VATICAN SHADOWS

This 13th installment of a thriller series finds a combat-trained pastor investigating a string of Vatican-related murders in Rome.

Pope Paul VII plans to unite Christianity across the globe and all denominations by “rehabilitating” Martin Luther and Jan Hus “in the eyes” of Roman Catholics. For this sure-to-be controversial move, the pope gathers several scholars to assist only for two of them to die unexpectedly. While one of those deaths was an apparent heart attack, the other scholar and his wife were fatally shot. An anonymous letter to the Vatican claims that both scholars were murdered and threatens the remaining experts. The pope responds by seeking help from his friend Stephen Grant, a New York Lutheran pastor and former CIA agent and Navy SEAL. Stephen recommends CDM International Strategies and Security, an organization filled with proficient individuals he has worked alongside. Readers know that a covert group has targeted the pope’s scholars, deeming them heretics. Father Pietro Filoni is the villains’ resident assassin, whose series of murders is far from over. As Stephen and CDM investigate the killings, the sinister, shadowy culprits hope to acquire information by getting someone close to the pope, even if it takes coercion. A power shift among the villains sparks even more murders, and Stephen will once again have to use his combat skills. Keating spotlights a multitude of new and returning characters in his latest novel. He aptly details players’ backstories and relationships, and though Stephen is once again an appealing hero, Filoni is this book’s standout character. He’s so meticulous and methodical in carrying out his assassinations that he’s an especially disquieting villain. He’s also the reason this installment is noticeably bloody despite being less action-oriented than preceding volumes. Nevertheless, there’s hefty suspense, particularly with readers knowing the baddies have a mole and that Filoni is exceptional at covering his tracks. And while it’s not a central theme in the narrative, the author further explores the pastor’s duality—a man of God who sometimes has no choice but to kill.

A riveting entry in a multivolume series that continues to deliver strong characters and suspense.