The Assassini, (1990), Thomas Gifford (1937 - 2000)

The Assassini is a 1990 thriller novel by American author Thomas Gifford, published by Bantam Books. Set in 1982, while the Roman Catholic Church is preparing to elect a successor to the dying pope, Callistus IV, the book describes the attempts of lawyer Ben Driskill to solve the murder of his sibling, Sister Valentine, a nun who was an outspoken activist and a thorn in the Church's side.

Driskill's world-spanning investigation leads him to the discovery of a document from a forgotten monastery in Ireland, which proves the existence of the Assassini, an age-old brotherhood of killers, once hired by princes of the Church to protect it in dangerous times; and the person who now controls them in his Machiavellian bid for power.

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4 stars

There's just something about a scheming cardinal...

Right up front: I love a good Vatican thriller. Unfortunately, many fall into the bad-writing, stereotypical-character, frantic-action trap which make them instant candidates for the recycling bin.

Not this one.

Perhaps it's because it was written in the late 80s, but "The Assassini" shows remarkable characterisation for a thriller. These are very human characters with all of their faults, ambitions and obsessions. Even the love sub plot- which would normally have me rolling my eyes and drumming my fingers in impatience- is properly weighted, making it a perfectly natural part of the story.

Another point which sets this one apart is the complex, highly enjoyable plot involving stolen art and how the Vatican worked with Nazi leadership during and after WW2 for mutual gain.

Spy work and cover ups abound in the story which changes your understanding of events and characters repeatedly. Who is who now and who did what when? No simple "there are some bad guys chasing us - run!/ Look - bad guys! - let's chase them!" plots here. You have to pay attention or you'll miss important clues.

I was also very happy that the thriller typical "dumb chick" didn't appear anywhere. Thank you, Mr Gifford!

All the women characters in the novel have agency, are perfectly capable of getting themselves out of danger and figuring things out on their own without having an older, superior man explain it to them with one syllable words and hand puppets.

The ending and the reveals are where the plot falls a bit into cliche territory and gets overdramatic, but I found I could forgive that (more or less).

I'm not sure if I'd enjoy this thriller as much if I were Catholic, though. It doesn't paint a very rosy picture of the high clergy in Rome but scandals are nothing new for the Vatican. The Church is a power structure and acts the state they are. Just far a far older and far more secretive state than most.

My version:
I listened to the abridged German language audiobook. The reader, actor Ulrich Pleitgen, did a MARVELOUS job conveying the nuances of speech and bringing the characters to life. One of the best readers I've ever heard for German audio.

Recommended! 2023-reads audiobooks mystery-thriller ...more39 s Mahdi Lotfi447 112

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????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ???????.202311 s Repix2,254 464

Leído hace muchísmo tiempo.
Recuerdo que me encantó.11 s Jeane676 87

The assissini is one of those books you haven't heard about, don't look that special but something makes you try it out anyway. For me it was the name of the book and in some way the story, the places.

The story spreads itself around Rome, Princeton, the Donegal coast in Ireland and even Paris and Alexandria. The church is in the middle of everything, but is full of secrets ...in the past and now. And, the Pope is dying and Rome and the rest of the world wants to know who will become the new Pope.
A document exists telling who the assissini are, but luckily for the church it is hidden and the church can keep its secrets inside. Until sister Valentine gets murdered in the chapel of her powerful family.
Her brother Ben, a lawyer, realizes that the murder of his sister won't be invesitgated by police or the church any other murder would. His sister wasn't any nun either. So he starts to investigate himself and gets involved more and more in the history and present of the church, while more murders happen.

With everything that happens and gets discovered in this story, it can't be boring. But the beginning of the book was a it too long, slow and would have been written maybe a bit shorter. Besides that, it went fast, it was interesting. The story happens in 1982 and withour knowing how to explain, it leaves behind a bit the feeling of how the world, the people seem to have been in the eighties.italy8 s Lena_en_libros292 225

Los assasini fueron un grupo de sacerdotes sicarios que asesinaban gente por orden del Papa. Fue el Papa Borgia el que creo esta mafia/secta/organización clandestina para matar a quien se cruzará en contra de los intereses de la Iglesia
•
En este libro, un influyente hombre de negocios buscará a los implocados en el asesinato de su hermana. En su camino, se desvelarán un montón de enigmas relacionados con la Iglesia y reaparecerán los assasini, coincidiendo además con la elección de un nuevo Papa.
•
Asi conoceremos como la Iglesia estuvo jugando a dos bandas en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, entre los Aliados y el Tercer Reich, acumulando cada vez más riquezas y poder. Con sus assasini en las sombras “actuando en el nombre de Dios”
•
El ritmones irregular. Arranca muy bien, pierde fuelle y termina trepidante. No he empatizado con ningún personaje y había partes que sólo deseaba que saliera Horstmann de las sombras y se los llevará a todos por delante
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6/10 A MI ME GUSTAN MAS LOS DE DAN BROWN O TOM CLANCYno-esta-mal-pero-le-falta-algo7 s Sonia676 107

3,5 estrellas.
No es alta literatura, ni pretende serlo.
Es un thriller "vaticano", bien construido, que engancha mucho, dignamente escrito (sin que sea para tirar cohetes) y con una ambientación brutal.
Me entretuvo muchísimo cuando lo leí. Creo que es un libro ideal para esos momentos en que uno necesita evadirse, y no tiene la mente para temas muy complejos.
Y es un devora páginas muy bien construido: es difícil soltarlo hasta el final.
(Y lleno de "salseos" vaticanos... cómo me gusta a mí eso del "morbo vatican")7 s Eileen Souza439 76

Once again, I wish there was a 3.5 star option. This was a book written in the late 80's that was a precursor to the Dan Brown novels - suspense thriller about the intrigues and secret happenings of the church - murder mystery and many twists and turns.

The story is of Ben Driskill, son of a super rich string puller, who was an OSS officer during WWII working with the Catholic Church. His sister (a nun) is killed in their family chapel, and overwhelmed with grief and anger, he goes on a hunt to try to learn what she had been researching and to try to find her killer.

I enjoyed several of the characters of the book - specifically the less conservative clergy, and there were definitely some haunting scenes. It was a good story, kept me captivated, and had a satisfying ending.europe historical-fiction north-america ...more6 s Pete Stolz49 3

3,8
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