Penance before redemption
When you know the ultimate answer, did the pope survive an assassination attempt, before you begin, the writer needs to keep our attention. "The Day of the Jackal" accomplished this many years ago. This book isn't even close. Do we really need the personal political philosophies of every major character? Or the benefits of single faucet sinks? The last 100 pages is rewarding but not worth the effort of the first 500.