The Ministry of Shadows: A Novel

In the haunted aftermath of World War II, Jack Mercer—an ex-OSS operative rebuilt under a false identity—uncovers fragments of a ledger that tie Vatican financiers, Cold War intelligence services, and Ustaše war criminals to a hidden network born in the ashes of Jasenovac. His hunt for the truth drags him from the Dolomites to the fog-soaked alleys of Venice, across Adriatic monasteries, and deep beneath the Vatican itself, where a rogue cardinal and a dying intelligence service wage a secret war for the soul of postwar Europe. Blending real scandals—from the Sindona–Calvi banking intrigues to CIA infiltration, Opus Dei influence, and the hidden crimes of Jasenovac—this historical thriller follows Mercer as he races to expose a conspiracy powerful enough to rewrite history, even if doing so costs him everyone he loves.