The Secret Supper


The Secret Supper is a thriller novel written by Javier Sierra. The original Spanish title is La Cena Secreta, winner of the 2004 Premio de Novela Ciudad de Torrevieja literary award, one of the richest literary prizes in the world. The English translation by Alberto Manguel was published in 2006.

Plot summary

It is set while Leonardo da Vinci is painting The Last Supper. The story is told in Agostino Leyre's words, as mysterious letters come in to Rome. He is a chief inquisitor, and so he decides to investigate who had sent these mysterious letters, hinting at heresy. He goes to Santa Maria delle Grazie, where he meets various monks, priests and nuns. But while he is there, various suspicious deaths and rumours takes him into a search for truth- the meaning of The Last Supper. Intrigued, he finds yet another mystery - a blue leather-bound book, portrayed in tarot cards left by the killer of several pilgrims, known as 'The Soothsayer'.

Main characters