The Devil Will Come by Glenn Cooper

In The Devil Will Come, Elisabetta Celestino a young archaeologist, has discovered some astrological symbols in an underground chamber in Rome's catacombs. She thinks that it's evidence of a pre-Christian sect. However, the Vatican is refusing to support any further study. Ten years later, a cave-in occurs in those same catacombs and an amazing discovery is made. Elisabetta, who is now a nun, is called upon to help with the find and uncover its secrets before an apocalyptic event destroys the world.

I loved this book! This story was so amazing. I can't figure out how Cooper comes up with this stuff. I found the overall storyline and conspiracy theory extremely fascinating. However, there were a few times that I wanted the author to focus less on the history and just get on with the mystery. Because of this, this book was probably my least favourite of his so far.

Like this other books, Cooper jumps amongst many storylines within different time periods. In this book, he takes the reader to ancient Rome, 16th century England, as well as present day Rome. This is a perfect format for a story like this. All of the jumping around really added to the suspense of the story.

I find books surrounding the Vatican and its activities particularly interesting. Because their history goes back centuries and they are so secretive about so many things, it's hard not to be curious. Even if Cooper's theories are improbable, they sure are fun to read. I especially liked the brief explanation about Irish Saint Malachy and his prophecies regarding the Catholic church and the popes.

I love it when authors allow their characters to interact with real people. In this book, Cooper writes about Nero, the Roman Emperor, and Christopher Marlowe, the author of Doctor Faustus, among others. Even when I don't know that much about the real life people, as is the case here, the fact that they are featured in this book makes me want to know more about them.

I'm not sure why, but I found the Lemures' physiology was a little off putting. I'm not usually that squeamish, but a few of the descriptions left me squirming a little. I don't want to get into any details that might spoil the book from someone else, so I'll leave it at that.

New word: anorectic (page 361): loss of appetite

I've read a number of other books by Glenn Cooper. Here my reviews for those: Library of the Dead, Book of Souls, and The Tenth Chamber. The first two books from the Library of the Dead trilogy are my favourites, but I also really enjoyed the last on in the list. He is definitely one of my favourite authors.

Highly recommended. I'm hoping to read many more books by this author. I'm especially looking forward to the third book in the Library of the Dead trilogy called The Librarians.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the HarperCollins Canada website.

For more information about the author and his other books, please visit Glenn Cooper's website.

The Devil Will Come by Glenn Cooper, HarperCollins, ©2011. ISBN 9781554688074(Trade paperback), 440p.