The Last Conclave by Glenn Cooper tells the story of Cal Donovan who is a religious expert who is commenting on the death of the Pope. The conclave is in session but needs to be entered with the decision made by Sister Elisabetta who is in charge and then the story begins.

The story line is very creative but the ending was somewhat predictable. I liked the characters of Cal and Elisabetta and would read more of their adventures.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lascaux Media for this ARC.

This is a well time released book, with the movie and the recent pope being named. I don’t think I would have picked this one up otherwise. The book is good, I found it a little slow in parts. As some one who’s not religious I found it easy to follow and interesting.

With the recent selection of a new pope, I picked up this book with some interest. I was not disappointed. This was a religious thriller with the right blend of religious history and intrigue. Because the story deals with historical religious movement combined with modern intrigue, the comparisons to Dan Brown are natural, but that is unfair to the original storytelling style of Glenn Cooper. His cinematic experience is obvious as you can imagine these scenes on the screen and the conclusion wraps up the story lines in a satisfying manner. This is my first book of his, but not my last.

SUPERRRRRRRRRRR THRILLING!!!!! The plot twist I didn't expect.

Thanks Netgalley for making this available to read!

A strong start that fumbled at the end.

Like a lot of people I was drawn to give this book a try due to recent world events. It opens very powerfully, the death of a pope and then a conclave where everyone vanishes. Considering that was the blurb on the back, I expected this to be more a mystery of how they all vanished, when in fact that was solved only a few pages later. Then the chase began.

Trying to track down the kidnappers was fun, following the trail, trying to uncover the identities and where they were going was all great, good action, good pace.

And then they reached their destination, and that's when it started to get a little silly. I mean, it wasn't Templars which is something, but it was next best conspiracy, Cathars.

I get why we needed the flashbacks to the time of the Cathars, to really link what happened then to now. And the writer captured the world very well, especially the crusaders. But it also threw you out of the story to suddenly be so removed from the events of the moment.

Cal was a decent enough lead, he wasn't trying to be a hero, he was just a history guy who has feelings. He was brave and willing to risk his life to do the right thing, I enjoyed him and his story.

Where it fell down for me was the reasoning behind the plot. There have, in fact, been conclaves that were held under bad conditions, conclaves where the cardinals were forced to vote one way. And what usually happened after that, was that they would then promptly elect a second pope, with one becoming known to history as an 'anti-pope'. It hasn't happened for hundreds of years, but to build the whole plot around the fact once they elect a pope that's it, is silly. There were even cases of the same cardinals voting for the pope and anti-pope. Not to mention a pope can resign. (albeit its only happened twice and I don't know if Benedict would have happened in this world.) I understand this is probably more a me issue as suspension of disbelief is a thing, and not everyone is interested in papal history, but I am and it annoyed me that you had a papal expert as the main character who didn't even mention such things.

This is not the type of book I usually read in my personal time, however with the events of choosing a new Pope and hearing more about the process as a non-Catholic, I thought that reading this would be an interesting time. And it was. As someone who has a vague knowledge of Catholicism from friends and family, as well as learning about various religions in school, combined with a mystery that had me wanting to read the next chapter, I overall had a good time with this. As someone who rarely reads historical fiction without some sort of fantastical element to this, I would 100% recommend it to those that enjoy historical fiction.

I didn't enjoy this one and found it hard to get through at times. It was well-researched and the plot is good, if not a bit far-fetched, but the pacing drags in some parts. I see what this book was trying to do, and felt like it was mashing up the Dan Brown/Robert Harris formulas but didn't quite achieve the same heights.
Thank you to NetGalley and Book Whisperer for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really loved this book. There were definitely some inaccuracies as far as the policy that would take place in the Catholic Church but as a fictional thriller this was well written and beautifully done.

For some reason I devour books about popes and the conclaves. I love the drama, the adventure and just how the world of the Vatican works. I have read a few of the authors book before, but this one truly peeked my interest because of the new, very real American pope.

I was not disappointed at all. It was so much fun to be in the front seat of how the story unfolded like a movie right in front of me, and I truly had no idea what the endgame would be. Bravo. I absolutely love this fast paced drama, and have to admit that Cal was my favourite character from the beginning. This book I’m going to buy for my father, since it’s right up his alley. My only complaint was that it felt a little bit too shorty and rushed towards the end, but that is truly just a small thing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc copy, and letting me give my honest feedback’.

Great Read!!!
Cooper has a 5 star winner all the way.
When the Conclave is called together in Rome at the pope's death, all seems to
be moving along as per the usual way.
Cal Donovan is sitting in with CNN as an expert guest commentator, when all hell breaks loose
and the conclave disappears from the secure, impenetrable Sistene Chapel.
Great suspense, intrigue and absolutely riveting storyline.
Characters are so well defined they jump right off the pages.
Great timing on the story.
Solid gold all the way.
.

Great mystery–and I don’t usually like mysteries. It hits all the spots—assasinations, Catholicism, women’s rights, history, family conflict, etc. and the timing of the release was accidentally perfect. In addition to an enjoyable mystery, one can learn about a medieval
Christian sect, the Cathars. The novel goes back and forth between the hunters and the hunted, and ends with a bang.

Glenn Cooper's "The Last Conclave" has a great premise and some decent characters. While this book is apparently the 5th book in a series about Cal Donovan, Harvard Professor and advisor to several Popes, you don't need to be a long time reader to keep up with what's happening. Cal himself is fairly dull. He has two character traits, and he's not a man of action. Kind of a like a bargain bin Robert Langdon from the DaVinci Code. The Italian and French characters are much more interesting, and Cal just sort or observes.

Overall the book starts very strong, and given the recent Papal Conclave, it's clear Cooper's done his homework, but the story falls apart in the last quarter as it rushes it's ending and gives short shrift to the antagonists, whose connection to the very interesting Church history that drives their actions doesn't feel earned. It's sort of dropped in there to give the criminals their motives and falls flat.

The history is is very weld told and actually made me want to learn more about the subject. Overall not a bad book, but one that could have used a bit more time in the oven.

Thanks to the Book Whisperer and NetGalley for the ARC.

The last book by this author, The Cosmos Key, I wasn’t a fan of, but this is a return to form, being on trend, so topical with a hint of fortune telling, considering we have recently elected an American Pope. The pomp and circumstance of the Papal election is still fresh in the minds of many people, and this was an education in itself, when the novel gave so much historical background about the Cathar religion.
The Cathars were a religious sect, much feared by the Roman Catholic Church for their simplistic approach to prayer and the equality towards females. I learnt more from this novel than the few months of study I did about the exploits of Simon de Montfort, many decades ago.
I liked the central characters very much. Cal is a passionate lecturer and a very loyal and supportive to his friends.
Elisabetta is a wonderfully strong and capable woman, somewhat adrift in a sea of misogyny and other outdated attitudes. Despite many tests, she remains resolute and determined, despite family tragedy. The issue of feminism and how this movement is seen today still shows there is much work to be done. Perhaps the Cathars did have all the answers.
The kidnapping was complex and a real work out for the brain cells, you could feel the tension and dread during the hostage situation, and there were plenty of jaw dropping moments. The challenges and frustration during the attempts to find and rescue them were portrayed very well. The ending was satisfying and almost convincing, there had to be many coincidences to make it all work.
I found this novel to be a real thriller and page turner. Like many others, I have seen the film Conclave and that and this book work perfectly together.
A five star read, most enjoyable.
My thanks to Netgalley and Book Whisperer, the publishers for my copy, freely given in exchange for my honest review. I will leave this review to Goodreads and Amazon UK today.

I really, really struggled with it. In the first 50 pages there were like 72587 names - and I had a really hard time keeping them. It got better but I was expecting a way bigger Mystery. Also I had to remind myself a lot of times that I'm NOT reading about Robert Langdon.

Like many I wanted to read this book because of the recent death of Pope Francis. I found the section dealing with conclave to be interesting but there was not enough detail about it.

The Last Conclave is interesting and well-written, but for me it contained way too much church history. What a novel idea, though, kidnapping the Cardinals right out of the Sistine Chapel.
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Pope unexpectedly passes away. This sets in motion the centuries old protocols and traditions that dictate the selection of the next spiritual leader of the Catholic Church. As the conclave of cardinals convenes the world waits for their votes. But, when hours pass without any signs from the locked room, the doors are opened to reveal that the cardinals – every single one of them – have disappeared.

This is the beginning of The Last Conclave by Glenn Cooper. It’s a fast-paced thriller that’s well-written and compelling. At first, there are quite a few characters to keep track of, but the author does a good job helping his readers identify them. The plot is well-conceived and very interesting as well. Is it believable? Maybe not entirely, but the basis for the story is conceivable. The Last Conclave is not only entertaining, it also provides some insight into the history of the Catholic church, which I found particularly fascinating. This is definitely a book I enjoyed. NetGalley provided an advance reader copy.

This type of fiction is not normally my read. But I became engrossed straight away. It was intriguing and at the same time educational. The times it stepped back to 1200s I struggled a little, but realised this was the historical part of the plot.
It was a great read and for me to enjoy it says a lot.

Overall, I just think this book wasn’t for me.

The idea seemed promising, especially with the recent events. I really liked the main characters, but I sometimes got confused because so many characters were introduced. I’m not a Christian, and learning about how the church is organized and some of its history was actually really interesting.
I won’t go into spoilers about the whole crime, but it just felt unrealistic and left me mostly indifferent. What bugged me the most was the phone part at the end. It felt way too convenient and came out of nowhere since it hadn’t been mentioned at all until it was suddenly used.

The untimely death of a popular Pope shocks the world and the process of selecting the next one begins.

The world is watching and waiting for the signal of white smoke to appear, but nothing happens.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Elisabetta Celestino, is the first woman to hold such a senior position. She has to make a decision to interrupt the Conclave and see what has happened to the Cardinals. When she unlocks the door, they are missing.

With the help of Catholic historian and religious expert, Cal Donovan, Elisabetta and the police work to uncover the mystery and find the missing Cardinals and save the Vatican.

The novel is told from a variety of perspectives so that the reader can see all sides of a complex and fast paced adventure.

Cooper gives insight into the world of the Cardinals and their practices. Elisabetta faces the misogyny of traditionalists and the support of the progressives.

He also explored the beliefs and fate of the Cathars with chapters that explore the historical suppression of the sect that was labeled as heretical during the inquisition. These were engaging and interesting and did not impact the pace of the novel.

Overall this was an enjoyable read. It’s fast paced and cinematic. I didn’t particularly warm to the protagonist, Cal Donovan – but I did enjoy his scenes with Elizabetta’s family. The ending was satisfying and the whole plot is just about plausible. This is a good read with an eye-catching cover that will definitely benefit from recent events and people’s interest in the Vatican.


Thank you to Netgalley, Book Whisperer, and Glenn Cooper for my gifted copy of The Last Conclave