Conclave: The bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club thriller

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As Dean of the College of Cardinals, Lomeli must organise the election of the next pope, which is only a few weeks hence. Just like our political system, where each side represents different positions, there are factions with varying opinions on the future of the church.

Despite all the precautions, there are always those who will go to great lengths to circumvent any system. It was quite gripping, although you knew that the front runners were almost certainly not going to come through and that there would be twists and turns and surprises. No matter how hard Harris tried, it was difficult for him to inject any real drama into the election of a new Pope that is described in this novel entitled “Conclave”. As a fan of Robert Harris, I was looking forward to reading this but was unfortunately disappointing.Clear parallels can be drawn between themes explored in Conclave and those in Harris’ Cicero trilogy – the obvious difference here being the contemporary Vatican setting and the bestowing of religious / quasi-political power – contrasting with the ancient Roman Senate and the goal of political / military / absolute power.

But eventually it came free and he carried it on his outstretched palm to Tremblay, who took a pair of shears from the silver box – the sort of tool one might use to dead-head roses, thought Lomeli – and inserted the seal of the ring between the blades. the general themes concerning political machinations and the struggle for power will be familiar to Robert Harris readers.He had never forgotten filing past Pope Paul VI’s body in St Peter’s in 1978: in the August heat, the face had turned greyish-green, the jaw had sagged, and there was a definite whiff of corruption. I had only read the first 20 pages the day before, but I could not put this book down once I picked it up again. Whilst the subject matter – Conclave (an assembly of cardinals for the election of a pope) is something I knew very little about (other than the iconic chimneys emitting either black or white smoke! The reader is given an in-depth tour and detailed account of traditions and rituals that take place.

No one is supposed to want the job, but once you have it, it’s yours for life – unless you’re German, of course, in which case you can cut and run when the scandals get too much. The Pope “had stayed [there] as a cardinal before the Conclave that elected him and had never moved out: one look at the luxurious apartment to which he was entitled .

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the procedure, the layout of the Vatican and its surroundings, and it helped that the POV character – Cardinal Lomelli - was very sympathetic. Cardinal electors, emotions run high as support is given to individuals and taken away as secrets are discovered.

This wasn’t all that strange considering that even though it’s probably a mile walk, the woods behind my house backed up to the Catholic Church property.As is generally the case in life, most displayed, despite their priestly offices and high status, a variety of levels of ambition, greed, corruption and in some cases a genuine goodness and sense of vocation. In this case, it's the election of a new pope; the sympathetic Cardinal Lomeli is our protagonist, observing the the power play as potential candidates come to the fore, have their hopes dashed, and/or are scuppered by scandal. I particularly enjoyed the details about the counting procedures, the braziers, and how the smoke was created! The action moves at a breakneck pace and, with each passing ballot, the reader is keen to discover who’s up and who’s down. There are a few Father Ted moments, such as when the cardinals make their way to their accommodation for the conclave, dressed in their full regalia, pulling their wheelie suitcases behind them.