The Third Secret: A Novel of Suspense by Steve Berry (MOBI)

Description

Explosive in both its pace and its revelations, The Third Secret is a remarkable international thriller. Bestselling author Steve Berry tackles some of the most controversial ideas of our time in a breakneck journey through the history of the Church and the future of religion.

Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the Church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary’s words–or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows.

Vatican City, present day: Papal secretary Father Colin Michener is concerned for the Pope. Night after restless night, Pope Clement XV enters the Vatican’s Riserva, the special archive open only to popes, where the Church’s most clandestine and controversial documents are stored. Though unsure of the details, Michener knows that the Pope’ s distress stems from the revelations of Fatima.

Equally concerned, but not out of any sense of compassion, is Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican’s Secretary of State,. Valendrea desperately covets the papacy, having narrowly lost out to Clement at the last conclave. Now the Pope’s interest in Fatima threatens to uncover a shocking ancient truth that Valendrea has kept to himself for many years.

When Pope Clement sends Michener to the Romanian highlands, then to a Bosnian holy site, in search of a priest–possibly one of the last people on Earth who knows Mary’s true message– a perilous set of events unfolds. Michener finds himself embroiled in murder, suspicion, suicide, deceit, and his forbidden passion for a beloved woman. In a desperate search for answers, he travels to Pope Clement’s birthplace in Germany, where he learns that the third secret of Fatima may dictate the very fate of the Church–a fate now lying in Michener’s own hands.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Steve Berry’s The Columbus Affair.

User’s Reviews

Review Praise for Steve BerryThe Third Secret“Controversial, shocking, explosive . . . rich in a wealth of Vatican insider knowledge and two thousand years of Virgin Mary visitations. The Third Secret will change our view of the relation between religion and wisdom.”–KATHERINE NEVILLE, author of The EightThe Romanov Prophecy“Perfect for thriller fans and history buffs alike. Fabulous plot twists.”–DAVID MORRELL, author of The Protector“Compelling . . . adventure-filled . . . a fast-moving, globe-hopping tale of long-lost treasure and shadowy bad guys.”–San Francisco ChronicleThe Amber Room“Sexy, illuminating . . . my kind of thriller.”–DAN BROWN, author of The Da Vinci Code“Magnificently engrossing, with wonderful characters and a plot that speeds, twists, and turns. Pure intrigue, pure fun.”–CLIVE CUSSLER, author of Sacred StoneFrom the Hardcover edition.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ This book is about the last Marian apparitions and the governance of the Roman Church.The catholic clergy has never taken a clear stand as far as supernatural appearances by the Virgin Marye are concerned. This uncertainty gives room to create a marvellous novel based on some historical facts enriched with the creativity, precision and skilfulness of Steve Barry.Barry is very good at creating a storyline in which the good ones (the German Pope, his Irish secretary and a African cardinal) want to help the Church restoring the truth and the bad ones (the secretary of state and other Italian cardinals) want to help the church restoring the original faith . In this struggle, knowing the secret behind Fatima is crucial and who will succeed will be in the position to forge the future of the Church.What I did like the most in this book? First, I could not put it done. The book comprises of a series of events that are quite unpredictable. This author does not annoy the reader with lengthy and tedious descriptions of places and feelings: the focus is always on the unfolding of the eventsSecond, it was able to stimulate my interest in history and specifically in the history of Church.Barry is a declared history-lover and and his passion is able to affect the reader.The thrilling plot and the historical base are probably two features of all Barry’s books, but I regard this even better than the one I read before, “The Romanov Prophecy”, which was already 5 starsAt end of the book Berry states accurately which facts are historically true and which are his own creations. This is methodologically very correct and shows great respect towards the importance of History.

⭐ This was a good read until chapter 65 when the author revealed his true reason for writing the book. It was a revealing look straight into a laundry list of left-wing political causal topics…all in a couple of pages! As that point in the book approached, my imagination was running wild with what the real third secret would be so you can imagine my dissapointment when it wasnt really all that imaginative. I feel cheated and used…waste of your time and intellectual energy.

⭐ The Third Secret by Steve Berry is the story of the Pope’s Papal Secretary. The Pope has become very concerned about the Fatima prophesies that occurred over six visits all on the thirteenth of whatever month the Virgin Mary advised the three peasant children that she would appear to them with an important message for mankind. Two of the secrets are revealed fairly quickly… but the third was not to be told to anyone other than the Church until 1960 when it was supposed to be revealed to the world. Well, that didn’t happen. It wasn’t until Pope John Paul II was shot and nearly died… that he revealed the third secret. But, to anyone who’s ever read the secret… it just doesn’t seem complete. Nor does it seem like something that would scare the crap out of anyone. And, that’s the real premise of the story!A portion of the Fatima third secret:”The Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross, there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God.”I was raised in the Catholic faith and knew of many of the prophecies. There was one more that took me totally by surprise. I’d not heard of the Medjugorje prophecies and the six seers. A quote from the story, “All five of the others know the ten secrets. It is said that when all six are told, the visions will end and a visible sign of the Virgin’s presence will be left for atheists. But the faithful must not wait for that sign before they convert. Now is the time of grace. A time for deepening faith. A time for conversion. Because, when the sign comes, it will be too late for many. Those are the Virgin’s words. A prediction for our future.”The visions occurred faithfully for over forty years. In March of 2020, the Virgin Mary revealed that she would no longer make a daily visit. But, would instead come once a year on March 18th. That the particular date of March 18th importance will be revealed soon. It doesn’t take much on this day… for anyone reading this… to understand the significance of the prophecy.The last Virgin Mary’s message given to the seers was, “Dear children, my Son as God has always looked above time. I, like his mother, see him in time. I see beautiful and sad things. But I see that there is still love and that she needs to make it known. My children, you cannot be happy if you do not love one another if you do not have love in every situation and every moment of your life.I, as a mother, come to you for love. To help you to know true love, to know my Son. That is why I urge you to thirst for love, faith, and hope again and again. The only source you can drink from is trust in God, my Son. My children, in times of turmoil and renunciation, you only seek the face of my Son. You only live His words and do not fear. Pray and love with honest feelings, good deeds, and help the world change and my heart wins. Like my Son, I tell you to love one another because, without love, there is no salvation. Thank you, my children!”As the mysteries of faith can truly never be handled adequately when given all at once… I found it personally interesting that it was revealed to me… at this time in my own life! All dosed out in bite-sized pieces! God truly does do things in his own way… and one must always be ready to hear and act as a child of blind faith! For myself… my faith is mine. I am only responsible for my own actions.This story is so much more than an interesting thriller. This is a MUST READ for anyone who wants better insight into the shadowy realm that exists just beyond our view. One that we will all understand when we leave our physical shell and move onto the next journey of our spiritual life. I have some personal research that I want to do for myself. I absolutely enjoyed reading, “The Third Secret”! It’s actually going to be up there in my list of top ten books that I’ve EVER read in my life. And definitely, one that I will re-read over the years. Steve Berry, the author… You’ve managed to blow my mind! WOW!! That’s not an easy feat! lol.

⭐ Let me start by saying I’m a huge fan of Steve Berry and his ability of weaving a work of fiction around historical facts. The books often have me doing my own research on the topics and sometimes leave me wondering, “Could this have really happened?” (The King’s Deception; The Bishop’s Pawn). I have read all of Berry’s stand-alone novels as well as the new Vitt adventure series in partnership with M.J. Rose. I have also read all the Cotton Malone series in order and have enjoyed the development of the characters and relationships of Malone, Cassiopeia Vitt, Stephanie Nell and Danny Daniels.That being said, The Third Secret was my least favorite novel. It was painfully slow to start, the story lacking engagement. I thought the plot might pick up with the murder of Father Tibor, but it didn’t happen. The numerous Marian visions were difficult to keep track of. I still don’t understand the suicide of Pope Clement XV. He took his own life because he had an unconsummated relationship with a friend he knew since his childhood and a “vision” told him he had to die by his own hand? What was the point? The ending with the diabolical Valendrea’s (Pope Peter II) suicide so he could be eternally venerated was also unclimactic. And what happened to the violent papal henchman, Ambrosi, with his multiple acts of assault and betrayals, committing murder and eventual capitulation? All is forgiven so he can walk free? He plays a pivotal part throughout the book, then disappears. It was all too farfetched and loosely connected. The only element that made me stay with the book was the relationship between Father Colin and Kate. That’s believable.If Steve Berry would have written an apostolic story weaving the scandals of the Vatican Bank, now that would have been a good book!

⭐ I began reading the book expecting some exciting twists and turns before arriving at a blockbuster ending. The twists and turns were there, though some really defied credibility.The main characters held my interest, though the villains (Valendrea and Ambrosi) were too unredeemably evil and unsubtle to be believable. As the tension mounted, what I looked forward to was learning what revelations had been hidden for so many years. And then… I found out. What a colossal disappointment! If I were a Roman Catholic, I might have been insulted by the heretical nature of the contents. As a mainstream Protestant, I was insulted by the sheer stupidity — and the author’s laziness in not coming up with something better. Such a let down! I finished the book, hoping that there still might be something worth reading. Sorry I wasted my time. Two points for okay storytelling. Three points lacking for the unbelievable popes, ridiculous plot points, and a message that Mary never would have wasted her time on.

⭐ There just aren’t words to express how I feel. This book has forced me, as a Catholic. To really think about things. And what better praise for any writing then that it made you think? I do have a couple of issues to take up with the author about my faith, but all in all he handled the story masterfully. This one will have my brain working overtime. Excellent read.

⭐ Love the factual history that Steve Berry puts in all his books. Although the plot conclusion makes an impressive reasonable resolution for a fiction story, it surprised me that it would go that direction. This author is a master of weaving a fiction story into the accurate and DETAILED facts of history. I find myself stopping and going to google to learn more about the fascinating places, items and events he is describing. Although in a couple of his books, I distinctly disagree with the fictional way he concluded his subject matter, I accept that that is his writers privilege. Even at that the pieces of his story fit so smoothly and agreeably that it makes an excellent read. Also what an exciting way to learn about so much.

⭐ Regardless, if you are a believer or not this look at where the Catholic Church stands and how its tenets are viewed will capture you. Practitioners of Catholicism and all others will benefit from this exciting thriller.

⭐ This was one of Berry’s first novels. It is an extremely well researched suspense novel similar (but better) than his more recent books. Religious dogma is questioned and related to several philosophical and moral issues. Character development is outstanding as is the introspection involving personal relationships. We won’t give away the plot except to say that rarely have we encountered a novel that we couldn’t put aside. We burned the midnight oil on this one!

⭐ As always Steve Berry brings facts to the fictional novel. Excellent work! The church should realize that it needs to recognize the factions that make it up and live to the call of God and Man.

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