God's Spy

God's Spy is one installment in the "Commandments of God" trilogy by the Spanish journalist and writer Juan Gómez-Jurado, originally titled Espía de Dios. The Chinese edition was translated by Feng Yu and published by China Pictorial Publishing House in 2014. The story opens in the Vatican: the Pope has just died, a new papal election is imminent, and several cardinals are murdered in quick succession. The killer's methods are savage, the corpses bear marks of torture, and the crimes directly challenge the tolerance of believers worldwide. To find the serial killer as quickly as possible, vice-inspector Dante of the Vatican police, the Italian detective and psychologist Paola, and the priest Anthony Fowler form an investigative team. Fowler is both a priest and a former FBI agent, and he knows more about the secrets behind the case than the others. As the investigation proceeds, Paola's partner is killed and new murders continue; Dante grows suspicious of Fowler's background and even calls him a fraud to his face, while Fowler's time as a military chaplain and his complicated relationship with his parents gradually become entangled with the killer's psychological profile. Just as Paola is about to catch the killer, she discovers a deeper background behind him, is ordered by her superiors to withdraw from the investigation, and the papal election enters its crucial stage. The book blends criminal investigation, criminal psychology and religious symbol decoding, unfolding a contest of faith, power and human nature within the special closed world of the Vatican.