A review by wellwortharead
The Pope's Butcher by Joseph C. Gioconda

4.0

Sebastian can barely remember his mother, though he remembers being sent away as a child. Raised by the church he feels duty bound to become a priest, and he reluctantly takes on a mission to search out and retrieve occult books to bring back to the Inquisitor and to learn how deep the "problem" of witchcraft runs. The Inquisitor wants to know what the witches believe and how they worship the devil. Sebastian is to collect and record this data which he is told will be helpful to the Pope.
In his travels he will discover what really happened to his parents and that there is more evil in the alleged men of god than in a witches coven.
With a mix of fact and fiction this historical thriller takes a brutal look at centuries past when thousands of people were tortured and killed for imaginary crimes.
3.5 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.