Steve Berry

Haunted by the secrets revealed in 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, the obsession of Pope Clement XV leads to intrigue at the Vatican as Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican's Secretary of State, plots to bring down the troubled pontiff.

A Novel

The Third Secret

Mary Baldwin

I chose this book for two reasons; 1. I'm fascinated by Vatican politics and The Vatican Archives. 2. It sounded like a fun, conspiracy-esque bit of fiction.

If it weren't for my interest in the subject itself, I doubt I'd have found the fiction terribly stimulating. It's well written, very well written in fact, but never quite reached the 'gripping' zone for me.

The book centres on a group of Vatican priests and a series of visions that have been documented by seers over centuries. Each priests attitude to the past and future revelations is the basis for the plot. The mysteries within the plot are well tied into the character arcs of each person and there's no labouring over simplistic plot points - in fact, at times there's a lot of complex information to digest, so be willing to take the time to read that.

Theres no one hero, and no major twist. But it's still an engaging story worth a read. I suspect it would work really well as a TV mini series - get into it TV people!

Sahi K

Jeremy Anderberg

Olivia Koonce 

What is the Third Secret? It is rumoured to be a prediction so shocking that it has been locked away for over eighty years. Could this be what is drawing Pope Clement XV to the Vatican archive, night after sleepless night? When Father Colin Michener is sent on a secret mission to the highlands of Romania, he is pitched into a vortex of suspicion, deceit, murder and forbidden passion. Suddenly, he is forced to face the very thing that has so distressed the Pope - and to unravel a mystery that will shake the world.

The Third Secret A Novel