Luckily, lawyer Ettore Mezzalama has the heart of an athlete. He needs it to survive the end of his marriage and the antics of a rebellious son who’s nothing short of a nightmare. That alone would be enough to shatter the normalcy of a respectable bourgeois life. But throw in the late discovery of his own homosexuality and a secret affair with Ferdinando, a charming musician and his next-door neighbor, and suddenly, having a strong physique becomes essential. To top it all off, there’s also a business partner who has no patience for authority. Lawyer Emilia Artemisi has a Modigliani-like face and nerves of steel—qualities she needs to stand her ground in her unique mix of Catholicism and feminism, all while navigating her status as a “nun on leave.” As if that weren’t enough, she also has an ex-boyfriend who still has feelings for her and a partner who’s a walking encyclopedia of obsessive-compulsive disorders. Ettore and Emilia are, in fact, business partners—and they work for the Vatican. Their contact across the Tiber is Monsignor Calvados, secretary of the Dicastery for the Economy. He assigns them the task of uncovering the mysteries surrounding a monastery near Pescara. The elderly nuns of Santa Giustina have gotten themselves into some serious trouble. And when asked to explain the millions flowing through their accounts for years, they suddenly become tight-lipped. To make matters worse, not long before, an elderly nun, Sister Anna, died within the monastery walls—but her death doesn’t seem entirely natural. Thus begins a whirlwind investigation that quickly entangles high-ranking clergy, organized crime figures, priests with a gambling addiction, and far-right extremists. The authors hiding behind the pseudonym Sommo Marsico have deep knowledge of ecclesiastical affairs and bring to life a duo of investigators who measure faith against the doubts and weaknesses that trouble the human heart. But they do more than craft a hilarious mystery comedy packed with twists and turns—they gracefully and playfully reveal how even a millennia-old institution like the Catholic Church is, in the end, just another chapter in the grand comedy of human nature.

With Santi in Paradiso, the mystery comedy delves into the depths of the Vatican.

Sommo Marsico is the insider who takes us where no one has dared to go before, alongside two unforgettable protagonists: the rebellious Sister Emilia and the papal commissioner Ettore Mezzalama.