You must have read the "Da Vinci Code" and know all about the famous "Mona Lisa" painting and its enigmatic painter 'Lenardo Da Vinci'. Leonardo has been portrayed as a very intellectual and eccentric painter who had great passion for many things besides his paintings. He has enamored the authors so much that there have scores of mysteries behind him and his paintings and the novels are one of the consequences.
The Secret Supper is yet another novel which tries to unravel the mysterious Leonardo. The novel is set in the period of 1400's when the 'The Last Supper' was being painted by him in Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The political state of the time was very volatile especially in Italy and the Church was at its peak of domination. There is a suspicion that Leonardo's 'The Last Supper' was not as innocent as it looked and there is a mysterious character who goes by the name of 'Soothsayer' who delivers pertinent information in support of the suspicions against Leonardo. So, a priest is sent to the monastery in form of a spy to find out who the 'Soothsayer' is and are the suspicions true and to unravel the mystery hidden in the painting. So comes the story through the priest, Father Agostino, who tells the entire story while he is dying in Egypt.
An intriguing book but doesn't quite hook you like Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. But, the comparison is not correct because the premises of both the books are different. Even then, the book remains lacking because of the insufficient knowledge it provides on the political situation of Italy or about the contradictions in Christianity. One needs a lot of background knowledge to understand the whole theory involved in the novel clearly otherwise there remain many loopholes to fill for the reader. But, it does provide a nice read if one is interested in mysteries.
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