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Basilica by William Montalbano
In this ecclesiastical thriller, a lone priest trudges up the winding stairs to the top of St. Peter's Basilica, only to be helped to a sudden and permanent route down.
Mass Market Paperback
First published December 28, 1998
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About the author
William D. Montalbano
7 books11 followersWilliam Montalbano was a distinguished journalist and award-winning foreign correspondent. He worked for The Miami Herald and other news organizations.
He wrote three mystery thrillers with Carl Hiaasen which borrowed heavily from their own reporting experiences.
He wrote three mystery thrillers with Carl Hiaasen which borrowed heavily from their own reporting experiences.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 10, 2014
Basilica (William D. Montalbano) is a re-read - I consider it falls firmly in the category of a 'Bath Book', in that its a book that you're really not fussed about accidentally dropping in the bath.
Its an odd book.
The author clearly likes Catholics - he may, in all probability, be one himself. Yet he has the conundrum of making Catholics both his heroes and villains. He seems to have resolved this dilemma by presenting the good guys as baseball loving all-American guys and the bad guys as non-baseball-loving Latin Americans. Although the good guys are also partially Latin American, as well as being all-American.
Hmm, I think I'm making it more complicated than it actually is - so...read it if you have a vacant slot in your bathing time for baseball playing popes.
Its an odd book.
The author clearly likes Catholics - he may, in all probability, be one himself. Yet he has the conundrum of making Catholics both his heroes and villains. He seems to have resolved this dilemma by presenting the good guys as baseball loving all-American guys and the bad guys as non-baseball-loving Latin Americans. Although the good guys are also partially Latin American, as well as being all-American.
Hmm, I think I'm making it more complicated than it actually is - so...read it if you have a vacant slot in your bathing time for baseball playing popes.
August 6, 2011
One of my favorite books EVER. Interesting plot, historical settings, characters galore.
April 23, 2009
Montalbano collaborated with Carl Hiassen on several books in addition to writing several on his own. He was a prominent correspondent for several prestigious newspapers in Latin America and at the Vatican, accompanying the Pope on many trips abroad. Obviously, he knows the background that sets the scene for this ecclesiastical mystery.
Pope Pius XIII, or “Tredi” as he is known by his intiimates, is the first Latin American pope. He had achieved prominence as the Cocaine Cardinal working hard against drug dealers, subverting their actions whenever he could. It was in this role that he encountered Paul Lorenzo, captain of the Miami Homicide squad. Paul — later Brother Paul, but more later — saves the Cardinal’s life from an assassination attempt by the Caballero family. During the attempt, Paul shoots a Caballero, and, more significantly, takes a suitcase filled with drug cartel money, thinking it will not be missed. Wrong.
The cartel wants its money back and kidnaps the detective’s family for an exchange. The exchange results in the spectacular killing of Paul’s family and those sent to pick up the money. Paul swears revenge and goes undercover in Latin American to assassinate the rest of the family. He also descends into a psychological hell from which Tredi rescues him spiritually, psychologically and physically in a harrowing scene on a mountainside that Montalbano uses to attribute miraculous powers to Tredi. (Montalbano clearly does not like Pope Paul, referring to him sarcastically on numerous occasions as the “Pole.”)
Paul seeks sanctuary from his past by becoming a “brother.” In that role he becomes the Pope’s troubleshooter and investigator. The Pope asks him to investigate the spectacular death of a priest who fell, or was pushed, from the top of the basilica. As the investigation proceeds, bodies begin to pop up in several places and Paul himself becomes a target. Evidence soon points to a relationship between the old drug cartel and the Sacred Keys, a Catholic traditionalist organization that is dismayed by the new pope’s revisionist and modernist thinking.
It’s a good story. Clearly Montalbano intimately knew his way around Rome and the Vatican so the book has a real sense of local color.
Pope Pius XIII, or “Tredi” as he is known by his intiimates, is the first Latin American pope. He had achieved prominence as the Cocaine Cardinal working hard against drug dealers, subverting their actions whenever he could. It was in this role that he encountered Paul Lorenzo, captain of the Miami Homicide squad. Paul — later Brother Paul, but more later — saves the Cardinal’s life from an assassination attempt by the Caballero family. During the attempt, Paul shoots a Caballero, and, more significantly, takes a suitcase filled with drug cartel money, thinking it will not be missed. Wrong.
The cartel wants its money back and kidnaps the detective’s family for an exchange. The exchange results in the spectacular killing of Paul’s family and those sent to pick up the money. Paul swears revenge and goes undercover in Latin American to assassinate the rest of the family. He also descends into a psychological hell from which Tredi rescues him spiritually, psychologically and physically in a harrowing scene on a mountainside that Montalbano uses to attribute miraculous powers to Tredi. (Montalbano clearly does not like Pope Paul, referring to him sarcastically on numerous occasions as the “Pole.”)
Paul seeks sanctuary from his past by becoming a “brother.” In that role he becomes the Pope’s troubleshooter and investigator. The Pope asks him to investigate the spectacular death of a priest who fell, or was pushed, from the top of the basilica. As the investigation proceeds, bodies begin to pop up in several places and Paul himself becomes a target. Evidence soon points to a relationship between the old drug cartel and the Sacred Keys, a Catholic traditionalist organization that is dismayed by the new pope’s revisionist and modernist thinking.
It’s a good story. Clearly Montalbano intimately knew his way around Rome and the Vatican so the book has a real sense of local color.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2009
Bit of a thriller.
June 20, 2012
Written from an insiders view, Basilica is a story filled with sins, sinners, miracles & murder!
January 6, 2013
Good solid novel.
September 26, 2014
I truly enjoyed the book. It was rather shocking that the new Pope from Latin America resembles Pope Francis so much.
Good political/spiritual suspense novel.
Good political/spiritual suspense novel.
May 5, 2024
An okay read. The dialogue and storytelling were strong in my opinion, and the author did a pretty good job of keeping the suspense (which is probably the only reason I was able to finish the book). However, by the end of it I was struggling to find the point of the story. It involved themes of trauma, political unrest, religion, sex, friendship, violence, betrayal, love, etc., which would normally interest me, and yet I could easily see myself forgetting about this book. I didn't care about the main character (or most of the characters), partly due to Paul's insistence on noting the sex appeal—or lack thereof—of any woman he encountered. It felt like a standard crime/action thriller written for a male audience. Although, I do appreciate the progressive themes that were brought up in the novel.
October 31, 2022
An elaborate mystery set in the Vatican and featuring the Pope. When a priest is murdered, lay brother Paul, a friend of the Pope's, is asked to help investigate. It becomes clear that the murder has ties to Paul and the Pope's past. An inside view of the administrative juggernaut that is the Vatican with all its politics, secrets, and passions. As a former cop, Paul is annoyingly good at realizing danger...right after it hits. Other than that, decent mystery and shows the human side of the Vatican.
May 16, 2017
Absolutely riveting. Beautifully written with compelling characters including by an ex cop, a drug lord and a pope. What could possibly go wrong? I was hooked on the first page. If you like murder, mayhem and mystery you will love this novel. You don't have to be Catholic to enjoy this book. William Montalbano had a rare gift and I regret his untimely death. Find this book and read it. I can hardly wait to read it again.
December 18, 2020
Combine James Bond with Father Brown and you have the main character of this book, Paul Lorenzo, a former Miami homicide cop turned brother in the Vatican training school for priests. A personal friend of the renegade pope who has made some very powerful enemies. The book is filled with intrigue and excitement but I felt it was written to be adapted into a movie rather than enjoyed as a written word adventure.
April 11, 2025
Unbelievably boring. Reads like a fathers wet dream but if the father had no time or imagination to come up with an interesting and more than surface level deep plot. 2 stars because I’ve honestly read way worse.
May 7, 2019
Fast-paced, twists and turns. Loved the "behind-the-scenes" of the church and how things tied together. I'm a Miami girl at heart so that aspect also appealed to me.
July 29, 2021
OK. Glad I read it, not earth shattering
October 1, 2016
Mediocre thriller marred by an implausible setup, a simplistic plot, and cliched writing. Its redeeming features are the local colours of its Vatican setting.
February 16, 2017
Interesting mystery that gives an insider's perspective of the Vatican. For some reason I found the author's writing style irritating, but overall a good story.
March 31, 2012
Picked it up from the 3 books for $5 box at Kultura Books on Connecticut..haven't done any 'buying' of books for awhile so thought I'd take a wild 'chance'...
If you like mysteries w/ lots of esoteric info, this is pretty good as that goes re the Vatican, if not 'the Basilica' per se..but much to my surprise, I figured 'who did it'...very VERY early in the book - and I'm not good at that! None the less, really excellent, gripping, 'fight' scenes - well, not really fight but you know what I mean. After all, we're talking priests and brothers and the POPE here.
So, it was OK. and I wanted to finish it so that's better than The Orphan Master's Son which will go right back to the library unread beyond page 12...
If you like mysteries w/ lots of esoteric info, this is pretty good as that goes re the Vatican, if not 'the Basilica' per se..but much to my surprise, I figured 'who did it'...very VERY early in the book - and I'm not good at that! None the less, really excellent, gripping, 'fight' scenes - well, not really fight but you know what I mean. After all, we're talking priests and brothers and the POPE here.
So, it was OK. and I wanted to finish it so that's better than The Orphan Master's Son which will go right back to the library unread beyond page 12...
July 27, 2013
This was surprisingly better than I first expected. Never judge a book by its cover! (Mine was an older version of the book I had on my shelves for years).
There was enough suspense and mystery in the story to keep me reading with anticipation. I really liked that the characters were very real. Although they were members of the church, the author made them as human as possible and didn't fill them with perfections. I really loved the stories about Brother Paul and the Pope that were entwined with the main story. It added more zest to the main plot!
There was enough suspense and mystery in the story to keep me reading with anticipation. I really liked that the characters were very real. Although they were members of the church, the author made them as human as possible and didn't fill them with perfections. I really loved the stories about Brother Paul and the Pope that were entwined with the main story. It added more zest to the main plot!
February 17, 2011
Quite a good read. Would have been much better had it been about 50-100 pages shorter! But once it sort of builds up a head of steam the story grips you. The ending though, was a bit flat and predictable - it seems to me the author too, got a bit fed up with the story?
March 20, 2011
I wasn't able to totally get into this story. I tried but I just ended up skimming through. I did like the cop that became a Brother. I thought the story line was interesting....the "brother" cop investigating cases around the Vatican - overall, though, the story just did not grab me.
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June 8, 2013
I loved this book! What's not to love? Murder, love, Catholic mysticism, and that's not all. The author, now deceased, was a former news correspondent at the Vatican, and his in-depth knowledge of the Vatican and its culture comes through in the story - I learned a lot.
March 4, 2017
I enjoyed this although I don't read much fiction. It was interesting to read a book that included some speculation about future popes (after John Paul II) that was written 15 years ago - knowing what has happened on that front.
July 9, 2008
A very good Vatican who done it. A very fast read.
October 11, 2010
Exciting Vatican thriller!
just-couldnt-finish-it
March 17, 2011This was a book that sounded SO interesting to me, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment ... so much so that I just couldn't finish it. Too bad; I loved the idea of it!
February 19, 2013
Slow read in several sections of book, but I hung in there and it finally got better. Real good ending.
March 19, 2015
Combines economics, political science, urban engineering and religion. What more could I ask for?
April 9, 2017
Vatican based thriller. decent read
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews