The Opus Dictum

The Opus Dictum is the 2nd Vatican Secret Archives Thriller by Gary McAvoy. He previously wrote the Magdalen Chronicles trilogy but all of the characters in the Magdalen Chronicles are also in the Vatican Secret Archives series. McAvoy stated on his website that the Vatican series is a sequel to the Magdalen series and recommends that readers start his books with his first, The Madgalen Deception. If I had known this, I would have started reading his books in order.  However, I just discovered him as an author in January 2022 when I read The Vivaldi Cipher. In April 2022 McAvoy will have his 6th book published called The Petrus Prophecy. He is a promising new author and likes to write religious thrillers. 

The publisher's summary:

In 1982, Roberto Calvi, known as “God’s Banker,” was discovered hanging under London’s Blackfriars Bridge. What wasn’t found was the briefcase he was known to have had with him the night before, reportedly stuffed with incriminating documents, a special key, and a computer disk filled with codes, which together unlock a piece of the Vatican's troubled past.

When the briefcase mysteriously reappears in the Vatican Secret Archives, Father Michael Dominic and his team—Hana, Marco, Karl, Lukas, the feisty young nun Sister Teri, and Dominic’s new assistant, Ian—are up against two powerful and enigmatic organizations, Opus Deus and the ultra-secret, outlawed Masonic Lodge P2, who savagely fight for control of the briefcase and its contents. Their goal? To carry out one of the most dangerous conspiracies the Church has ever faced—all happening during an unexpected conclave to elect a new pope.

From Rome, Italy, to Geneva, Switzerland, join Dominic and friends as they fend off plotters, kidnappers, and blackmailers who have threaded their way into Vatican politics for decades, in a conspiracy known as The Opus Dictum.

I enjoyed this book immensely. When the Dictum was first mentioned at the midway point, I remembered what the story was supposed to be about. I have to question why it took so long to introduce the main thrust of the plot. Aside from this, the story was still entertaining and kept me reading until the quiet hours of the night. 

The characters were fully developed and interesting. The villains provided all the suspense a good thriller needs. With several characters being villains, it was hard to know which one was going to be the main one but having several ratcheted up the suspense a notch. 

The scientific methods used to decode documents was fascinating. I had never heard of steganography before. With steganography you can hide messages in digital images that the human eye cannot see. There are several other scientific tools used by the characters in the story. It gave authenticity to their pursuit of either good or evil.

A great read! 5 out of 5 stars.