It is an ordinary day in Father Marco Venetti’s quiet coastal parish—but the woman who’s come to confess is not ordinary. Marco has always been drawn to beautiful Elena, and she brings news that will shatter his peace.

Elena’s sister and daughter have been kidnapped, to force her to bring a gang of ruthless men into the country—if she doesn’t, her family will be brutally killed. But if she obeys, many more innocents will die. In her desperation she turns to Marco, knowing his time in the military has given him the skills she needs.

After a terrifying battle that leaves no survivors, Marco finds a note on one of the men’s bodies, a map that reveals their ultimate goal: a deadly terrorist attack on the Vatican City itself.

This is a fast paced action thriller with a lot of twists and turns that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

The plot has a mix of almost everything that you want to read in an action thriller. The main character Fr Marco is amazing! The author has done an amazing job depicting him as a priest with a military background who constantly battles his internal insecurities, but at the same time is extremely skilled and loyal.

This is an excellent start to a new series and based on the conclusion, I have a feeling that the next book is going to be even more exciting. Eagerly waiting for the next book!

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Military hero turned Catholic priest, Marco spends his days in a small Italian town listening to confessions and ministering to his parish. When Elena, an old friend, comes to him for help, Marco finds himself going up against the Italian mob to help Elena get her family back. He then uncovers a threat against the Pope and finds himself up against terrorists with a centuries old vendetta. Who is Father Marco Venetti? A priest struggling with his vow of celibacy? An assassin? Whoever he is, he is certainly not boring. As a Catholic, I struggled a bit with Marco’s character and had to keep reminding myself that it is a work of fiction.

This is an action packed story that will grab your attention immediately and keep your turning the pages. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you Peter Hogenkamp NetGalley and Bookouture for this entertaining ARC.

The Vatican Conspiracy (A Marco Venetti Thriller Book 1) is an word is wow. It's one of those that you read and you finish at think wow that was great, A plot that has so many twists and turns that keep you guessing. Characters that are so real and vivid that you feel as if you know as a friend, and a story that captures your attention and doesn't let go till the end.

*4.5 stars *

Roman Catholic priest, Father Marco Venetti is having a quiet time of it in his small coastal parish overlooking the Ligurian sea, nothing much doing, very few parishioners turning up to confess their sins. That is, until a woman enters the confessional box seeking absolution, and he recognises her voice straight away - Elena, the woman with whom he broke his celibacy vows some 4 years earlier, and Marco’s peace and quiet is about to end!

Elena is in a whole lot of trouble, after becoming involved with the ‘Ndrangheta’ ( Italian, Mafia type organised crime syndicate), her daughter and sister have been kidnapped by them, so given her previous history with Marco and his former career in the military, (he received the highest award given away by the Italian Navy for Military Valour) she believes he’s the only one who can help her rescue them.

Marco and Elena are drawn into a terrifying deadly battle in order to rescue her family, which ultimately leads to them discovering a plot to decimate the Vatican City.

Marco is drawn unwittingly into the fight to save the Pope and the Vatican City and its inhabitants, but will a crisis of conscience prevent him from killing a ruthless enemy, who would be responsible for vaporising thousands of people? He’s a Catholic Priest, not a hired killer, what does he do? Marco has many conflicting emotions to resolve.

First in a new series, The Vatican Conspiracy has relentless action, a gripping storyline and a main protagonist who presents as a controversial, unusual, but likeable character. It certainly sets the scene for what promises to be a terrific series.

I have already mentioned a few times that I am a big James Bond/Ethan Hunt fan. I love the action packed stories and I adore the over the top scenes. 

This book is also an excellent example of those two things I greatly appreciate. 

It's true that money makes the world go round and it can buy you anything. It does not make any difference whether you are a politician, a criminal or a member of the clergy. Each person can have his own agenda and use others, violence or betrayal (or all of the above) to get what they want to achieve.

You might be surprised what kind of personalities are hidden behind a cassock...

If you don't mind a few corpses, clergymen that go extracurricular and bloodcurdling actions merged into a great story, this is a book you need to read. 5 stars.

Thank you, Peter Hogenkamp and Bookouture

This is a gripping page turner with ‘jump off the page’ characters and plenty of action and tension. I loved the concept of the main character, Marco, being a priest with a past, the emotional tension between him and Elena, the description of Rome and the Vatican, and how the story shows the ‘behind the scenes’ of the Catholic Church and the restraints the Church has on even the Pope. In his past Marco used to be an officer in the Italian army, he has killed and is prepared to kill again if necessary. Someone once said to me that what it takes to fight great evil is for someone willing to be just as evil, but for the right reasons – and it looks like Marco is going to be that kind of character. I look forward to reading more in this series.

A good start to a new series. I think the series and characters have a great potential to grow. The setting is intriguing with the Vatican, the pope and his entourage mixing it with international criminals, and intelligence agencies. I like it that a Catholic priest is the main character. It’s always good to add a character from the past to mix up emotions.

Even though I enjoyed the book I would have liked to have a bit more of gripping suspense. Now it felt like a smooth ride, but I didn’t get the feeling ‘I must immediately find out what will happen next’. People say never to mix politics and religion into conversations, but they are both excellent topics in books. It is a fast read, which took me a bit by surprise. I would have liked a bit more depth in the story in general, but all in all a good read.

This was a good first installment. It did a great job setting up the characters and giving depth to Marco. I look forward to the next book, which won’t need To provide quite as much background.

Rating: 4
Genre:Political thriller
Pages :368
Pup Date: October 20,2020
Series: Marco Venetti #1
Publisher:Bookoture

My thoughts
Would I recommend it? Yes
Would I read more of this series ? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes
First off i want to thank Bookouture for inviting me to join the blog tour for this book as well as letting me read and review .And for introducing me to a new author as well as a new series .And a big thanks to NetGalley as well. As soon as I saw it I knew this was something I would definitely pick up and read as well as enjoy and I was right , it was like I was reading some of my favorite authors since its like some thing they would write : Brad Thor ,Lee Child,just to name a few. And can I can also say it a great start to a new series one that I want more of . The biggest thing I loved about it was how well the author wrote a compelling plot line all the while weaving it together with a mixture of romance, non stop action , religion, political conspiracy and having amazing characters.

Father Marco Venetti is happy taking confessions, giving mass and living in a quiet coastal parish. All that changes when Elena, a woman from his past comes to him for help. Elena's daughter and sister have been kidnapped to force her into transporting on her boat a group of very bad men into the country. Elena needs Father Marco's past military experience to save her family. After the last bad man has been killed, Marco finds information on one of the men that reveals a planned attack on the Vatican and the Pope. Marco has many hard choices to make. Will he be able to stop the attack and stay alive or die trying?

Father Marco Venitti certainly doesn’t fit your archetypal view of a Roman Catholic priest- oh no he is so much more.

The beautiful Elena returns to his church and confesses her involvement with a crime syndicate who now hold her daughter and sister hostage but while helping to free the two women Marco discovers a deadly plot to attack the Pope and the Vatican City itself and who is the Arab prince who believes it is his legacy to destroy Vatican City at any means ...

This fast paced action packed thriller certainly has it all- romance, politics, Vatican high officials and priests, Arab Princes, CIA agents, spies, assassins, fights and plenty of nail biting tension.

Love the character of Marco with all his very real struggles both as a priest and as a man who is called upon to kill when and if necessary.

The Vatican Conspiracy is a great start to a new series and one I really enjoyed reading and would definitely recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC for my honest review.

The Vatican Conspiracy (A Marco Venetti Thriller Book 1) by Peter Hogenkamp is a great action packed novel.

Elena’s sister and daughter are being held hostage forcing Elena to help transport men on her boat. She turns to Marco, a priest she has a past with, for help. Elena and Marco end up on a mission to save the pope. However, information is uncovered to lead them to believe the terrorists are planning to attack Vatican City and not just the pope. This leads Marco and Elena on a crazy mission.

The Vatican conspiracy pulled me in from the first page. There was so much action. The book is told from many character’s perspective which I found interesting. You get to see inside the minds of the terrorists as well as the good guys. There was a lot going on in this book, but Hogenkamp told the story so well that there wasn’t any confusion.

The Vatican Conspiracy had some great characters. All of the characters were very unique. Elena’s family was her first priority and she would do anything to keep them safe. She also is the reason they are in danger. Sarah is a sniper brought in to help save Vatican City. She is a strong female character. Very little is revealed about her, so I am looking forward to learn more in future books.

Marco is a great and unique character. How many priests go after bad guys with guns? I had no problem with a priest shooting guns and killing people. At first I was very uncomfortable with a priest having a love interest. As the book went on you see Marco’s internal struggles, which made me realize Marco being a priest really added to the story. Marco feels like he isn’t worthy because he’s killed people and has romantic feelings for a woman.

Reading The Vatican Conspiracy reminded me of my trip to Vatican City and Rome. It’s always fun to read about a place you’ve been or would like to go. Fortunately there weren’t any terrorist attacks or shooting people involved in my trip.

The Vatican Conspiracy is a great novel. I am shocked this is Peter Hogenkamp’s debut novel. I cannot wait for the next book in the Macro Vanetti series.

I highly recommend The Vatican Conspiracy for fans of action packed thrillers. I would caution anyone religious that the main character is a priest that kills people and has a romantic interest.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for The Vatican Conspiracy.

An outstanding start to this series! This is a fast-paced read that grabs you on the first page and is powered by non-stop action and a taut, emotional narrative This book is a real page turner! The two protagonists, Father Marco Venetti and Elena struggle with their internal demons while trying to stop a threat to destroy Vatican City. This is a wonderfully crafted action-packed story with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat right to the last page. I anxiously await to see where the author will take this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A fast paced action thriller of a priest thwarting terrorist activities and saving the church. The lead character is good for a hero but unstable for a priest. The plot is good and the narrative keeps a good and even pace throughout. The places and monuments are beautifully described. Some amount of history would be welcomed. The conclusion suggests a sequel. Hope the priest conquers his distractions and finds god.

The author has bitten off a lot in this novel: romance, action thriller, religion, political conspiracy. Weaving it all together is done very well with excellent characters and and a compelling plot line.