Local author to appear Oct. 22 at Bay library

When I asked George McNulty the impetus for his novel, "The Trieste Intrigue," he responded, "While I was researching background for a story based upon a sailing venture I took with my wife Peggy in 1981, I discovered a significant contradiction of facts regarding the assassination attempt on John Paul II."

He went on to explain that a public statement released by the Italian court at the time stated that Mehmet Ali Agca was considered an "isolated terrorist" who, after gravely wounding Pope John Paul II, was sentenced to life in prison. However subsequent research revealed a privately issued court statement months later that posited "Agca was merely a pawn … an emerging point of a deep conspiracy orchestrated by secret forces." 

The fact that there may have been more to the assassination attempt than was publicly stated intrigued George to the point that he changed his mind and decided to write a book. Recently published, it features international businessman Colin McHugh who, on assignment from President Reagan, travels to Rome to warn the Commandant of the Swiss Guard of a Russian plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II.

When he discovers the identity of the leader of the Bulgarian cadre sent to Rome to carry out the plot, McHugh himself becomes a target. As he evades several attempts on his life, the reader is taken from Zurich to England and finally on that ominous day, May 13, 1981, to the center of St. Peter's Square in Rome. 

McNulty, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate with an MBA from the University of Chicago, has traveled to more the 60 countries and is now a retired international business executive. He has previously written business and technical publications but "The Trieste Intrigue" is his first novel. He and his wife, Peggy, live in Bay Village.

On Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. the Bay Village Branch Library, 502 Cahoon Road, will host a presentation with a book sale and signing to follow. Registration is requested either online at www.cuyahogalibrary.org or by calling 440-871-6392.