City of Secrets : The Truth Behind the Murders at the Vatican

Rating:
Summary: GOOD READING
Review: ALTHOUGH THE BOOK I THINK DOES NOT FINALIZE THE CONCLUSION, I FOUND THE METHODS THE AUTHOR TRIED TO PASTE TOGETHER THE BITS AND PIECES OF TRUTH OR INFORMATION WELL WORTH THE READ. IN THE END I THINK THE BOOK ANALYZES THE CHURCH MORE THAN IT SHOULD BUT THEN AGAIN WHY NOT?

Rating:
Summary: Behind the Vatican murders
Review: The strength of John Follain's book, based on his four-year investigation, is that we end up with a firm understanding of why Tornay did it. City of Secrets is both superb journalism and an outstanding example of forensic psychology.
Secondhand investigations of sensational crimes are often nothing more than instant books. However, Follain not only took the time to contribute something of worth to the canon of crime journalism but also exposed weaknesses in the Vatican that need addressing. In this case it is the fact that the Swiss Guard, supposedly responsible for protecting the Pope, are nothing more than toy soldiers -- Dennis Chute, The Edmonton Journal

Rating:
Summary: No real conclusion...
Review: This book investigates the deaths of three people inside the Vatican in 1998. The official story is that a Swiss Guardsman murdered his commander and the commander's wife after the Guardsmen was angered by his not receiving an expected medal. The author investigates the story at the behest of the Guardsmen's mother and out of his belief that the Vatican is not telling all that it knows.

However, the book tends to be more an indictment of the Vatican and its traditions than a true investigation into the deaths. Also, the author cites much evidence for which he has nothing more than unnamed sources. Specifically, he states that he believes the murders were the result of a homosexual love tryst gone bad that the Vatican wished to cover up. However, he cites no evidence to bolster this theory.

Until new evidence is brought forth, it will have to be assumed that these murders occurred due to the reasons the Vatican has stated. And this book does not introduce any new evidence and leaves the reader without any sense of a firm conclusion.