The Devil Will Come by Glenn Cooper

450 Pages
Publisher: Lascaux Media, AuthorBuzz
Release Date: November 15, 2014

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Vatican

Elizabetta Celestino is a university student studying Roman archeology. Her request for a dig in the catacombs is denied and her funding cancelled. An accident changes the trajectory of her future. Now as a nun, and immediately after the death of the Pope, she is being sought to explore a dig before a new pope is named.

The book has a fast pace, developed characters, and it is written in the third person point of view. The story moves through different times. There are mentions of ancient times during and shortly after Christ’s death. The story also goes to the time of Christopher Marlow and them back to the present. I love the character and hope the author writes more about her. She is a tortured soul fighting inner conflicts. If you like mysteries with a bit of religious intrigue, you will enjoy this one.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. You have to suspend your belief in reality when you read this one.

Date is made up. I feel behind on reviews.

Cleaning up my NetGalley account. Unfortunately, I had a few titles I could not get to before they were published. Should I read the title in the future, I will be sure to promote a review via my Goodreads and/or my blog. Thank you for the opportunity.

What an adventure! This was a very fast paced and adrenaline filled book.
Many thanks to Lascaux Media and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm sorry I was not able to read and review this book before it was archived due to serious health issues.

Cooper tells a very enjoyable story with lots of surprises, twists and turns; however, it was frequently difficult to follow what was happening or who was doing what because of the total lack of any visual story break between unrelated paragraphs. Not even a transition sentence or paragraph indicated the change in characters, locations or even sometimes centuries. What a significantly distracting omission. Otherwise, I would have rated this story as at least a 4. I wonder if this was the author's fault or, more likely, inadequate editing? His Will Piper series is among my favorites in the thriller genre. Cooper is one of our better heirs to Dan Brown.

I am sorry I was unable to read this book within the timescales of it being published, thank you for the opportunity, should I read it in the future I will review it online

A conspiracy thriller with lots of historical fact and fiction. I hope to see more books by this author in the future.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

lisabetta Celestino, a brilliant young archaeologist at work in Rome’s ancient catacombs, has discovered a unique pattern of astrological symbols on an underground wall. She feels sure that evidence of a previously unknown pre-Christian sect lies in an adjacent chamber where the untombed skeletons bear a strange anomaly, and is devastated when the Vatican refuses to support her excavation project.
Ten years later, a cave-in damages the vault, and a shocking discovery is made. Following a violent and traumatic event, Elisabetta has left has left archaeology behind for the serenity of prayer and teaching, but the young nun unexpectedly finds herself in a race to solve the secret of the catacomb and prevent an apocalyptic event that threatens not only the Vatican but the future of mankind.
Moving between present-day Europe, 1st-century Rome, and Elizabethan England, The Devil Will Come is an exhilarating tale of a battle between good and evil that has been fought in the shadows through the centuries and across continents—and that both sides are willing to kill to keep secret.

This was a not-too-shabby thriller novel that interweaves a narrative from history with the goings-on in modern day. Comparisons to Dan Brown are obvious, at least superficially - Glenn Cooper is a far better author, even on a bad day...

What worked for me? Elisabetta, for sure. A nice, refreshing change to have a strong female lead in a "thriller" novel - and not just some hero's arm candy. She is tough, smart and incredibly resourceful. I was held to this book solely to find out what happens to her. Other stuff I liked about this book - the historical elements were well done and the flow between the timeframes was handled nicely. I never got too frustrated with the changing timelines. Also, the "good vs evil" aspect was a nice touch and was written better than the last few novels like this I have read.

The downside: well, there are a few. Tails? (If you have read it, you understand...) Also, with the changing timelines, the pacing gets a little mixed up. The flow between the passages is good, but just when you think something is going to happen...

*CLICK*

...back to the other timeline. It did get a little annoying, being flung from story to story like that.

Overall, a decent enough "conspiracy thriller" - while not the best thing Glenn Cooper has written, it is still worth recommending if you like that genre...


Paul
ARH

This is the third book I chose from this author before having any reading experience of his work. I will not be choosing books by him again.