Basilica

Rating:
Summary: Murder in the Vatican
Review: And Brother Paul, ex-Miami cop is called upon to ferret out the murderer. It helps that the Pope is Brother Paul's best friend but as the case winds on and more church figures close to the Pope are killed, the trial leads further into Brother Paul's past. A past that saw the theft of Colombian drug money and the death of Brother Paul's family. But then Brother Paul discovers that the murder list not only includes him but the Pope himself.

Well written. A different venue for murder but the motivations are as old as the Catholic Church itself. Montalbano gives the reader excellent insights into papal politics. The characters are well drawn and fleshed out. A good thriller, a good plot, a clever ending. What more could you want?

Rating:
Summary: Murder in the Vatican
Review: And Brother Paul, ex-Miami cop is called upon to ferret out the murderer. It helps that the Pope is Brother Paul's best friend but as the case winds on and more church figures close to the Pope are killed, the trial leads further into Brother Paul's past. A past that saw the theft of Colombian drug money and the death of Brother Paul's family. But then Brother Paul discovers that the murder list not only includes him but the Pope himself.

Well written. A different venue for murder but the motivations are as old as the Catholic Church itself. Montalbano gives the reader excellent insights into papal politics. The characters are well drawn and fleshed out. A good thriller, a good plot, a clever ending. What more could you want?

Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL!
Review: Basilica is definitely a different look at mystery. Looking through the rather earthly eyes of the a personal friend of the Pope, the reader is introduced to the "private" world of the Pontiff. And the problems of running a city-state. The reader is not mired down in the politics of the Vatican, but is cleanly moved though the private world of the Pope in a way that is at once believable and charming. The mystery is absolute. You will not know who the bad guy is until near the end. And even after that there is a final irresistable twist that will leave you with an intaken breath. The writing is crisp, the pace excellent, the mystery is perfectly crafted. The detail is exquisite. I cannot help but mourn the untimely death of the author, for this is his first work I have read. But you can bet I will read the rest!

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre at best......
Review: Not in this thriller. In "Basilica",we get an extreme inside look into the "new" Pope's fast paced, sometimes humorous, yet dangerous life. Well defined characters & a vivid twisitng plotline, left me confessing, I want more!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but ultimately disappointing
Review: Suspension of disbelief, a key component of good fiction, is at times working well here, but all too often fails to take hold as the believable and exciting action scenes are interspersed with scarcely believable scenes cut from an Arnold Shwarzenegger mold. Superhero cops and popes undo the effort at characterization and atmosphere that would make this otherwise trite and silly tale a work of quality. Too bad Mr. Montalbano will not get the opportunity to rise to the heights of a Martin Cruz Smith or dare I say it John Grisham. For there are signs throughout this novel of a masterful storyteller grappling with inane drivel, waiting to emerge and display his true forte. It was an interesting but disappointing read.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Stroy Placed in an Interesting Setting
Review: The most interesting aspect of this book is the setting. It's uncommon to find a mystery-esque novel that has most of the action taking place in Vatican City and where most of the characters are priests or brothers. In this respect "Bascilica" reminds me a bit of "The Name of the Rose", although aside from the clerical theme, the similarity really ends there.

This book introduces readers to the world of the modern church. I was a little worried when I started reading that the author would either overwhelm us with church doctrine or would cast the story in a continuous "old world meets new world" light. Happily I found that neither of these concerns were warranted. Enough religious information is provided to enrich, but not overshadow, the plot, and the anachronisms are tastefully and subtly added.

The story itself is quite good, although the ending leaves a bit to be desired. I will say the most difficult thing to accept about the story is the idea that the main character is a brother (given his various vices and in spite of past) and that his friend in the Pope. I enjoyed the way the Pope was portrayed - it was especially interesting to think of the Pope having a pet - I just had a hard time accepting the fact that he was the Pope. All in all, however, the plot was good and the story was fast paced. The way in which the Chruch and the Latino-underworld were enmeshed was well done.

Rating:
Summary: Mystery in St. Peter's...
Review: The Roman setting being somewhat familiar to me, I was pleasantly surprised at the detail Montalbano was able to include in his story. He clearly was a careful observer, and likely a studious note-taker, and this book is that much more an enjoyable, and even whimsical read, thanks to his journalistic skills. He has written with a strong sense of reality, just slightly ahead of our time, and with some really nifty twists to the plotline. For readers who enjoy the novels of Father Andrew Greeley, and other church-related mystery stories, I highly recommend this book, possessing as it does a marvelous sense of how things do tend to work in the higher echelons of the Vatican...minus the actual murders, of course! This is a very pleasurable and engaging read. The tragedy is that there will be no more from William Montalbano.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing thriller but superficial spirituality
Review: The writing is good, the characters are well developed and the story is interesting. Although the overall impression of the Catholic church is not negative, the book does strongly favor certain reforms (e.g. married clergy). The traditionalist position lacks any kind of strong defense, however. More importantly, the book has the Pope say (in private) at one point something to the effect that faith and piety are really all that is needed. This just seemed a bit unbelievable to me. But most troubling of all, the book lacked any sense of spiritual transformation. Yes there were a couple of miracles, but the idea that someone could be healed internally, overcome sin, and learn to forgive was not really explored. The main character, Brother Paul, saves the Pope in the end, but he doesn't really learn anything from the experience, and in the final analysis, that's what made this book a bit disappointing. This book also contains cursing, scenes of torture, rape, and death, and references to consensual sex involving Catholic clergy and unmarried laity.

Rating:
Summary: a light read
Review: This story starts off very good. It grabbed me and made me keep reading. I am not a big fan of first person narrative, but was able to get into the main character of this one. The mystery has several layers (albeit thin ones). Just wehen you think you have it figured out, something else happens. Although parts of the book were pretty predictible, I did like how the past kept influencing the present. I did like how the author brought the papacy up to date and allowed for the priests to be fallible. A good book if you are looking for something light to read.

Rating:
Summary: A fall from the heavens . . ..
Review: William Montalbano casts his central character, psychological warts and all, into the role of a brother/detective working within the Vatican to solve an apparent murder that has the Pope's attention. To boot, we soon find out the connection between Brother Paul and the young Pope is rooted in a common history. While the reader gets the sense that Montalbano is a relative newcomer to the genre of mystery writing [akin to the earliest Michael Connelly novels], his inordinate familiarity with all things papal colors the story with a vividness that overpowers the writer's occasional difficulty in story telling. And although he has couched the story in a religious setting, in no way do the polemics of church business interfere with the tale; in fact, it is the very REAL portrayal of churchly figures who have strong and weak moments that make the story so enthralling. It is only sad to note that William Montalbano's development as a writer will not go on, due to his untimely death in 1998. I highly recommend this story to readers who like to stroll down the less travelled path, but one with unparalleled views of one of the last empires on earth . . ..