
Luis Miguel Rocha’s novel, The Last Pope, weaves fact and fiction into a thrilling story centered on the actual mysterious death of Pope John Paul I in 1978, who only reigned for 33 days. Rocha’s book develops the various conspiracy theories into an exciting thriller. His Holiness died of unknown causes but he was embalmed within 24 hours, preventing an autopsy which would have revealed the actual cause of his death.
The story begins in the Vatican, 3 decades later, as a cleric dashes through the Secret Archives. When the Monsignor leaves the Archives, he encounters a stranger who follows him out of St. Peter’s Square into the streets of Rome. After being shot by the stranger, but before he is whisked away in a car, the Monsignor slips an envelope into a mailbox.
The fate of the mysterious envelope mailed by the Monsignor is brought to light when Sarah Monteiro, a journalist in London, returns from vacation to find this envelope stuffed in her mailbox. The yellowed pages in the envelope contain a list of unfamiliar names and a coded message. Initially she is not terribly concerned about the list until a stranger breaks into her home, and she realizes the list has put her in danger. When she tries to find the meaning of the list, she discovers it also holds the key to murder and corruption at the highest levels of the government and the Church. She tries to escape and joins up with a man code-named Raphael. He promises to reveal the meaning of the list and why she is involved. They become involved in a mix of terror and double-crosses as they try to find what really happened during the brief reign of John Paul I and who really benefited from the Pope’s sudden death.
Although the novel is a fictionalized account of the mysterious death of Pope John Paul I, the author learned that two copies of his book in Portuguese were delivered to the Vatican.
A gripping read which keeps the reader riveted until the end of the novel and questioning about what may really be hidden by the walls of The Vatican.
Highly recommended : *****
JW




