This book offers an intriguing mix of alternative history, mystery, and Christian intrigue, set against the backdrop of Harvard and the Vatican. The plot is suspenseful, with a handsome professor caught in a web of secrets and hidden connections. While the premise is fun, I found the story a bit predictable, and some twists didn’t fully captivate me. It’s an enjoyable, quick read, but it lacked the depth I was hoping for.

Rating: 3 stars – A solid, entertaining mystery, but not as gripping or complex as expected.

The Lost Pope by Glenn Cooper was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had not knowingly read this author before and the subject line seemed to be like a well-known author from several years ago whose books were made into movies. This subject line, while like that, did not keep me as interested, though I did read the whole book with minimal skimming. Possibly I don't know enough about Popes or how that all works is why this did not grab my interest as much as others have. If you or those you buy gifts for are interested in historical fiction about Popes, certainly give this book a read.

4 Stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. This was an intriguing book with a great and enthralling plot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and author. It captured my interest from beginning to end. The characters were interesting and relatable. The biblical references and story line view point were informative and thought provocative. Glenn Cooper is a new and exciting author for me. I now want to find and read the previous books in his Cal Donovan series. I would buy and recommend this author.

Reviews compared this book to Dan Brown but I disagree. It stands on its own with a great cast of characters and plot. Now I am going back to read the entire series. Highly recommend.

The Lost Pope by Glenn Cooper

384 Pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: June 6, 2023

Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Early Christianity

A papyrus from the first century is unearthed. The working would rock the foundation of the catholic church. Isabetta’s is the first female Papal Secretary. This does not sit well with conservative fundamentalist. Cal, a professor of divinity at Harvard gets involved when a former grad student contacts him.

The story has a good pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. This book has it all: political and religious intrigue, murder, and a great story line. If you like books by Dan Brown, you will enjoy this book.

There have been a number of gospels not accepted as part of the canon of the church. The Gospel of Mary is one such example. Depending on which book you read, Mary Magdalene was either a harlot or a casual follower of Christ. Some books maintain she was a consort of his.

This book allows that she was the wife and passionate follower of Simon Peter and an enthusiastic follower of Jesus. She was instrumental in preaching the gospel and message of Christ.

The Nicene Council in 324 was more interested in keeping the teachings of Paul and the four primary gospels. An old funerary mask, however, discovered a snippet of the Gospel according to Mary which would point her out as being the second pope after Simon Peter.

The piece of her teachings found in the mask infuriates some current day Catholics. Those interested in maintaining the status quo want to disavow the piece of papyrus. Some of those historians and scholars wind up dead!

The entire book is mesmerizing! Research and fiction interwoven into a gripping novel told in two timelines. Thoroughly engaging. 5 stars – CE Williams

This is my first Cal Donovan novel and I'm hooked! I loved the story, the characters, and the relationships between them as they are peeled back like an onion the further you read. Glenn Cooper does a great job of giving us a take on alternative history that many female Christians probably would appreciate by giving the patriarchal system a wake-up call.

I can't wait to read his other books and to see what Cal gets up to in future sequels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC for an honest review.

A shocking message on an ancient papyrus. A man intent on destroying it. And a forgotten pope that could be lost to history. Cal Donovan, a theology professor at Harvard, receives an urgent message from a former graduate student, Samia Tedros. Now a museum conservator in Cairo, Samia has discovered a miraculous fragment of papyrus with three unknown lines from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene so explosive that a wealthy man is willing to kill to ensure no one ever sees it. At the Vatican, another drama is developing. The new Pope has defied centuries of tradition and appointed a nun, Sister Elisabetta Celestino, as his secretary of state. Powerful insiders are outraged that a woman now sits as the second most influential person at the Vatican, and they plot to destroy her. When Samia shows up at Cal’s doorstep in the dead of night, he is drawn into a deadly competition to possess a papyrus with the power to rescue Sister Elisabetta and change the course of Christianity.
Glenn Cooper, an excellent writer and researcher has written another novel full of intrigue. The Last Pope confirms that women played and important role in the early Christian Church. It tells that Mary Magdalene succeeded Peter as the second Pope in Rome. Pope John receives flack for appointing Sister Elizabeth Celestine as his Secretary of State. If you like books with themes of murder, love and betrayal then you would love this book. Looking forward to the next Cal Donovan novel from Glenn Cooper.

I chose this book because I like papal fiction and I think it was a good read. I liked the suspense, however it was difficult to follow all of the multiple points of view. I also had a hard time determining what the book was about exactly.

It made me think of The Divinci Code in terms of plot and suspense. This would be a great read for fans of that book/movie.

Glenn Cooper pens a wonderful Cal Donovan adventure filled with thrills and emotional heartbreak. Looking forward to the next book by Glenn Cooper.

Glenn Cooper, MD, who also graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a BA in Archeology, is a dynamic writer who presents extensive historical research in his dialogue-driven, internationally best selling novels, created another page-turner in, “The Lost Pope,” an intriguing dual-time novel set in 1st Century Egypt and current day locales in the US, Egypt and Vatican City.

“The Lost Pope” is based upon the hypothesis that ancient papyri texts, discovered by chance in modern-day Egypt, confirm not only that women played important roles in the early Christian Church—as apostles, deacons, ministers and missionaries—but that Mary Magdalene succeeded Simon Peter as the second pope in Rome.

When rumors of the Mary papyrus circulate throughout the highest levels of the Vatican, it’s Catholic conservatives are irate, knowing that such heresy will set their followers on edge throughout the world. Feminists will want to be ordained as priests and the whole structure of their faith could change dramatically.

Consequently, unrest spreads through the College of Cardinals and others of influence, so they condone teams of covert operatives to seek out the text for determining its authenticity and preventing it from becoming public knowledge.

There is extensive historical information incorporated into this novel, and I was entranced from beginning to end. Of course, there’s much of the ancient story that’s spun entirely from Glenn Cooper’s brilliant imagination. Furthermore, “The Lost Pope” is presented as an intellectual endeavor, not one of those heavy action thrillers that jump around constantly with more shoot-outs than archaeological mystery.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Glenn Cooper, and Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

When a former student makes a startling discovery and finds a piece of papyrus she soon finds people are cashing her and they will not stop trying to get it from her and there’s no length they will not go to. This is a unique story with a interesting plot the history including in this book was fascinating. Thank you netgalley

I absolutely loved this book.

To begin with, you could tell the research that had gone into it was extremely well thought out, and was scientifically and factually based. The author clearly understands archaeology. The book follows Cal Donovan, a Harvard professor, and the election of a new pope, as well as the first female Vatican Secretary. However, the story also is interspersed with flashbacks to Mary Magdalene, and history surrounding her story. I greatly enjoyed the parallels to our current society and a lot of the very interesting and thought out storylines that were far more realistic and believable than other books of this same type. I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy Steve Berry, or books like Dan Brown's but want something that is more believable and factually based.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First, before I forget, thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for making this digital ARC available to me.

It took me a long time to read this bIook--I loved the bits set in biblical times but I had issues staying with the modern section. I'm simply not the thriller reader I once was. I can't hack reading the parts that are seen from the "bad guys'" point of view. For that reason, I left the book untouched for a week or more but I discovered that I really wanted to find out how the story ended so I persevered. I'm glad that I did. I would recommend it to anyone who likes reading about archeology and/or biblical research and I might look for more by this author.

The Lost Pope was one of the least thrilling thrillers I have read in a long time. While there was some religious and papal history and there was a conspiracy, none of the papal history was very detailed and the conspiracy was, from the very beginning, absolutely no secret for the reader. There was never any sense of urgency and any problems were quickly and easily resolved. The religious history dealing with the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, though, was very interesting.

I was surprised by how shallow the characters felt; it was hard to feel any connection to them. Also, while I know the story of the fragment of papyrus and the story of Sister Elisabetta were meant to be connected, at times I felt they would have been better served by being two separate books. The Vatican intrigue was rather glossed over in this book and would have been quite a provocative book on its own.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

Cal, if you aren’t aware, is a theology professor at Harvard and is working when he receives a message from a former grad student, Samia. She is now a museum conservator in Cairo, and she has found a fragment of papyrus with writing from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene!

As word gets out, as it does in these circles, there is someone who will go to any lengths to make sure that fragment is never seen.

Meanwhile, over at the Vatican, the new Pope is about to make some waves by appointing Elisabetta to a post that has been traditionally held by a male. And you just know there are some churchmen who aren’t going to take orders from a nun! So they are also willing to go to great lengths to stop that.

As Samia runs to Cal’s in the middle of the night, he is about to become embroiled in both scandals! And you know he is going to come through.

One of my favorite characters is Cal. He is just a great character.

NetGalley/ June 6, 2023, Grand Central Publishing

5 stars

I have no idea how Glenn Cooper keeps coming up with unique and exciting plots for his books. I love the historical element that is threaded throughout the novels. Remarkably well written and plotted, this novel is a real winner. A must read for all Glenn Cooper fans.

Add to that travels to exotic locations, plenty of bad guys chasing the protagonists, action, tension, more history -real or not - engaging characters, including the attractive and brilliant theology professor Cal Donovan.

I really like Mr. Cooper’s novels. The plots are original and refreshing.

In this novel, a former student of Cal’s makes an earth shattering find on a piece of papyrus. Almost immediately, she is being chased by bad guys trying to get their hands on the document. They will do anything to obtain it - including murder.

At the same time, the newly elected Pope has appointed a woman as his secretary of state. Applauded by many, the Pope has also attracted detractors, and even enemies, for his action. Thus while Cal is trying to assist and safeguard his former student, he is also trying to protect his other friends, the appointed sister and the Pope from disastrous negative and slanderous press.

I want to thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.