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The Vatican's Last Secret
During the closing days of WWII, senior Nazi party and Vatican officials committed the most brazen robbery of all time.
In this fast-paced Thriller, Hans Dieter is a well-known philanthropist with a dark past. From his deathbed, he has one last story to relay to his son, Jim Dieter (retired Navy SEAL) and his best friend, Dan Flaherty, about the role he played in a robbery involving top Nazi and Vatican officials.
A robbery that for over 70 years, The Vatican has killed to keep its secret buried.
Now a deadly game of cat and mouse quickly ensues across the globe involving The Vatican, MI-6 and Interpol, all hot on the trail of Jim, Dan, and Jim's fiancé, Nora Robinson, as they search to discover--The Vatican's Last Secret.
In this fast-paced Thriller, Hans Dieter is a well-known philanthropist with a dark past. From his deathbed, he has one last story to relay to his son, Jim Dieter (retired Navy SEAL) and his best friend, Dan Flaherty, about the role he played in a robbery involving top Nazi and Vatican officials.
A robbery that for over 70 years, The Vatican has killed to keep its secret buried.
Now a deadly game of cat and mouse quickly ensues across the globe involving The Vatican, MI-6 and Interpol, all hot on the trail of Jim, Dan, and Jim's fiancé, Nora Robinson, as they search to discover--The Vatican's Last Secret.
- GenresFictionMystery Thriller
326 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 17, 2018
865 people are currently reading
314 people want to read
About the author
Francis Joseph Smith
13 books14 followersAmazon best-selling author Francis Joseph Smith has traveled to most of the world during his tenure in the Armed Forces (Navy & Air Force) and as an Analyst for an unnamed Government Agency, providing him with numerous fictional plot lines and settings for future use. His experiences provide readers with well researched, fast-paced action. Smith's novels are the result of years of preparation to become a fiction writer in the genre of Clancy, Griffin, Higgins, and Cussler.
Smith lives with his family in a small town outside Philadelphia.
Smith lives with his family in a small town outside Philadelphia.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
March 2, 2019
With this historical thriller, Francis Joseph Smith pulls the reader into the middle of a dramatic plot that melds the Nazis with key figures within the Vatican during the waning days of the Second World War. With the end of the War all but done, a group of key Nazis load up as much of their riches as possible. Travelling off the Allies’ radar, a long procession of train cars seek to make it to safety, with the riches out of the hands of the victors. When the Allies catch up to the cache, some of it is missing and the presumptive claim is that the Vatican is holding onto it, something the Holy See denies, but never substantiates. Moving to the present day, an elderly former Nazi tells his son of another hidden cache that sits in rural Germany and should be collected before others note its whereabouts. Soon thereafter, two men begin the trek to find it, while higher-ups in the Vatican also seek to get their hands on the riches, while remaining coy about their interest. In a story that flashes back to wartime Europe, the narrative shows that someone within the Vatican wants to silence any chance of a smear campaign, while also amassing additional riches for its own coffers. Blood shed at the hand of protecting the Holy See may be fully justified by some, but the secrets being protected could never be publicly understood or accepted. The race is on to find this last collection of riches and to uncover the Vatican’s darkest secret tied to the Second World War. An interesting piece with a strong premise, but whose momentum dwindled at times. Those who like thrillers and can handle highly tangential storylines, this book may be for you.
The cover and premise of the book caught me from the outset, though I will admit that the deeper I got into the book, the less enthralled I became. There are many subplots to keep the narrative moving forward, though they get muddled and diluted with all the action. In a story that is so long, one must hope the author can keep building the momentum, rather than have it inch along that the aforementioned train cars full of riches. The variety of characters add some flavour to the story, though there was an obvious need for a tighter connection between reader and characters on the page, which may have helped propel the story forward. The historical premise was quite interesting, particularly the race to uncover (or cover-up) the truth about the riches and the Vatican’s connection, but things just lasted too long. Smith does well to splice in current and flashback chapters, which substantiate the narrative foundation, but I became lost after a time and simply sought a resolution. What could have been a stellar thriller that left readers wondering just how much Vatican officials would deny turned a little lugubrious and needed a kick in the literary posterior. Then again, maybe it’s just me... but other reviews will shed light on it.
Kudos, Mr. Smith, for a valiant effort. I wonder if the story could/should have been split into a duology or trilogy... or editors done better work tightening it up. Premise was there and I could surely see potential.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
The cover and premise of the book caught me from the outset, though I will admit that the deeper I got into the book, the less enthralled I became. There are many subplots to keep the narrative moving forward, though they get muddled and diluted with all the action. In a story that is so long, one must hope the author can keep building the momentum, rather than have it inch along that the aforementioned train cars full of riches. The variety of characters add some flavour to the story, though there was an obvious need for a tighter connection between reader and characters on the page, which may have helped propel the story forward. The historical premise was quite interesting, particularly the race to uncover (or cover-up) the truth about the riches and the Vatican’s connection, but things just lasted too long. Smith does well to splice in current and flashback chapters, which substantiate the narrative foundation, but I became lost after a time and simply sought a resolution. What could have been a stellar thriller that left readers wondering just how much Vatican officials would deny turned a little lugubrious and needed a kick in the literary posterior. Then again, maybe it’s just me... but other reviews will shed light on it.
Kudos, Mr. Smith, for a valiant effort. I wonder if the story could/should have been split into a duology or trilogy... or editors done better work tightening it up. Premise was there and I could surely see potential.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
August 1, 2018
It's too bad this story, which itself is very good, was ruined by the hundreds of misspelled words, indiscriminate verb tense changes, and punctuation errors, all of which interrupted the flow of the story and made the reader focus on the errors instead of the flow of the story. It is obvious that the story was dictated onto a computer, and all the proofreading was left up to spell check, which is clearly unable to distinguish among peek, peak, and pique, for example, all of which came out as peak. And Louis XIV is never Louis XIIII, proverbial is never preverbal, personal is not personnel. The publisher clearly needs to hire a human proofreader. Such a mess reflects badly on both the author and the publisher. I read several books a month and will not read another written by this author or published by this publisher.
August 19, 2018
Awesome
Great story, great characters....couldn’t put it down....the mixing of history, fact and fiction was perfect can’t wait to read his next one
Great story, great characters....couldn’t put it down....the mixing of history, fact and fiction was perfect can’t wait to read his next one
November 28, 2018
WOW What a thrilling book!!!
At the end of the 2nd world war, the naty leaders escaped with .julio s of dollars in good diamonds,art and other prieless items. This book portrays what became of the perpetrators and the bounty.. This is a fast moving read
At the end of the 2nd world war, the naty leaders escaped with .julio s of dollars in good diamonds,art and other prieless items. This book portrays what became of the perpetrators and the bounty.. This is a fast moving read
March 7, 2019
Great book
This story is about the Nazi gold train in Europe and the people that could have had dealings with the Germans. A fast paced story with lots of action.
This story is about the Nazi gold train in Europe and the people that could have had dealings with the Germans. A fast paced story with lots of action.
gave-up
February 12, 2019not what I thought it was
June 4, 2018
Needs an Editor
I don't normally nitpick about spelling and grammar mistakes, but this book had so many that the sentences often made no sense -- alias for alas; assignation for assassination; personnel for personal; than for then and so on. Then there were the instances when the author would mix present and past tense. I would probably have overlooked even such egregious errors if the story hadn't been so gosh awful boring and predictable. This was such a hot mess that I wish I could give it less than one star.
I don't normally nitpick about spelling and grammar mistakes, but this book had so many that the sentences often made no sense -- alias for alas; assignation for assassination; personnel for personal; than for then and so on. Then there were the instances when the author would mix present and past tense. I would probably have overlooked even such egregious errors if the story hadn't been so gosh awful boring and predictable. This was such a hot mess that I wish I could give it less than one star.
October 2, 2018
Outstanding adventure!
This treasure hunt mostly enjoyable from its characterizations of its main characters Jim,Dan and Nora. Our authors theme throughout this epic romp around the world, was that evil shall not prevail as long as it is opposed by good people fighting greed and injustice to insure a better world. Lest we not forget the past, Francis Joseph Smith has brought to life or we are doomed to repeat it!
This treasure hunt mostly enjoyable from its characterizations of its main characters Jim,Dan and Nora. Our authors theme throughout this epic romp around the world, was that evil shall not prevail as long as it is opposed by good people fighting greed and injustice to insure a better world. Lest we not forget the past, Francis Joseph Smith has brought to life or we are doomed to repeat it!
October 27, 2018
Absolutely one of the best books I've read !
I thought this book was going to be disappointing - boy was I wrong ! It was excellent! Characters and plot expertly and intricately crafted . This is the first book I've read by this author and can't wait to inhale his others! The past year I have been reading books by many authors new to me, and Francis Joseph Smith is going to the top of my favorite writers! Wow!
I thought this book was going to be disappointing - boy was I wrong ! It was excellent! Characters and plot expertly and intricately crafted . This is the first book I've read by this author and can't wait to inhale his others! The past year I have been reading books by many authors new to me, and Francis Joseph Smith is going to the top of my favorite writers! Wow!
November 5, 2019
Great story!
I could not put the book down for long. Was a good read, it sounded that you could be part of the adventure itself. Highly recommend...
I could not put the book down for long. Was a good read, it sounded that you could be part of the adventure itself. Highly recommend...
October 28, 2018
WW 2 History Thriller
Great job of showing the reader how the end of war created the basis of this wonderful tale. My own reading showed me how close to fact this fiction truly was. Wonderful reading!
Great job of showing the reader how the end of war created the basis of this wonderful tale. My own reading showed me how close to fact this fiction truly was. Wonderful reading!
May 29, 2018
Good Storyline, Interesting Characters but....
The story has a great tale to tell BUT the author needs to learn the difference between present tense in a screenplay And the need for past tense in book writing. I found the book written mainly in present tense very frustrating and the author's losing track of which character is suppose to be in the moment. Those things aside, the book was good. FOR the Author, reread your writing and find some Good Beta readers before publishing.
The story has a great tale to tell BUT the author needs to learn the difference between present tense in a screenplay And the need for past tense in book writing. I found the book written mainly in present tense very frustrating and the author's losing track of which character is suppose to be in the moment. Those things aside, the book was good. FOR the Author, reread your writing and find some Good Beta readers before publishing.
July 15, 2018
Judgement Day
I thought this novel was a little too long. It seemed to be two novels, one European and another of the Middle East. be that as it may, it was very enjoyable. I have been to Auschwitz and was very moved. this novel did the same for me.I hope something has changed in the Vatican.
I thought this novel was a little too long. It seemed to be two novels, one European and another of the Middle East. be that as it may, it was very enjoyable. I have been to Auschwitz and was very moved. this novel did the same for me.I hope something has changed in the Vatican.
December 10, 2018
A keeper!
An extremely well-written story, good characterization, intrigue even suspecting the outcome, and of course intensity. As a Catholic, I believe that some of it is partially correct.
An extremely well-written story, good characterization, intrigue even suspecting the outcome, and of course intensity. As a Catholic, I believe that some of it is partially correct.
September 12, 2018
Interesting and Suspenseful
This story is both very suspenseful and intriguing. There is alot of history intertwined in this suspenseful story with many of the bad characters of
World war ll Germany
This story is both very suspenseful and intriguing. There is alot of history intertwined in this suspenseful story with many of the bad characters of
World war ll Germany
November 8, 2018
Good Read
A really interesting story with lots of twists and turns. Sometimes was a little tedious, but the story was engaging and the characters were well developed. Hard to put down.
A really interesting story with lots of twists and turns. Sometimes was a little tedious, but the story was engaging and the characters were well developed. Hard to put down.
October 13, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed this book as takes you back to WW II and the atrocities committed during that time.
Liked the pace of the story from WW II to present time.
Will look for more stories from the author
Liked the pace of the story from WW II to present time.
Will look for more stories from the author
June 5, 2018
Is it really the last?
Smith is an artful weaver of tales. I like that he wrote a long enough book to deal with the charactets
Smith is an artful weaver of tales. I like that he wrote a long enough book to deal with the charactets
October 9, 2018
I love this genre, anything that involves Nazis, gold,
October 15, 2018
Great book
Great book with wonderful character development that weaves fiction and historical fact into a story that's hard to put down.
Great book with wonderful character development that weaves fiction and historical fact into a story that's hard to put down.
January 22, 2019
Darn good read
Good from start to finish. Great plot story kept me engaged the entire time. Colorful characters and entrenched with history
Good from start to finish. Great plot story kept me engaged the entire time. Colorful characters and entrenched with history
May 5, 2019
Great book
Good story line fast pace . You could tell that a lot of research had been done for back ground information. Expect more good reading from this author
Good story line fast pace . You could tell that a lot of research had been done for back ground information. Expect more good reading from this author
December 16, 2018
God’s bankers
Great imagination and fun for old man who lived in Salzburg after the war. I have read many books and walked the mountains south of Salzburg thinking about this topic. N0 doubt about Vatican conspiring with Nazi’s after war.
Great imagination and fun for old man who lived in Salzburg after the war. I have read many books and walked the mountains south of Salzburg thinking about this topic. N0 doubt about Vatican conspiring with Nazi’s after war.
December 3, 2018
good story
This is a good but gory story with many twists and turns this book needs better editing. Lots of punctuation mistakes.
This is a good but gory story with many twists and turns this book needs better editing. Lots of punctuation mistakes.
June 2, 2018
Keep trying
I am a huge fan of this genre ever since National Treasure and the daVinci Code. This author does not disappoint as far as the story goes however his delivery of that story needs a lot of help. Having read several foreign authors translated into English I was willing to cut the author some slack, thinking he was not a native English speaker, until I read his bio and learned he's an American living in Pennsylvania. The writing is awkward at best and basic English idioms are clunky and often written incorrectly. And I don't mind if you want to self publish, but do yourself a favor and pay someone to edit and proof read it for you. Between the clumsy attempts at dialogue and the horrible misspellings it was a chore to read this novel which is a shame because the premise and the story line were pretty good.
I am a huge fan of this genre ever since National Treasure and the daVinci Code. This author does not disappoint as far as the story goes however his delivery of that story needs a lot of help. Having read several foreign authors translated into English I was willing to cut the author some slack, thinking he was not a native English speaker, until I read his bio and learned he's an American living in Pennsylvania. The writing is awkward at best and basic English idioms are clunky and often written incorrectly. And I don't mind if you want to self publish, but do yourself a favor and pay someone to edit and proof read it for you. Between the clumsy attempts at dialogue and the horrible misspellings it was a chore to read this novel which is a shame because the premise and the story line were pretty good.
September 2, 2024
On recommendation of a friend I read the first of five books in this series.
Thoroughly enjoyed this well written story. Strong characters face off against each other.
Worthy of a read. Infant, I could not put it down.
Thoroughly enjoyed this well written story. Strong characters face off against each other.
Worthy of a read. Infant, I could not put it down.
July 6, 2024
Currently on page 197 and loving it. Met the author and his lovely wife on a cruise. Heard about the books, newest one just out.
Currently stunned that no one noticed that character Jim used the word “crawler” to describe a donut 🍩 most of us call a “cruller”. Perhaps this is Jim’s jocularity but its killing the proofreader in me.
Lots of action without, as one reviewer put it, the verbosity of Tom Clancy. Loved his stories but bever skipped more content in any book like i did his.
Will update review when finished.
Currently stunned that no one noticed that character Jim used the word “crawler” to describe a donut 🍩 most of us call a “cruller”. Perhaps this is Jim’s jocularity but its killing the proofreader in me.
Lots of action without, as one reviewer put it, the verbosity of Tom Clancy. Loved his stories but bever skipped more content in any book like i did his.
Will update review when finished.
February 28, 2019
Really two books in one, the first half sets up our team of adventurers on a great mission to recover Nazi gold and documents while in a race with the Vatican. While our heroes win and manage to take care of business, the first mission is more of a setup for the second. I'm not really sure if Smith will continue the story line as he moved characters around in an interesting way. (Sorry, no spoilers here).
June 22, 2018
Excellent
This book has me from the cover to the last word. I have developed a great admiration for the author Francis J. Smith and will recommend it to ALL my friends and avid readers.
WOW!
This book has me from the cover to the last word. I have developed a great admiration for the author Francis J. Smith and will recommend it to ALL my friends and avid readers.
WOW!
June 26, 2020
Lynnie
A great fantastic book. Enjoyed it very much. Learned something in each page turned.
Recommend it to anyone. A fantastic writer, keeps you handing on. Serious, but some humor. You felt you were there watching.
A great fantastic book. Enjoyed it very much. Learned something in each page turned.
Recommend it to anyone. A fantastic writer, keeps you handing on. Serious, but some humor. You felt you were there watching.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews