Quick Take
- Narration: Simon Jones reads with measured British authority that suits the period setting, though his delivery occasionally distances the thriller elements that the plot needs to feel propulsive.
- Themes: Religious heresy and hidden symbols, the politics of art patronage, faith versus institutional power
- Mood: Atmospheric and deliberate, with long stretches of historical exposition between its moments of intrigue
- Verdict: A worthwhile listen for readers who want more genuine period atmosphere than Dan Brown typically provides, though patience with a slow burn is required.
I picked this one up on a Thursday evening knowing roughly what I was getting into: the kind of historical thriller that uses Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting as an excuse to spend nine hours in late fifteenth-century Milan. I have a soft spot for this genre when it is done well, and The Secret Supper is done with more care and historical seriousness than most of its competitors. But care and historical seriousness are not the same thing as momentum, and the audiobook requires you to make your peace with that distinction fairly early.
Javier Sierra’s novel, originally published in Spanish and a bestseller in Europe before its English translation, takes as its premise the idea that Leonardo embedded a blasphemous theological message in The Last Supper, one that Pope Alexander VI dispatches an inquisitor named Agostino Leyre to decode. The setup is efficient: Milan in 1497, Leonardo at work, a pope who has realized that the painting contains heresies that could shake the church, and a list of specific visual anomalies, no Holy Grail, no Eucharistic Bread, no halos, apostles who are portraits of known heretics, Leonardo himself turned away from Christ. The audiobook promises that the clues are visible in the painting itself, which is technically true.
The Inquisitor as Point of View
Agostino Leyre is a reasonable choice for a protagonist in this kind of story. An inquisitor investigating suspected heresy in a court environment has institutional access and personal motivation that make him a plausible detective figure. Sierra uses this setup to move Leyre through the corridors of Ludovico Sforza’s court, into conversations with Leonardo, and into the underground world of a heretical sect called the Johannites who Sierra proposes as the key to the painting’s coded message.
Simon Jones narrates Leyre’s investigation with the grave precision appropriate to the character. His British accent and controlled delivery fit the period atmosphere Sierra creates, which is notably more historically textured than most Da Vinci-code-adjacent thrillers. Where Jones is less effective is in the moments when the thriller machinery needs to accelerate. One reviewer noted that the story grinds to a halt several times for monologues about symbolism and history, and Jones’s measured approach to those passages makes them feel even longer than they are on the page. A narrator with a slightly lighter touch during the expository sections might have helped the book breathe more freely.
The Art History Underneath the Thriller
What distinguishes The Secret Supper from its most obvious predecessor in the genre is the specificity of Sierra’s engagement with the painting itself and with the historical context surrounding its creation. The detail about Leonardo’s known unorthodox religious views, about the specific heresies attributed to the Cathar and Johannite movements, and about the political dynamics of the Sforza court is considerably more rigorous than the genre usually requires. Sierra appears to have done genuine historical research, and the audiobook rewards listeners who are already interested in this period or in the iconography of the painting.
The blasphemous argument at the center of the novel, involving a reading of The Last Supper as a coded attack on the Eucharist and a celebration of a tradition that saw John the Apostle as the true heir of Christ rather than Peter, is handled with more intellectual seriousness than the thriller packaging suggests. One reviewer, despite overall disappointment with the book’s pacing, acknowledged that it is meant to feel more academic than its genre companions, and in audio format that quality becomes more apparent. This is a book that trusts its listener to be interested in the ideas as well as the plot.
Where the Pacing Loses the Thread
The structural problem that several reviewers identified is real and worth addressing directly. Sierra’s novel includes extended passages of theological exposition, delivered through dialogue and internal monologue, that slow the thriller narrative to something closer to a walking pace. These passages are not uninteresting in themselves, but they arrive with a regularity that eventually works against the sense of danger and urgency that the premise requires. The inquisitor investigating heresy in Renaissance Milan should feel like a man moving through genuinely treacherous territory. There are stretches where he feels like a man attending a very well-informed lecture series instead.
The third act partially recovers. The resolution of the painting’s symbolism, and the fate of the characters who have been built up across nine hours, arrives with reasonable force. But a reviewer who described the book as a slow-moving literary whodunit in a more mature style than comparable genre thrillers is essentially accurate, and whether that description sounds appealing or frustrating will tell you whether this is your audiobook.
Listen if you have a genuine interest in Leonardo’s painting as an object of historical mystery, or you want a thriller that takes its historical and theological context more seriously than most. Also for listeners who enjoy period atmosphere over plot velocity. Skip if you want a propulsive thriller with momentum sustained across its full runtime. The Secret Supper has the premise and the atmosphere but not the narrative engine to carry both for nine hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Secret Supper comparable to The Da Vinci Code, and how do the two audiobooks differ?
The premise is related, both books use Leonardo’s art as a vehicle for a theological conspiracy thriller, but Sierra’s novel is considerably more historically and theologically detailed, and considerably slower in its narrative pace. Brown prioritizes momentum; Sierra prioritizes atmosphere and intellectual weight. If you found The Da Vinci Code too breezy, Sierra’s approach may suit you better. If you found it absorbing, The Secret Supper may feel like a test of patience.
Does the audiobook actually explain the specific visual anomalies in The Last Supper?
Yes, in considerable detail. Sierra’s plot is built around a list of specific visual elements in Leonardo’s painting: the missing Holy Grail, the absence of Eucharistic Bread, the lack of halos, the apostles who are portraits of known heretics, and Leonardo’s self-portrait with his back to Christ. The novel proposes an interpretation of each of these that ties into the Johannite heresy thesis. Whether you find the argument convincing as historical speculation is a separate question, but it is fully articulated.
How much does Simon Jones’s narration contribute to the period atmosphere?
His controlled, authoritative delivery works well for the historical setting and for the first-person inquisitor narrative. The audiobook feels appropriately serious and period-appropriate with his voice. The trade-off is that his measured pace makes the expository sections feel longer than they might with a narrator who shifts register more readily between action and description.
Is there genuine historical basis for the heretical interpretation of The Last Supper that the novel proposes?
Sierra draws on real historical debates about Leonardo’s religious views and real heresies of the period, including discussions of Catharism and the tradition of Johannite Christianity. The specific interpretation of the painting is Sierra’s fictional construction, but it is built on documented historical and theological elements rather than pure invention. For listeners interested in how much is real versus invented, secondary reading on Leonardo’s religious context is worthwhile.
