Review Rating
With the October 2004 review, we began rating the books on the basis of one to four trowels;
one trowel= don’t bother, to four trowels= run right out to your local book store and buy the hard cover!
Golden Oldies - reviewing previously unreviewed books by previously reviewed “greatest hits” authors!
As we celebrate twenty-five years of the MVAC reviews of archaeological fiction, I thought it would be fun to re-visit six of the authors whose works have been reviewed in the past. Three of these authors have sadly passed away since I first reviewed them (Margot Arnold, Lynn Hamilton, and Elizabeth Peters); two have “retired” their archaeologist protagonists, Gideon Oliver (Aaron Elkins), and Emma Fielding (Dana Cameron); and one, (Kate Ellis) continues to put DI Wesley Peterson and his friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, in harm’s way as solve contemporary crimes that have their roots in the distant past. While these authors have been reviewed previously, these books have not.
The Lost Pope by Glenn Cooper
Reviewed on: October 1, 2026
Grand Central Publishing: New York City
2023 (PB)
Glenn Cooper continues his enticing series of ecclesiastical adventures, featuring the deeply flawed, yet reluctantly heroic Cal Donovan, professor of Religion at Harvard Divinity School, and a joint appointment in the Department of Archaeology, where he teaches Biblical archaeology.
During his years of research and lecturing, Cal has forged strong relations with the Vatican and the relatively new Pontiff, his old friend, the former Cardinal Rodrigo Da Silva, now Pope John XXIV. The Pope has chosen to continue the reforms instituted by his late predecessor, including now the radical step of elevating a nun to be the Vatican Secretary of State-- second only to the Pope in power and influence, and a position never before held by a woman. That nun, Sister Elisabetta Celestino, had shared in Cal’s earlier adventures and, if truth be told, she held a special place in Cal’s heart that could never be realized. But there are forces within the Vatican that are unalterably opposed to this departure from two thousand years of Church tradition. It would seem that these forces are willing to go to extreme lengths to thwart the new Pope’s reformist inclinations. Because of his great affection for both the new Pope and his Secretary of State-designate, Cal is drawn into the campaign to support his dear friends, drawing upon his expertise in Church history and tradition.
In a seemingly separate and unrelated plot thread, Cal receives a compelling plea from a former graduate student, Samia Tedros, now employed as a low-level conservator at the Cairo Museum. She has translated a remnant of papyrus with heretofore unrevealed text from the apocryphal Gospel of Mary Magdalene. The fragment, if made public, could bring about a cataclysm to the Roman Catholic faith and transform Christianity forever. But Samia’s adherence to basic honesty and scholarly truth is at war with her need to acquire funds to pay for desperately needed life-saving surgery for her sister. Her desperate conundrum plunges her into a maelstrom of violence as politically powerful and completely ruthless forces seek to bury forever the revelations contained in the papyrus fragment. These forces that would seemingly stop at nothing—including murder--to suppress Samia and her protector, Cal Donovan. The revelation disclosed in the fragment could very possibly provide unassailable support for Sister Elisabetta’s promotion to Secretary of State. But Cal must first elude an assassin’s relentless efforts before any of these salutary results can come to be.
In addition to the contemporary thriller that plays out in the pages of this inventive novel, author Cooper provides an imaginative historical background that takes the reader back to the First Century CE world of Egypt, Galilee, and Rome, where historical figures such as St. Peter, Mary Magdalene, St. Paul, and Emperor Nero were creating a world that would echo down through the millennia.
A continuing strength of Mr. Cooper’s literary efforts, in addition to tightly plotted storylines, is his ability to create heroes and heroines that are believable in their admirable strengths and oh-so-human shortcomings. His villains, on the other hand, tend to be evil to the core—with few if any redeeming qualities. As it should be!
Four trowels for the imaginative and thought-provoking The Lost Pope.
