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God's Spy
by Juan Gomez-Jurado (Translator: James Graham)
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Dutton Adult (2007-04-05)
ISBN: 0525949941
EAN: 9780525949947
Dewy Decimal #: 863.7
Hardcover: 368 pages
SKU: 04141
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Minor shelf wear on dust jacket.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
An instant bestseller in Spain, with rights sold in twenty-eight countries and counting, God’s Spy is a spectacular contemporary thriller set in the Vatican, where, in the aftermath of Pope John Paul II’s death, the hunt for a serial killer reveals a chilling conspiracy. In the days following the Pope’s death, a cardinal is found brutally murdered in a chapel in Rome, his eyes gouged and his hands cut off. Called in for the grisly case, police inspector Paola Dicanti learns that another cardinal was recently found dead; he had also been tortured. Desperate to find the killer before another victim dies, Paola’s investigation is soon joined by Father Anthony Fowler—an American priestand former Army intelligence officer examining sexual abuse in the Church, who knows far more about the killer than Paola could possibly imagine. As Paola and Father Anthony struggle through a maze of tantalizing clues, they begin to question whether someone in the Vatican is aiding their cause or abetting a murderer. And when evidence leads them to powerful figures within the Church hierarchy, their own pursuit of the truth may make them the next pawns to be sacrificed in a terrifying and deadly game. A dazzling, impossible-to-put-down thriller, Juan Gómez-Jurado’s God’s Spy marks the arrival of a major new talent to the contemporary suspense fiction scene.
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Customer Reviews
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Intriguing story
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-07-21
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I found "God's Spy" to be an fun mystery to read. In addition...I learned a lot about the Catholic Church and the Vatican. It is an easy read and the story flows seamlessly from one action to the other. I give it high marks for suspense. I would read another by Juan Gomez-Jurado
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3.5 stars. Take it for what it is.
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-07-09
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
No spoilers.
Please take God's Spy for what it is and nothing more. If you are looking for a guilty pleasure read (as many books in this post-da Vinci genre are often termed,) then this novel is what you are looking for. While God's Spy doesn't have any of the unexpected twists or "out-of-nowhere" shockers that are found in Dan Brown and James Rollins-esque books of the same nature (religious and political conspiracy,) if you are looking for an extremely quick read that you don't need to focus too much on and is subject to being interruped without losing one's place in the story, then this novel is fine.
The bottom line is that you should read this book if you devour books and don't spend more than several days reading one. However, if you're looking for an engrossing read or one with unseen complications and baffling mysteries that need solving, you will not be satisfied here.
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Maybe Better Novels in Future
Rating  (1)
Date: 2008-05-16
1 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I was gravely disappointed with this novel, but I think Gomez-Jurado may have promise for better works in the future. Based on the reviews on this site and the quotations on the cover, I expected to be blown away. I now question how these reviewers could have read the same book as I.
To be fair, there were probably some problems with translation. There are many instances, for example, where dialogue that might be plausible from the context of a Spanish audience simply does not play out for an American one. This is especially noticeable with dialogue between two Americans, as in, "What we have here is a really fine television, wouldn't you say? A thirty-two inch screen. If I had something like this at the house, for sure my old lady would show me a little respect, don't you agree?" Or my personal favorite, a twenty-something hacker-priest who says, "What kind of mess have you gotten me into this time, you old screwball?" Americans simply do not talk like that in 2005 and it is a great distraction.
That notwithstanding, there are greater problems underlying the stilted dialogue, problems I believe lie with the author's unfamiliarity with his subject. Foremost of these is the wasted potential for a wonderful literary character in the female protagonist, Paola. She could have been a richly-layered, intelligent, strong and gifted, if flawed, investigator. She ends up a one-dimensional cut-out, allowing (what seem to be in the authors fantasy) her female weaknesses to dictate her investigative technique, and therefore the narrative of the novel. Worse, these weaknesses are not well written. Her alternate swooning and disgust over a quick affair with her boss as well as her attraction to the mysterious priest are expository at best, superfluous at worst. I think a male lead may have been a better choice for Mr. Gomez-Jurado, as he might better understand a man's motivations and emotions.
This unfamiliarity of the author with his subjects is evident throughout the novel. It seems like he Googled for background information on the Vatican and various police agencies and then made up whatever he couldn't find.
Now on to praise: The story was intriguing; I wanted to know the end. (This is why I actually plodded through the writing.) I think Gomez-Jurado has some real potential, both in plotting and in writing. I loved, for example, the ironic musing of the Spanish reporter, "OK, Mr. Policeman, I thought it might be a bomb and I acted as bravely as I could. Stay calm. I'll wait right here while you go for my medal." More of that and I'd sign up in advance for his next book. As it is, I would hope that he sticks to subjects he better understands and maybe grinds his teeth a little on those subjects before attempting anything on the scale of "God's Spy" again.
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Exciting but graphic
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-05-07
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
GOD'S SPY (Police Proc-Insp. Paola Dicanti-Rome-Cont) - VG
Gómez-Jurado, Juan - 1st novel
Plume, 2007, US Trade Paperback - ISBN: 9780452289123
First Sentence: Father Selznick awoke in the middle of the night, a fish knife pressed against his throat.
Pope John Paul II has died and cardinals are gathering from around the world. In the midst of the world's eye on Rome, Police Inspector Paola Dicanti is faced with a dead, mutilated cardinal, a charismatic American priest with a complicated past, the head of the Vatican Police whose job is to avoid any controversy falling on the Church and a serial killer taunting them all.
The fact that you know the killer from the beginning does nothing to diminish the excitement or complexity of this story. The book includes a Cast of Characters at the beginning and even a map, two things I appreciate, but I found the story was so well told and the characters so well developed, I didn't need either element.
Dicanti, as a female Inspector trained by the FBI in criminal profiling yet still living with her mother, is a wonderful character. The story is fast-paced, does include some graphic descriptions of the murders, has touches of humor, plenty of violence, psychological suspense and a couple excellent twists.
Highly recommended.
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A Good Thriller
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-04-25
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Even if you ignore the dramatis personae at the front of the book (which tells you who the killer is) it is pretty obvious from page 1, and he is explicitly identified early on. The problem for the Italian/Vatican police is finding a psychopathic paedophile priest who is murdering cardinals as they gather in Rome for the funeral of John Paul II. The book is a gripping read, well above average for the genre, I read in one sitting on a transatlantic fligh. Although we know who the killer is, the plot has some surprises, as one of the characters reminds us - things are not always what they seem. Will Jodie Foster play the Italian female cop in the movie I wonder?
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