UPON THIS ROCK

Perry’s mystery incorporates ecclesiastical intrigue, queer love, and centuries-spanning secrets.

Newly arrived from San Francisco, couple Lee Maury and Adriano Llata de Miranda settle into the Italian hill town of Orvieto for a sabbatical meant to provide healing after the death of their friend Brian. But their quiet retreat is soon interrupted by a mysterious suicide of a deacon, cryptic clergy, and Vatican secrets buried for centuries. “Who knows what we’ll find here,” Lee muses early on in an ominous foreshadowing of the dark revelations to come. Perry deftly intertwines timelines (alternating between present-day Orvieto and the post–Sack of Rome papacy of Clement VII), offering readers a blend of rich history and contemporary suspense. The author’s reverence for the setting is clear: “Orvieto didn’t so much dominate the surrounding countryside as preside over it with a stone-hewn patience girded by over three millennia of human habitation.” The narrative drips with atmosphere, from the chill of “late-autumn, prewinter breeze” to the candlelit corners of ancient churches. Lee and Adriano’s relationship is portrayed with warmth and familiarity, offering levity and intimacy amid the mystery. Their banter (“I’m not a closeted anything, as you well know,” Lee quips) brings relatable humanity to a plot otherwise dense with papal history, ecclesiastical politics, and esoteric symbols. (The author allows their queerness to be present without sensationalism; their love is simply a fact, not a device.) One of Perry’s greatest strengths is his characters: From the gregarious expat food writer Peg (“White wine, si?” she demands, already ordering for the table) to the coldly formidable cafe matron La Donna Volsini, each is rendered with theatrical flair and narrative purpose. While the plot occasionally slows under the historical exposition, the mystery remains taut, with surprising emotional resonance: “Brian,” Lee whispers to his husband as they place his late mentor’s ashes in a bookcase in one of several quiet, aching moments that elevate this novel beyond a mere Vatican thriller.

A richly atmospheric, genre-blending mystery that balances historical depth with modern intrigue.