by Morris West
First published 1959
Blaise Meredith arrives in the harsh landscape of Calabria carrying both a fatal illness and a sacred duty. The English priest has been sent from Rome to serve as Devil's Advocate, tasked with examining the case for sainthood of Giacomo Nerone, an enigmatic man who emerged during the final years of World War II. In this desolate region of southern Italy, local believers have built a cult of devotion around Nerone's memory. Meredith must conduct a canonical investigation, probing the claims of miracles and sanctity that surround this mysterious figure. As he interviews witnesses and sifts through testimonies, the dying investigator confronts not only the question of Nerone's holiness but his own mortality and faith. The inquiry becomes a race against time as Meredith's health deteriorates while he seeks the truth about a man some consider blessed and others view with suspicion.
Genres: christian-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, catholic
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: faith, mortality, race-against-time
Setting: Calabria, Rome
Period: World War II
319 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow & Co. (NY)
Content warnings: terminal-illness