Preface

While this is the third in the Skeleton series, these novels may be read in any order since the plotlines are totally different. Most characters in these pages are fictitious, but in the interest of realism, some authentic personalities do appear. So that they might not be thought to endorse everything in this novel, I have not sought permission to use their names. All are famous enough to be in the public domain and will, I trust, find their portrayal in these pages both appropriate and congenial. The reader, however, should know that the dialogue I supply for them is mine and not theirs.

When A Skeleton in God’s Closet was published in 1994 during the pontificate of John Paul II, I had designated his fictional successor as Benedict XVI, who appears also in More Than a Skeleton and in this novel as well. But in April 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger chose this very name for his pontificate—coincidence, rather than any prophecy on my part! The reader is therefore urged to distinguish between the two Benedicts, one fictional, the other authentic.

Special appreciation is due Marion S. Ellis, Maria Perez-Stable, Brian C. Bradford, Dr. Stan Gundry, Wayne Little, MD, Fr. Evangelos S. Pepps, and especially Dr. Timothy R. Furnish for their gracious technical assistance.

Paul L. Maier

Western Michigan University

May 2011