THE VICARIOUS

The Vicarious: One Murder. One Priest. One Forbidden Truth follows Father Anthony DeLuca, a Brooklyn parish priest with the instincts of a detective and the soul of a theologian. Once destined for the NYPD, Anthony answered a sudden, mysterious call to the priesthood - but the investigative mind never left him. When the Vatican quietly summons him to Rome, he believes he is being asked to preserve history. Instead, history begins hunting him.

The prologue sets the tone: Anthony walks alone through Vatican City after solving a case the world believes is closed. But a chilling phone call warns him that the next truth he pursues "will be written in blood." As you write, "Truth does not die in darkness - it waits for the one who dares to follow it."

Soon after arriving in Rome, Anthony is drawn into the death of Bishop Matteo Bellori in Venice - a death ruled natural, but surrounded by impossible details. The bishop was found kneeling as if in prayer, a Vatican manuscript beside him, and one page surgically removed. Monsignor Ricci notices the bishop's rosary in the wrong hand, and the manuscript bearing the seal of the Archivum Apostolicum Vaticanum - a document that should never have left Rome.

Cardinal Alessandro Vittori reveals the Vatican's fear: a hidden fraternity, a centuries‑old secret society operating inside the Church. An envelope found among the bishop's belongings bears an ancient symbol - a cross inside a circle - and was blank until Anthony's name mysteriously appeared on it.

Sent unofficially to investigate, Anthony travels to Venice, where he meets Captain Giovanna Matteotti of the Carabinieri. Their partnership is immediate, intuitive - and dangerous. Together they discover evidence tampered with after the bishop's death, a missing object removed from the chapel wall, and a pattern of clues pointing to a conspiracy older than any of them.

But Anthony faces a second battle: the turmoil within his own heart. His growing connection with Giovanna forces him into a crisis of vocation, culminating in a raw confession: "I fear I have begun to love someone."

As the investigation deepens, Anthony realizes he is not simply uncovering a murder - he is stepping into a war between truth and power, fought in shadows beneath Rome, Venice, and the Vatican itself. Some conspiracies die. The oldest ones simply wait.
A murdered bishop. A missing manuscript. A priest with a detective's mind. When Father Anthony DeLuca is summoned to Rome, he uncovers a secret society hidden within the Church - and a conspiracy willing to kill to stay buried. Joined by a brilliant Italian investigator, Anthony must confront forbidden truths, ancient symbols, and a crisis of faith that threatens everything he is. The Vicarious is a gripping Vatican thriller where every revelation comes with a price... and every truth demands a sacrifice.