Did I read the same book as everyone else?
The pope dies and the cardinals have to choose a new one; there's some political intrigue involved, naturally. I've taken this book off my "thriller" shelf because I don't really find that it fits that category. Parts of it were somewhat interesting but others were dull or predictable. I think I have more sympathy with the Church when it's not in a modern day setting. Here its patriarchal attitudes seem almost anachronistic, and I wasn't surprised by the ending. Also, for people who are supposed to sequestered and cut off from the outside world...the cardinals weren't, really.