Synopses & Reviews
On the heels of one of the greatest public scandals to rock the Catholic Church comes an explosive exposé of murder and corruption in the highest reaches of the Vatican, the oldest and most secretive autocracy in the world.
On the night of Monday, May 4, 1998, in Vatican territory, the bodies of the commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife, and a young lance corporal were found in the barracks of the picturesque force historically entrusted with protecting the pope. It was the worst bloodbath to take place in more than a century in the heart of the supreme authority of the world's one billion Roman Catholics. Four hours later, the Vatican announced that the lance corporal, twenty-three-year-old Cédric Tornay, had shot the couple, then committed suicide in "a fit of madness" brought on by frutstration with the unit's discipline -- a conclusion it reaffirmed after a nine-month internal inquiry.
But as John Follain's hard-hitting exposé shows, the official report was a travesty, a tissue of suppositions, contradictions, and omissions. Based on an exhaustive three-year investigation -- the first independent attempt to establish the truth -- City of Secrets reveals how the Vatican, the oldest and most secretive autocracy in the world, staged an elaborate plot to obstruct justice and hide the scandals it dares not confess. Echoing the pace and plotting of a highstakes thriller, Follain's true-life tale of intrigue moves from the guards' barracks and the pope's palace in Vatican City to Paris, Berlin, and the Swiss Alps, and features a fascinating cast: an old, suffering John Paul II; his chief bodyguard, formerly accused of spying for the Soviet bloc; a mysterious priest punished by the Vatican; and the powerful Opus Dei sect.
Timely and explosive, City of Secrets is the story of a still-unsolved crime committed on holy territory, and of a systematic attempt to hide the fatal failings of a security force charged with protecting one of the world's most influential leaders.
Review
“Intriguing.” Dallas Morning News
Synopsis
In the Spring of 1998, the commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife, and a young vice-corporal were found dead in the Guards' barracks. The Vatican immediately announced that the young vice-corporal had shot the couple, then committed suicide-- a conclusion purportedly supported by a subsequent nine-month internal inquiry. But as this hard-hitting expose shows, the official report was actually a travesty-- a tissue of suppositions, contradictions, and omissions. Based on an intensive three-year investigation-- the first independent attempt to establish the truth-- Soldiers of God shows how the Vatican, the oldest and most secretive autocracy in the world, staged an elaborate plot to obstruct justice. Echoing the pace and plotting of a bestselling thriller, John Follain' s true life tale of intrigue moves from the Guards' barracks and the Pope' s Palace in Vatican City to Paris, Berlin and the Swiss Alps, and features a fascinating cast. Timely and explosive, Soldi of God is the story of a still-unsolved crime on holy territory, and of a systematic attempt to hide the fatal failings of a security force charged with protecting one of the world' s most influential leaders.
About the Author
John Follain has covered Italy and the Vatican as a correspondent for the Sunday Times since 1998. He is the author of the critically acclaimed titles A Dishonoured Society: The Sicilian Mafia's Threat to Europe, Jackal: The Secret Wars of Carlos the Jackal, and Zoya's Story: An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom written with Rita Cristofari and Zoya. He lives with his wife in Rome.