Book Log 2015 #6: Warburg in Rome by James Carroll

The Warburg of the title is a Treasury Department lawyer who, mistaken for a member of the more aristocratic branch of the Warburg family, is tapped by the secretary of the treasury to go to Rome and head up a war refugee board whose purpose is to help Jews avoid (or get out of) concentration camps. Once there, he meets an American priest - the right hand man to Cardinal Spellman - who is looking to help his boss get a toehold among the Vatican elite.

The pair find ways to collaborate, but often find themselves at cross-purposes, especially after the war when the Vatican is doing everything it can to cover up some of the less savory aspects of its operations during the war and Warburg has become more involved with finding war criminals, enacting the occasional reprisal, and supporting Zionism. Both men are looking for the same thing - justice for Jews and atonement by those who let the Nazis implement the final solution - but have different impediments towards continued collaboration. Both are also caught up with women - Warburg with a Jewish member of the Italian Red Cross, the priest a nun who helps him get information - who add personal moral dilemmas to the more global ones.

The book is well written, but the story doesn't quite rise to the level of contemporary World War II thrillers written by authors like Alan Furst. I wonder if the book doesn't split its time too much between Warburg and the priest, rather than focusing on Warburg as a main character. So not a bad read, just not one I'd unreservedly recommend.

(Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit.)