Father Alex Andreou is an Eastern Catholic priest living inside Vatican City with his 5 year old son, Peter. He is a part of  small  but confounding tradition which follows the Greek Orthodox traditions which allows priests to marry but unlike the Greek Orthodox, follow the Pope.  He often feels like an outsider in the Vatican, but he has managed to find ways to make his life work and the Catholic monks that live in the apartment down the hall really enjoy caring for Peter whenever he works late or must attend to a sick parishioner. His brother Simon, however chose a different path and at the urging of their Uncle Lucio, a Cardinal in the Catholic Church, decided to take vows in the Catholic Church and has been working in the diplomatic corp of the Church in far flung outposts ever since. So it was with great delight that Alex and his son Peter got word that Simon would be in the city and they would be able to see him again after a long absence.

Then came the phone call from Simon. ” I need you to come get me,” he says followed by his location and then ends with these urgent and chilling words, “You need to get here before the police do.”  And with that brief warning Alex is suddenly immersed in trying to solve a mystery which tests his faith, exposes the tension between loyalty to family and to God and reveals the power of forgiveness to reclaim lives that are broken.

Caldwell is a good writer.

My son is too young to understand forgiveness…[A] boy can’t imagine how hard he will find it, someday, to forgive his own enemies. Or his own loved ones. He has no inkling that good men can sometimes find it impossible to forgive themselves. The darkest mistakes can be forgiven, but they can never be undone.

He has fleshed out his characters well and the plot moves quickly, although sometimes his need to describe the intricacies of Vatican history and legal procedure can overwhelm the narrative and make it plod a bit. It was much more thoughtful, realistic and better written than Dan Brown’s books which also explore Church history and conspiracies, for which I was grateful, since I find Brown’s books to be a waste of time.  So I am not sure exactly why I did not like this book more. There was an earnestness about it that was very appealing and I usually love books that deep dive into history and religion, so this should have been a great read, but somehow I felt held back from fully engaging with the characters and their plight. Sometimes though that is not so much an issue with the book or the writer but the mood you are in when you read the book. The final pages of the book however were touching, and did redeem it for me so I would encourage others to give it a try!

Brenda’s Rating: *** 1/2 (3 1/2 Stars out of 5) 

Recommend this book to: Sharon and Keith

Book Study Worthy: Yes

Read in ebook format.