I just read it in anticipation of the release of the film next spring, and frankly, it is a very good suspense, not necessarily more likely than the other, but very well done. I had read the first time when the election of the present Pope, and I guess it was the perfect time, because the action takes place right in the conclave, whereas ancient brotherhood of scientists, the Illuminati , has set in motion a relentless revenge ... nothing less than the destruction of the Catholic Church.
All the ingredients are there ... the historical facts, a race against the clock in Rome, second disturbing roles to strong characters, ritual murders staged with elegance and bravado, fights, sex and God ... .
To be fair to Dan Brown's will to produce documented serious books, and this one, at least, until the end left me in the dark as to the motivations and past of each other. The epilogue is a real outcome in the first sense, like an Agatha Christie or Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes in his period.
