Peter's Pence; A Novel

Jon Cleary's "Peter's Pence" is a classic caper novel of the type where the gang has a great plan but things keep going wrong. Here a scheme to steal objects from the Vatican museums collapses (along with the gang's tunnel). So instead they end up kidnapping the pope. I know this sounds like Dortmunder novel by Donald Westlake. However, this is not a comedy -- Jon Cleary plays it straight. People die. The main characters deal with serious moral issues of good & evil, faith, duty, charity, and forgiveness. "Peter's Pence" is a well-written, intense, suspenseful novel. The characters are real flesh and blood people who have consciences and are affected by events. The setting (the Vatican, Rome & its environs) enhance but do not overwhelm the story.

Quite a while back I discovered Jon Cleary's newer books and became a fan. Since then I have been reading his earlier novels and thoroughly enjoying them.This book shows, once again, how meticulous Cleary is in his research for background to his books and the story line is exciting to follow.