Demons in the Vatican

Sua Eccellenza Montebello, suffragan bishop of Naples, is faced with a mystery of a very different kind. For his birthday he has received a valuable gift: a unique edition of the Legenda Aurea, at one time the most widely read book of the Middle Ages, which features lots of saint’s legends. But his copy also contains four extraordinary drawings, which could trigger an earthquake in church politics in the Vatican. No sooner have he and his people arrived in Rome to investigate, than more mysterious deaths occur. Montebello and Bariello are clearly obstructing the interests of church dignitaries, economic potentates and mafia bosses alike. For a long time, these individuals have made sure they do not go short of blessings. The suffragan bishop and the inspector realise that anyone who gets in the way of these powerful groups soon goes to meet their maker.

*‘Do-gooders, clerics and people raking in money, all involved in contemporary but also in historical intrigues – like Dan Brown, but much more intelligent.’ Rose-Marie Gropp, faz.net

*It’s not just the building of a new underground line that could rock the foundations of the Vatican

*Reformer pope Laurentius in severe danger

*Commissario Bariello and suffragan bishop Montebello fight against invisible enemies in their own ranks