City of Secrets: The Startling Truth Behind the Vatican Murders

Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.: William Morrow & Co, 2003. First Edition First Printing Stated . Hard Back. Near Fine/Near Fine. 6 1/4" X 9 1/2. 307 Pages. Tan boards with dark brown quarter-sipine and red metallic spine lettering. No defects noted to book or dust jacket which has a $25.95 unclipped price. Interior is faultless. In 1998, in Vatican territory, the bodies of the commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife, and a young lance corporal were found in the barracks of the force historically entrusted with protecting the pope. It was the worst bloodbath to take place in more than a century in the heart of the supreme authority of the Roman Catholic church. Four hours later, the Vatican announced that 23 year-old lance corporal Cedric Tomay, had shot the couple, then committed suicide in a fit of madness brought on by frustration with the unit's discipline -- a conclusion it reaffirmed after a nine-month internal inquiry. But as John Follain's hard-hitting expose shows, the official report was a travesty of suppositions, contradictions, and omissions.This is the story of a still-unsolved crime committed on holy territory, and of a systematic attempt to hide the fatal failing of a security force charged with protecting one of the world's most influential leaders.