Will I love Conclave?

I love Vatican intrigue, and Conclave has it in spades.

The characters, especially the various Cardinals vying to be pope, are the strength of the book. I recommend it highly, even if, as I did, you watched the movie first. And as far as "I didn’t see the end coming" is concerned, Conclave wins that competition hands down.

Mostly because I had never read any books by this author before and was very impressed with his writing and how much I enjoyed reading it.

I didn’t expect that a novel about long meetings between a group of elderly men would absorb my interest, but it did.

Having enjoyed the 2024 film adaptation starring Ralph Fiennes I decided to read the book, which had been published back in 2016. I don’t know how Robert Harris accessed so much information about the process of electing a new Pope after the previous one has died, but the account has the ring of authenticity, except perhaps for the twist at the end which many reviewers have criticised.

Coincidentally, release of the film was soon followed by a real… show more.