" in this tale seem more controversial than plausible, and a potentially intriguing subplot about the excommunication of a maverick priest ends up as a throwaway device, The Third Secret builds to a conclusion that is as suspenseful and stunning as it is inevitable. Have faith. --J. Kingston Pierce --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Visions of the Virgin Mary, secret documents and politicking in the highest echelons of the Catholic Church—Berry (The Amber Room) combines combustive elements in this well-researched thriller. In 1917, the Virgin Mary revealed herself to three children in Fatima, Portugal, disclosing three secrets to the eldest, Lucia, who shared the first two secrets soon after their revelation but left the last to be disclosed upon her death. This third secret was released to Pope John XXIII in 1960 and made public by Pope John Paul II in 2000... or was it? The novel's stolid protagonist—Msgr. Colin Michener, longtime secretary to Clement XV, the novel's near-future successor to John Paul II—has reason to doubt the accuracy of the public version of the secret. Beleaguered by radically dogmatic cardinals and bishops, the embattled Clement XV also appears distressed by recent knowledge of secret documents regarding the Fatima messages. Before his inexplicable suicide, Clement sends Michener to Romania in search of a Father Tibor, who translated the third secret for Pope John XXIII and may hold the key to its mystery. Also on the case, if a step behind, is the ambitious and traditionalist Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Valendrea, with an eye on the papal throne. Da Vinci Code fans hungry for more may want a taste of this. Agent, Pam Ahearn. 10-city author tour. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034547614X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345476142
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (201 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,021,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of The Jefferson Key, The Emperor's Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, and The Amber Room --- as well as the e-book original short stories The Balkan Escape and The Devil's Gold. He has 12,000,000 books in print worldwide, translated into 40 languages and sold in 51 countries. He lives in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our heritage. To learn more about Steve and the foundation, visit www.steveberry.org.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A 20th century appariton influences Vatican policy, August 2, 2005

By 

Cory D. Slipman (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Third Secret: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

Steve Berry's "The Third Secret" is a blending together of religious fact with fiction to create a creditable thriller based upon doctrines set forth by the Vatican.

An appariton of the Virgin Mary observed by 3 peasant children in 1917 Fatima, Portugal and the disclosures made by her form the crux of the plot of the novel. The Virgin purportedly revealed 3 secrets, two of which were revealed by one of the children named Lucia. The third secret, however remained concealed within the walls of the Vatican only observed by papal eyes until its revelation in the year 2000.

Father Colin Michener, papal secretary to present pope Clement XV has served the former Cardinal of Cologne faithfully for years. They forged a father son relationship and Michener was concerned by the popes behavior. Pope Clement had been spending an inordinate amount of time in the Riserva, a Vatican library whose contents were reserved for papal use only. Clement was a progressive pope altering rather than sticking to the old doctrines of the Vatican.

Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Valendrea was at odds with Pope Clement. Having narrowly lost the papacy in the last conclave, Valendrea with lofty aspirations to become pope, favored a return to the princples of the past. Valendrea was a corrupt man using eavesdropping devices he had installed in the Vatican to keep members of the college of cardinals in line.

Pope Clement became aware that the third secret of Fatima stored in the Reserva seemed incomplete. He recruited Father Michener to discover the missing segment of the secret by travelling to Romania to speak with a Father Tibor, the original translator of the account of the peasant girl Lucia.

Berry leads us on a trail of adventure and intrigue as on one hand the true meaning of the secret is trying to be revealed. At the same time forces lead by the conservative Cardinal Valendrea are attempting to suppress its contents. The plot is at times uneven but the religious history, when woven into the story is fascinating.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical Berry..., July 27, 2007

By 

Cynthia K. Robertson (beverly, new jersey USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Third Secret (Mass Market Paperback)

Steve Berry is known for his historic-based fiction thrillers, and The Third Secret follows his usual formula. While definitely entertaining, the plot defies belief.

Father Colin Michener is the papal secretary for Pope Clement XV. Clement is obsessed with the visitations of the Virgin Mary at La Salette, Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugorje. He is especially intent on discovering the third secret of Fatima. Clement sends Michener to Romania and Bosnia in his efforts to uncover the truth. But there is another powerful member of the Vatican Curia who has knowledge of the third secret. He is so fearful of it coming to light that he has resorted to wiretapping, blackmail and even murder.

Berry weaves this tale around Roman Catholic history. In addition to the visitations, he also uses the predictions of St. Malachy of the 16th Century, Irish birthing centers in the 20th Century, and the procedures for papal succession. While the historic aspects were interesting, the plot was a stretch. Without giving away the plot, Fatima's third secret (as revealed in this book) is just totally unbelievable and would change almost all the core beliefs of the Roman Church. Most of the characters are also a bit over the top. Michener, an ordained priest and lawyer, is way too gullible. His former girlfriend, Katerina Lew, is totally self-centered and not very likable. Cardinal Alberto Valendrea is too Machiavellian, and his assistant, Paolo Ambrosi acts more like a Nazi SS officer than a priest.

While The Third Secret was a fast-paced thriller that kept my interest, it is not of the same caliber as other books of this genre including The DaVinci Code.

37 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good beach reading, June 3, 2005

By 

Margaret Dybala "too many books, too little time" (Pearland, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Third Secret: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

Even with the stereotypes (good pope - bad secretary of state; good conflicted priest - evil murderous unconflicted priest, etc), this isn't so bad if you like the genre of lost secrets (or in some books, lost manuscripts) found, eternal battle of good and evil, etc. I thought the author's handling of why Lucia didn't contradict the published secret very well done. There were some historical inaccuracies, but who cares. This is just a good summer mystery and held together enough for me to read it straight through in an afternoon.