The Fall of Cardinal Giovanni Foscolo

Cardinal G. Foscolo misplaces the Apocryphal Judas Parchments but informs the Pope they have been stolen. A ransom is demanded for their return. The Catholic Church seeks the help of the New York mafia and the big bosses front the money. A murderous trail follows as a meeting is arranged to retrieve the invaluable parchments. Everything falls apart as two men Cardinal's close circle of associated are arrested. Days later a gruesome murder is discovered and all believe it's Cardinal Foscolo- contained with the body are the Cardinal's cardinaux d'ecarlate vestments and his signet ring. In truth, Foscolo flees Europe and finds himself penniless in New York. The Cardinal can't return to Europe and is unable to reach his accomplice, Captain Carl Maximus Berlinguer, of the Swiss Guards, who saves himself by revealing to investigators the Cardinal's criminal activities. Enter Michael Lucas, the detective hired by the Patriarch to solve the Cardinal's murder and return the parchments to the Catholic Church. Will Lucas solve the case? Where is the Cardinal -- still alive or has he met a dire fate from the Mafia? Who is telling the truth and who are the people involved in this treacherous web of deception? Duke writes a Gordian-knot like plot filled with twists, turns and surprises. This one is a page turner that will have you up to the wee hours of the night reading until its dramatic conclusion.