As a  new pope is chosen,  the world’s attention is focused on Rome.  While waiting for the white smoke, you could pass the time reading a novel about intrigue in the Vatican.  These thrillers make good use of the secrecy and power in  the upper reaches of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

Angels & demons / Dan Brown

The confessor / Daniel Silva

Day of confession / Allan Folsom

The fallen angel / Daniel Silva

The last pope / Luís Miguel Rocha

Pope Joan/  Donna Woolfolk Cross

Red rabbit / Tom Clancy

The second messiah / Glenn Meade

The templar salvation / Raymond Khoury

And, a very amusing  Italian  film about a man who really doesn’t  want to be the pope:

We Have a Pope