The Besieged

Fact and fiction masterfully intertwine again in this fifth book of David Dupuis’ thrilling contemporary series. In the spring of 2005, the medieval prophecies of Hildegard of Bingen continue to be shaken as “God’s Rottweiler” is elected pope. Will Pope Benedict XVI stay true to his negative ways and exacerbate the financial ruin of a church besieged by worldwide clerical abuse cases and dwindling numbers of faithful?

In Jerusalem, the “Forgery Trial of the Century” threatens the authenticity of a two-thousand-year-old sacred burial box known as “The James Ossuary,” belonging to the brother of Jesus. As the Antichrist gains political and economic power, he gleefully watches humanity’s inaction to the ravages of climate change, while two bishops continue to stand in his way.

Storylines abound as Peter Mercier and Greenie Leering try to advance the causes of two saints and save the pope from evil forces tearing the Vatican apart. Can they save a drug addicted rock star, a brutally raped nun and journalist, a phony televangelist and a sinister archbishop?