The Pope's Hitman - Paperback

by J. M. Berger (Author)

John Wick meets Conclave in this fast-paced international thriller about a priest with a deadly secret who must stop a plot to kill the Pope on Christmas Eve.

Everybody loves Father Francis Loyola, the humble pastor of a Catholic church in Boston. But his world is turned upside down when a sniper attack during Sunday Mass forces him to confront his long-buried past as a covert assassin in service to the Pope.

To uncover the truth about who is behind the attack, Loyola must take on old enemies and former allies, all while evading the dogged investigation of homicide detective Martina Rocha and interference from enigmatic nun Sister Belina Fortis.

Loyola's search for answers will take him from the streets of Boston to a fortified compound in Bosnia, a medieval castle in France, and finally Rome, pursued every step of the way by an army of fanatic monks, armed American mercenaries, and Interpol investigators.

An exhilarating and cinematic novel filled with nonstop action, The Pope's Hitman will be a hit with readers of Lee Child and Dan Brown.

Author Biography

J.M. Berger is internationally known as an expert on extremism and terrorism. He is the author of three nonfiction books, including Extremism (2018), ISIS: The State of Terror with Jessica Stern (2015), and Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam (2011). He has written for The Atlantic, Politico, and The Boston Globe, among others. Berger is a senior research fellow for the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and a member of the editorial board of Terrorism and Political Violence. In addition to writing fiction, he enjoys spending time with trees and water.