Conclave

Harris's (Fatherland; Enigma; Dictator) astute thriller unmasks chicanery behind the bolted doors of the Sistine Chapel. Following the pope's sudden death, high-ranking clergy converge upon the Vatican—several senior cardinals strategizing their paths to succession and one praying for impartiality. Far from aspiring to the papacy, Cardinal Lomeli, dean of the College of Cardinals, doubts his own worthiness to preside over the 118 red hats secluded from the outside world to vote in the centuries-old papal conclave, the "oddly wonderful" amalgam of ceremony, politics, and mysticism. Rumors of the late Holy Father's paranoia and the undocumented dismissal of one contender surface almost immediately. Internal corruption, individual transgressions—even espionage—send the voting factions into chaos, then send them in a shocking new direction. Meanwhile, the devoted masses await disclosure of the new pontiff's identity. Roy McMillan narrates with subtle intensity, ably performing Latin liturgy and diverse cardinals' accents, conveying Lomeli's perspective so credibly that readers not only witness a famously secretive ritual but also share the devout dean's turmoil as he navigates momentous ethical quandaries.