The book, Diego Marani's first detective novel, introduces Domingo Salazar, a Dominican monk, who is a Vatican secret agent, ''God's Dog'' of the title. (Beyond the palindromic title, the name ''Dominican'', although derived from the name of the founder of the order, St Dominic, is also a pun on the Latin phrase Domini canis, which means ''Dogs of the Lord''.)
The Vatican's secret agents are dedicated to searching out non-believers and heretics.
All the while, a cell of dissidents, identified as terrorists and ruthlessly hunted down, challenge the sanctity of life by helping suffering sick people commit euthanasia. These are the Angels of Death, pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia dissidents who are undermining the Pope's authority.
Salazar is an anti-hero, gifted, instinctual and skilled at using psychology, and he pursues his task with a terrifying religious fervour. His target: Ivan Zivago, archenemy of the Vatican. All the while he promotes to unbelievers his superiors' ideology of an interfaith movement called ''Bible-Koranism'' designed to terminate doctrines that reject religion and religious considerations.
The twist in the tale is that Salazar finds himself a dog without a master. He and his closest friend, Guntur, together with Django, Guntur's Swahili-speaking chimpanzee, are in the end suspected of sabotaging the administration.
A curious read: I couldn't work out whether Marani was taking a swipe at the Catholic Church, at Islam or all religions. This book is going to offend some and amuse others.
- Ted Fox is a Dunedin online marketing consultant.
