An assured and exciting conclusion to a trilogy of Dan Brown–style Christian thrillers.
The conclusion to a series of novels about Christian prophecies and the end of the world.
This final volume of the author’s Last Eulogy series takes place in the year 2054, which is the 50th anniversary of the death of Christian prophet Paolo DeLaurentis, whose visions of dire future events have guided the characters in previous installments. Paolo’s story began in the 1960s, when, as a young boy, he discovers that he has the prophetic powers that will lead him to world prominence. After Paolo dies, his son Giacomo, now Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, inherits his father’s journals…and his father’s prophetic gifts. He also inherits the deplorable state of the world: The weather is out of control, international relationships are deteriorating everywhere, unemployment is rampant, and social unease is boiling under the surface of the United States. In addition, a shadowy cabal is plotting to control the world and is steadily moving closer to its goals. Facing off against these evils and catastrophes (while grieving his wife and unborn sons, killed by a sniper), Giacomo must draw on the support of his friends and family and find new allies along the way while also facing a new enemy, in the person of Father Alphonso Adinolfi. Giacomo considers the priest responsible for what happened to his wife and grimly promises he’ll pay (“[T]he sheriff is coming to town, you bastard”).
At this point in his series, the author has finely honed his combination of Tom Clancy–style international thriller and Tim LaHaye–style Christian adventure story. The chapters are short and punchy; the dialogue is sharp and, somewhat surprisingly for Christian fiction, at times grippingly coarse (“‘How am I? Shitty. I apologize, forgive me.’ Pope Andrew waved a pamphlet he held in his hand. ‘I’ve heard worse’”). The settings switch cinematically all over the world. Above all, the characters are both well drawn and appealingly dramatic, including Paolo’s twin grandsons Paolo and Arnaud, the beleaguered Pope Andrew, and the fiendish EU President Eten Trivette. As in the previous books, the evil characters in this third installment are mustache-twirlingly evil, particularly Father Adinolfi, who’s fond of grandstanding lines like “We’re accountable and must ensure that the leaders of the nations align with the one global rule. It’s dictated by God himself.” But what the book lacks in nuance it more than makes up for with taut plotting and convincing SF concepts, such as gene-editing. DiVerniero once again engagingly captures institutional infighting and backstage dealing, whether in the Vatican or the Oval Office. The book suffers a common fate of later installments in tightly constructed, overarching narratives, in that it could not possibly be enjoyed by somebody who hasn’t read the first two—DiVerniero (rightly) sacrifices exposition for narrative speed. But for loyal readers of the series, this final volume ties up a great many plotlines and offers a rousing climax to the whole long story of Paolo’s prophecies.
An assured and exciting conclusion to a trilogy of Dan Brown–style Christian thrillers.Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781662934858
Page Count: 406
Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
This mystery’s promising premise bogs down in an overloaded cast.
When one woman takes on another’s identity to uncover a crime, they both become suspects in a murder.
Aubrey Price and Camille Bayliss come from different worlds, only crossing paths because of the discovery that Camille’s husband, powerful lawyer Ben Bayliss, is hiding something terrible that affects them both. As the novel opens, Aubrey is driving Camille’s Range Rover, then teetering into a bar on Camille’s high heels, with Camille’s dress and credit cards and a wig that mimics Camille’s hair, pretending to be her because Ben tracks his wife’s every move and expenditure, and Camille wants to create a smokescreen while she sneaks into his office in search of evidence of that unnamed secret. But the scheme goes awry, and the women become each other’s alibis after Camille finds Ben murdered in their home. The first part of the book builds suspense and misdirection well, with Aubrey and Ben’s straight-arrow partner, Hank Landry, serving as first-person observers in some chapters while others track Camille. She’s a wealthy and privileged woman but not a happy one, stuck under the thumbs of her husband and her tyrannical father, Randall Everett, who pretty much runs their small Louisiana town. Aubrey was orphaned as a teen when her parents died in a car crash and has proudly fended for herself ever since, coming to depend on her four roommates, who have become friends. But as the cast of characters grows, it seems as if almost everyone in town has a motive for killing Ben, and the piling up of suspects and movements among different timelines can sometimes be confusing. And it all comes to a frustrating end when, after a whole school of red herrings, the solution to Ben’s murder arrives out of far left field.
This mystery’s promising premise bogs down in an overloaded cast.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9780593834459
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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