- Mass Market Paperback: 376 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books (31 Jan 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 034547614X
- ISBN-13: 978-0345476142
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 10.4 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,044,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Third Secret
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Explosive in both its pace and its revelations, The Third Secret is a remarkable international thriller. Bestselling author Steve Berry tackles some of the most controversial ideas of our time in a breakneck journey through the history of the Church and the future of religion.
Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the Church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary’s words–or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows.
Vatican City, present day: Papal secretary Father Colin Michener is concerned for the Pope. Night after restless night, Pope Clement XV enters the Vatican’s Riserva, the special archive open only to popes, where the Church’s most clandestine and controversial documents are stored. Though unsure of the details, Michener knows that the Pope’s distress stems from the revelations of Fatima.
Equally concerned, but not out of any sense of compassion, is Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican’s Secretary of State,. Valendrea desperately covets the papacy, having narrowly lost out to Clement at the last conclave. Now the Pope’s interest in Fatima threatens to uncover a shocking ancient truth that Valendrea has kept to himself for many years.
When Pope Clement sends Michener to the Romanian highlands, then to a Bosnian holy site, in search of a priest–possibly one of the last people on Earth who knows Mary’s true message–a perilous set of events unfolds. Michener finds himself embroiled in murder, suspicion, suicide, deceit, and his forbidden passion for a beloved woman. In a desperate search for answers, he travels to Pope Clement’s birthplace in Germany, where he learns that the third secret of Fatima may dictate the very fate of the Church–a fate now lying in Michener’s own hands.
From the Hardcover edition.
Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the Church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary’s words–or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows.
Vatican City, present day: Papal secretary Father Colin Michener is concerned for the Pope. Night after restless night, Pope Clement XV enters the Vatican’s Riserva, the special archive open only to popes, where the Church’s most clandestine and controversial documents are stored. Though unsure of the details, Michener knows that the Pope’s distress stems from the revelations of Fatima.
Equally concerned, but not out of any sense of compassion, is Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican’s Secretary of State,. Valendrea desperately covets the papacy, having narrowly lost out to Clement at the last conclave. Now the Pope’s interest in Fatima threatens to uncover a shocking ancient truth that Valendrea has kept to himself for many years.
When Pope Clement sends Michener to the Romanian highlands, then to a Bosnian holy site, in search of a priest–possibly one of the last people on Earth who knows Mary’s true message–a perilous set of events unfolds. Michener finds himself embroiled in murder, suspicion, suicide, deceit, and his forbidden passion for a beloved woman. In a desperate search for answers, he travels to Pope Clement’s birthplace in Germany, where he learns that the third secret of Fatima may dictate the very fate of the Church–a fate now lying in Michener’s own hands.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Suspence Writing At It's Best,
By
This review is from: The Third Secret (Paperback)
When I was first asked to review this book I thought to myself that it would probably be just another book in the plethora of novels that seem to have hung on to the coat tails of the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Happily this is third book in the Da Vinci Code mould that I have read and I am surprised to say that they are all equally as good, or better than Dan Brown's book.
Many people dismissed the Da Vinci Code as a nonsensical, poorly written book, but to me they are missing the point. As with this book by Steve Berry they are written as entertainment, they are novels and nothing within them should be taken too seriously. The books must be made plausible or the reader will just dismiss them as nonsense. The Third Secret has everything, travel in Europe, murder, deceit and hidden passion, it is entertaining and thought provoking, but still a work of fiction. It is a well thought out plot designed to entertain and sometimes shock the reader. Just read it for what it is and enjoy it.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic!,
By
This review is from: The Third Secret (Paperback)
Everyone seems to be throwing out books about the Catholic Church since the Da Vinci Code took off. Unlike a few others I actually really enjoyed the Da Vinci Code and being someone who enjoys conspiracy theories I was intrigued when I came across Steve Berry's The Third Secret. Granted it's a work of fiction but there's nothing like a bit of truth to make you wonder exactly where the fiction ends and the truth begins.
The story centers around the third secret of Fatima. Although the third secret of Fatima was released to the world by Pope John Paul II this secret was so different from the other two and so cryptic that many believe there was more to the secret than was published. Conspiracy theorists have even suggested that the real third secret is so shocking and devastating to the Catholic Church that it can never be revealed. Pope Clement XV has spent endless nights in the Vatican Secret Archives reading and re-reading the third secret translation but as the days wear on he becomes more and more withdrawn. He then dispatches Father Colin Michener to track down the author of the translation. What follows is a tale of intrigue, deceit and murder....and with the Vatican involved there's always loads of secrets. I rank this book slightly above Da Vinci Code as it seems to have more fact and less fiction than Da Vinci. It's a fast paced thriller that will have you turning pages just so you can get to the end and find out what the third secret really is. And what a secret it is!!!! A definite hit!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A superior mystery - lived up to expectations,
By
This review is from: The Third Secret (Paperback)
Books such as this - based around a central secret - often fail when the secret is revealed. Not this one. The book is vastly superior to many others of its type, partly because the ending does justify the build up and partly because the author manages the build up without resorting to endless tiresome and meaningless chases through pictuesque European cities with the main character always just managing to avoid hunters. Books so obviously written with one eye on the possible deal with Spielberg, filled with repetive, wholly unoriginal action sequences are commonplace. This is most certainly a cut above.
Highly recommended
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