Excerpt from Conclave by Robert Harris, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Once, in his youth, Lomeli had enjoyed a modest fame for the richness of his baritone. But it had become thin with age, like a fine wine left too long. He clasped his hands, closed his eyes for a moment, took a breath, and intoned in a wavering plainsong, amplified around the basilica:

"In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti . . ."
And from the colossal congregation arose the murmured sung response:
"Amen."
He raised his hands in benediction and chanted again, extending the three syllables into half a dozen:
"Pa-a-x vob-i-is."
And they responded:
"Et cum spiritu tuo."
He had begun.

Excerpted from Conclave by Robert Harris. Copyright © 2016 by Robert Harris. Excerpted by permission of Knopf. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.