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The Third Secret: A Novel of Suspense
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Customer Reviews
Rating:  - Pretty darn good
I liked most of the book. Some of it is pretty stereotypical in its depiction of the outsiders (non-Italians) being good guys and the insiders (Italians) being the bad guys, but someone has to be the good guy and someone has to be the bad guy or there would not be a story.
I was a little disappointed that the third secret was revealed at the end. It won't effect the enjoyment of the book very much if you know what the third secret is. Basic the third secret is every liberal American catholic's wet dream. Birth control and abortion is OK, so is homosexuality, and presumably non-marital sex of any kind, as long as there is some kind of love in the equation, and women can be priests.
If you buy into the idea that religion doesn't need to take a moral stance, than I guess you will appreciate the third secret. personally, i think the book would have been better off without revealing what the third secret was.
Even so, it is a good read, even with a few flaws.
Rating:  - Intrigue in the Vatican
Colin Michener is secretary to well-loved Pope Clement XV, and lately he has become concerned about the pope's behavior. He seems obsessed with one of the secrets contained within the Vatican's Riserva, a special room filled with historic documents available only to popes. In 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal, and Clement XV keeps entering the Riserva to read the documents related to the apparition. Clement is an old man, in failing health, and many believe he is not long for the world. His chosen secretary of state, Cardinal Alberto Valendrea, has big plans for his own papacy, just as soon as the annoying current pope is out of the way. He believes Clement is far too liberal, and Valendrea wants to advance his own highly conservative agenda, not to mention his plans for personal glorification. He will allow nothing to get in his way, and if a few inconvenient people have to be murdered along the way, they're just martyrs for the cause. On errands for the pope, Colin finds himself in Valendrea's sights, and also finds himself conflicted when the one woman he once loved reappears at critical moments. She's been hired by Valendrea to find out what Michener's errands for the pope are all about, but she finds her loyalties shifting back to the man she once loved, even though he once left her for the church.
This is a very well-researched novel with plenty of intrigue, but I find that my suspension of disbelief does not translate to religious matters. Catholics or people with an interest in religious practices will likely find a lot of fascinating subject matter in this book, but I fear it was wasted on me. Despite this, however, the book did hold my interest, and the final third was filled with gripping suspense. One big flaw that annoyed me for most of the book, however, was that the reader was left out of the loop. This is one of my least favorite plot devices. Everyone in the story seemed to know all about the Third Secret of Fatima and why it was so shocking, but the author didn't bother to let us in on the details until near the end. That's just bad form. If the protagonist knows, I need to know. Rather than making me want to read faster so I can be caught up to speed, this tactic makes me lose interest in the story. Why should I care what's driving these people to do all the things they're doing if I don't know what it is?
Religious differences and that point aside, however, this was a pretty good book. I'm sure some would find the things I did not care for quite fascinating. Steve Berry isn't the best thriller author out there, but he's a solid writer and his books are fairly well-plotted and worth reading.
Rating: - The Wrong Secret!!
AGHH!! STEVE!!! After reading The Third Secret for a second time, the first being years ago when it just came out (and I had forgotten much of it), I was devastated to learn that you simply had the wrong secret! All along I thought I knew exactly what the secret was that the popes agonized over: that the Virgin Mary wanted the church to revert back to the pastoral church of Christ, drop the gold and riches, the pomp and circumstance, and become once again the true and simple church of God. Take away the power and corruption and concentrate only on the red words of the New Testament. Her request should have been to to return the wealth to the people, and for that reason the popes kept the secret tightly hidden in the vault. Everyone knows that the Catholic Church can't do that! Also, this time I listened to the books-on-tape version and I was seriously disappointed that there was no "author's note" explaining what was real and what was artistic license. Author Steve Berry obviously did some incredible research on the subject and I'd love to know if his version of the Marian apparitions is accurate. Perhaps the book has an author's note as explanation. I am a huge Steve Berry fan and would love to give him 5 stars for his effort, but the revelation of the secret was just too whacky for me. Sorry, Steve.
Rating:  - Nothing Electrifying about this Secret
Father Michener is plagued with worry for his dear friend and mentor Pope Clement XV.
Clement is concerned with a starling secret that is hidden in the archives of the Vatican. He then sends Michener on a trip to unravel the mystery of the third secret that the Virgin Mary has reveled to three youngsters
Gripping page turner? No, the only reason why I kept turning pages was because I was highly expecting a blow out a secret to end all secrets but once reveled I was sorely let down
Insights on the Vatican was nothing more than the writers own opinion which makes this book a decent fiction read , one that you can take on a long airplane trip to pass away the time
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Rating: - Nice read, not too great of an ending
The novel is a nice read, but it didn't draw me in very much. Vatican intrigues, Eastern Europe, Marian apparitions and guarding a secret from the public. Conspiracy theories, but the ending was kind of unsatisfying. I asked myself;:"so what?" The thriller seems to be intended as a kind of realistic thrillers,( "probable" scenarios, if and only if), but it doesn't go very deeply in this direction.The third secret was not so terribly shaking,so, the ending was unsatisfying, ("so what?why this was supposed to be such a secret int eh first place instead of just simply denying the authenticity,as the church quite often does with variety of apparitions").
In general, I enjoyed the read, it is a smart thriller, I wasn't very, very impressed, but I still recommend it. It is a nice read, in spite of the ending.
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