The Delight of Being Ordinary

The Delight of Being Ordinary: A Road Trip with the Pope and Dalai Lama by Roland Merullo  367 pp.

When the Dalai Lama makes an official visit to the Vatican, Pope Francis comes up with the idea of a secret, unsanctioned road trip around Italy, the vacation that he is not allowed. He saddles his personal assistant and cousin Paolo with making the arrangements in less than 24 hours. Paolo helps the two holy men escape from the Vatican without their bodyguards. Rosa arranges for them to get them professional, movie quality disguises and borrows a friend's Maserati SUV for the journey. There is no real itinerary for the trip other than some vague and similar dreams the Pope and Dalai Lama have been having. They dodge the authorities and media who believe Paolo has kidnapped the holy men against their will and there is a reward on their heads. Paolo is increasingly neurotic and upset about some of the situations they find themselves in and neither the holy men nor his wife can calm his worries. The Pope and Dalai Lama are having a great time on their illicit vacation. The end of the journey is handled in a satisfactory way although I still wish I could to shake some sense into Paolo for some of his idiotic attitudes. 

The Fallen Angel

The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva   405 pp.

The bad thing about finding a series that you really like is waiting for the next book to come out. I waited impatiently for the arrival of this latest book in the Gabriel Allon series and, as soon as it arrived I devoured it. Now I am once again in a state of waiting for publication of the next book. The fallen angel of the title refers to a member of the Vatican staff who falls to her death from the gallery of the Basilica. The supposedly retired Mossad assassin, Allon, has returned to art restoration and is working for the Vatican when the death occurs. Charged with finding the killer by the Pope's secretary, Msgr. Donati, Allon abandons the Caravaggio painting he is restoring and sets out to discover the truth. But this is no simple murder. Once again Allon is pulled into the work of "The Office" and reassembles his old team who seem like old friends to the fans of the series. The story goes from a murder mystery to one of money laundering, terrorism, and a plot that could destroy Israel and kill thousands of people. Once again, Silva has written a finely crafted thriller with enough twists to keep the reader riveted. Please hurry and finish the next book, Mr. Silva.