Unholy Trinity [Paperback]

Paul Adam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 1999

Andy Chapman, Rome correspondent for a London daily, is intrigued by the brutal murder of a left-wing priest. Turning to investigating magistrate, Elena Fiorini, he discovers she is under pressure not to pry too deeply into the killing. Their investigations lead them into the Vatican's archives.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Artfully crafted and intricately layered, this thriller by a veteran British journalist/crime novelist moves back and forth between 1944 and 1945 and the present to imagine a complex web of modern neo-Fascist Italian extremism entwined with corrupt Vatican politics, all nicely set against an affecting love affair between a highly unlikely pair of still young--however prematurely disenchanted--professional adversaries. In a prologue set during April 1945, Mussolini's veteran aide de camp steals away from the convoy accompanying Il Duce in his futile attempt to escape and strikes out alone for the Swiss border, driving a truck carrying 10 heavy wooden boxes. The action then switches to present-day Rome, where 30-ish magistrate Elena Fiorini and British journalist Andy Chapman meet at the scene of the murder of a rebellious Catholic priest. Chapman's Italian journalist friend Enzo breaks a story linking the murder to neo-Fascists, and Chapman tapes a young street urchin who claims that a member of Parliament visited the priest just before his murder. When Chapman takes the tape to Elena, the chemistry between them leads to bed. During a rendezvous with Enzo to meet an informer who wants to talk, Chapman barely escapes with his life as he and the informer are ambushed. The trail leads to secret Vatican archives containing evidence of papal collusion with the high crimes of Mussolini and a modern-day revival of the Fascist Blackshirt movement reaching into high places. Unraveling a fascinating tapestry of pious deceit, Adams explores carnal frailty, broken vows and religious genocide as he adroitly connects the present-day action to Mussolini's fall from power.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The search for post-Communism enemies continues: for Adam, a British foreign correspondent who's also written for TV and published crime novels, the bad guys are a slimy crew of neofascists. The action begins when a controversial priest who feeds the homeless and criticizes Vatican wealth is murdered. Andy Chapman, a British reporter, finds evidence he turns over to prosecutor Elena Fiorini; the two are soon on a trail with roots in the final days of World War II. But this is far from an intellectual exercise: both are manhandled, and more dead bodies dot the landscape. That landscape is Rome, with its narrow courts and vast, echoing ruins; Chapman's fondness for Italy seems to express the author's opinion. Unholy Trinity is a lively, fast-paced thriller, with a bit of sex and violence to keep the pages turning. (Warning: one element of the plot turns on the Vatican's role at the end of World War II, so don't recommend this novel to Catholics unwilling to examine this issue.) Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Century Hutchinson (A Division of Random House Group) (September 2, 1999)
• ISBN-10: 0356214176
• ISBN-13: 978-0356214177
• Shipping Weight: 19.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,251,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different view of Rome, The vatican & WW2, June 10, 2002

By 

mike samuels (Stockport, Cheshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unholy Trinity (Hardcover)

Excellent knowledge of The Eternal City, so good you can visit the places named, with a wiew of the Second World War that is not shown in "Band of Brothers" etc.
The book (un)intentionally gives clues to the problems in the 90's Balkans while still engrossing the reader in a superb plot with excellent characterisation.
For those who enjoy action/mystery/historical novels, with a regard for the Vatican as a political organisation with its encumbent machinations, this is an engrossing novel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great airplane book., March 1, 2006

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unholy Trinity (Hardcover)

Adam has given us a tense, exciting thriller. It's fast paced but also interesting as I learned things about WWII, events in Ustashe, Yugoslavia and Ante Pavelic, leader of the Croatian Fascist movement, I had not known. The history doesn't bog down the action of the story. The relationship between Andy and Elena adds to the dimension. I did feel the ending was very abrupt and left a lot of loose threads, hence my lower rating. But it was still and enjoyable read and would make a great airplane book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Page turner par excellence, October 25, 2004

By 

Belle du Jour (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unholy Trinity (Hardcover)

Two thumbs up for this compelling novel! It is a very good crime thriller that is totally addictive from page one. A mystery encompassing the murder of a maverick Roman Catholic priest, a shadowy group of neo-Fascists and corruption at the highest levels of the Vatican, Unholy Trinity brings these events to life, and then documents the efforts of a journalist and a committed public prosecutor to get to the bottom of the mystery. Paul Adam brings modern day Rome to life and demonstrates good knowledge of the somewhat arcane Italian legal system. I highly recommend Unholy Trinity, and trust other thriller fans will enjoy it as much as I did!