Gandolfo is Ludlum at his least serious (it was originally published under a psuedonym). General Mac Hawkins is unceremoniously, though deservingly, booted out of the army for extremely rude behavior. With the unwilling help of his military attorney Sam Devereaux, Hawkins hatches a plot to kidnap the Pope and extract a ransom from the Catholic church. Mac has the help of his four ex-wives, who have a knack for showing up in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.

This book was enjoyable, and it had its humorous moments. The best characters are Pope Francesco and his cousin Giovanni Bombalini, and the sub-plot involving Francesco's desire to humanize the church adds a nice touch to the book.

Aside from that, the book was clearly written in a different era. The portrayal of Hawkins' wives as stereotypical supervixens probably wouldn't work today.

I wouldn't say this book is a must-read, but if you want to see a different side of Ludlum, it's worth checking out.

One more note, mostly for myself: I think I read this book once before, but it wasn't marked as read on GoodReads, so I read it again.