In a final desperate move Pope Leo summons Malachy Donoher, the Cardinal Librarian of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Leo tells Donoher two things. First he is appointing him Camerlengo which means that he will be the interim head of the Vatican upon the death of the pope. The second request is to devise a way to free Yin Daoming.

Donoher has a lifelong friend named Nolan Kilkenny whose resume seems tailor made for the task at hand. Kilkenny trained as a Navy SEAL providing him with the physical skills and the mental strength necessary for the job. In addition, Kilkenny has recently lost his wife and unborn son to cancer. He needs a significant cause toward which to direct his brain and energy, for which this assignment is ideal.

Kilkenny understands the seriousness and the difficulty of the assignment and chooses a select few people to assist him. First is computer wizard Bill Grinelli who will be in charge of the technical aspects of the job. Equally as important is a group of Chinese Americans who will provide concealed entry into China. This sub group will be lead by Roxanne Tao who is the head of a CIA backed venture capital group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

While the purpose of the assignment is straightforward, the execution of the same is anything but. The principals involved feel up to the task, but a bit pressured when they realize that the desired result would be best attained within a period of fifteen days following the pope’s death. During that period, Donoher will be the titular head of the Vatican. After that, there may be a new pope whose wishes may not be the same as Pope Leo's.

At first blush, The Secret Cardinal might appear as an offshoot of The Da Vinci Code, but this novel's only similarity to the latter is that the setting is in Rome and the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church plays an important role. Much of the information regarding the Chinese government and its attitude and relationship with organized religions is indeed fact. The specific circumstances of the Bishop of Shanghai have been conceived by the author, but many individual points are true. Thus the reader learns about religion in China in addition to being treated to a well written story.

The Secret Cardinal is in truth a thriller though much of the violence has been toned down. References are made to weapons and the inevitable hand to hand combat takes place, but it does not play a major role in the book. There are also scenes in which experimental aircraft play an important part. The specifics of the aircraft are given in general terms that are easily understandable to the general public.

Although thrillers are not known for extensive character development, Mr. Grace has produced a cast of real people. Kilkenny, Tao, Donoher, and Grinelli are not merely action figures but have minds and emotions that dictate how they will act. It is easy to get emotionally involved in their lives and to care when any of them encounters a problem. There is a minimum of superhuman acts that are performed that propel the story.

The page turning aspect of the thriller is, however, alive and well in this novel. One has to pay attention to the story line but events proceed at a rapid pace. Since the characters are well defined and realistic, it is never a problem to remember who is who even when dealing with unfamiliar Chinese names.

Though the novel may benefit from casual readers picking it up thinking it is similar to The Da Vinci Code, the content of the book is more than worthwhile in its own right. Mr. Grace has produced a novel with much more food for thought than the average thriller.

--Andy Plonka