Sign in

J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN

@jmberger.com
26K followers 667 following 10K posts

Extremism expert by day, novelist by night, apparently THE POPE'S HITMAN (10/27/2026) EXTREMISM (MIT Press, 2018) Affiliate links support my work: ► tinyurl.com/barnesandnobletph ► bookshop.org/shop/jmberger ► amzn.to/4qJhTE7

PostsRepliesMedia
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 4h
The Pope's Hitman Advent Calendar Day 4! Counting down to pub day on 10/27/26, today's visual reference comes from Medjugorje, a Bosnian town where six kids claimed to have visions of the Virgin Mary during the 1980s. What does that have to do with a hitman? You gotta read it to find out! #booksky
 Statue of Virgin Mary in Medjugorje - Bosnia Herzegovina, photo by Elbert Hampton, public domain via  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Virgin_Mary_in_Medjugorje_-_Bosnia_Herzegovina_09.jpg
An advent calendar. On the left of the calendar grid is an image of the cover of The Pope's Hitman by J.M. Berger, featuring a gray-toned image of the spiral Bramante Staircase in the Vatican Museums, Vatican City. A blurb reads "John Wick meets Conclave as a priest with a deadly secret will stop at nothing to protect the Pope against an explosive Christmas Eve plot with the fate of the Catholic Church at stake!" On the right is an image of Saint Peter's Basilica at night with two review excerpts: 

“Berger (Optimal), a senior research fellow at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, puts his background to good use in this riveting action thriller.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly

“This is ridiculously over-the-top and I loved every second of it ... great characters ... fun premise ... crazy situations.”
-- The Optionist
142
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 29/09/2026
To read more about the many killings and confessions of Father Francis Loyola, pre-order The Pope's Hitman today! B&N: www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Pope's%20H... Bookshop bookshop.org/a/125012/979... Amazon amzn.to/4ojzmC6
"The Pope's Hitman by J.M. Berger" over a gray-toned image of the spiral Bramante Staircase in the Vatican Museums, Vatican City.
122
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 29/09/2026
The Pope's Hitman Advent Calendar, Day 3! Very early in the book, Father Francis Loyola makes the first of many confessions at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. Confession is a major theme of the book, which I guarantee has more confessions than in any hitman book before it!
 Interior of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston. The church is darkened, as it is when seen in the book. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_of_the_Holy_Cross,_Boston_3.JPG

An advent calendar. On the left of the calendar grid is an image of the cover of The Pope's Hitman by J.M. Berger, featuring a gray-toned image of the spiral Bramante Staircase in the Vatican Museums, Vatican City. A blurb reads "John Wick meets Conclave as a priest with a deadly secret will stop at nothing to protect the Pope against an explosive Christmas Eve plot with the fate of the Catholic Church at stake!" On the right is an image of Saint Peter's Basilica at night with two review excerpts: 

“Berger (Optimal), a senior research fellow at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, puts his background to good use in this riveting action thriller.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly

“This is ridiculously over-the-top and I loved every second of it ... great characters ... fun premise ... crazy situations.”
-- The Optionist
131
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 28/09/2026
I often look for maps, floor plans, and satellite imagery to create environments in the book, which allows me to describe movements through spaces in a consistent manner. In certain scenes, these visual references are a big deal to maintain continuity in the action choreography.
Floorplan of the Fountains Abbey, public domain via Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/52581/pg52581-images.html
294
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 28/09/2026
Day 2 of The Pope's Hitman Advent Calendar! Counting down to pub day, here's a visual reference from the book's first act -- the Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, UK, which I used as model for a Western MA location visited by Father Francis Loyola. #booksky #thrillers @crookedlanebooks.bsky.social
An open corridor inside the ruins of Fountains Abbey. Located in Ripon, Yorkshire, England, UK. Photo by	Michael D Beckwith in the public domain via Wikimedia. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fountains_Abbey_Corridor.jpg

An advent calendar. On the left of the calendar grid is an image of the cover of The Pope's Hitman by J.M. Berger, featuring a gray-toned image of the spiral Bramante Staircase in the Vatican Museums, Vatican City. A blurb reads "John Wick meets Conclave as a priest with a deadly secret will stop at nothing to protect the Pope against an explosive Christmas Eve plot with the fate of the Catholic Church at stake!" On the right is an image of Saint Peter's Basilica at night with two review excerpts: 

“Berger (Optimal), a senior research fellow at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, puts his background to good use in this riveting action thriller.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly

“This is ridiculously over-the-top and I loved every second of it ... great characters ... fun premise ... crazy situations.”
-- The Optionist
153
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 27/09/2026
You'll encounter Saint Longinus, technically just his statue, in Act 3 of The Pope's Hitman, now available for pre-order! B&N: www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Pope's%20H... Bookshop bookshop.org/a/125012/979... Amazon amzn.to/4ojzmC6 Supporting this book supports all of my work, including on extremism.

The cover of The Poe's Hitman with two review excerpts superimposed. 

“Berger (Optimal), a senior research fellow at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, puts his background to good use in this riveting action thriller.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly

“This is ridiculously over-the-top and I loved every second of it ... great characters ... fun premise ... crazy situations.”
-- The Optionist
164
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 27/09/2026
It's 30 days until the publication date of The Pope's Hitman, and I'm counting down with a seasonally and story-appropriate Advent Calendar! For Day 1, meet Saint Longinus, the Roman centurion who tradition holds pierced the side of Christ on the Cross then later became Christian.
An advent calendar. On the left of the calendar grid is an image of the cover of The Pope's Hitman by J.M. Berger, featuring a gray-toned image of the spiral Bramante Staircase in the Vatican Museums, Vatican City. A blurb reads "John Wick meets Conclave as a priest with a deadly secret will stop at nothing to protect the Pope against an explosive Christmas Eve plot with the fate of the Catholic Church at stake!" On the right is an image of Saint Peter's Basilica at night with two review excerpts: 

“Berger (Optimal), a senior research fellow at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, puts his background to good use in this riveting action thriller.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly

“This is ridiculously over-the-top and I loved every second of it ... great characters ... fun premise ... crazy situations.”
-- The Optionist
The statue of Saint Longinus in Saint Peter's Basilica, a Roman soldier brandishing a spear.
1226
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 26/09/2026
You may already be aware that this has been tried
Rotten Tomatoes: The Jesus Rolls 

20% Tomatometer
45 Reviews

23% Popcornmeter
100+ Ratings

Hours after his release from prison, Jesus Quintana pairs up with fellow misfits Petey and Marie for a freewheeling joyride of petty crime and romance.
020
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 26/09/2026
Anakin/Padme meme: 

Anakin: ONE CHARACTER WILL ANCHOR THE ENTIRE AVENGERS DOOMSDAY SAGA

Padme: IT'S DOCTOR DOOM, RIGHT?
2232
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 26/09/2026
The cute robot from the Doctor Who episode "Smile"
1142
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 26/09/2026
Sickos: Hahaha yes!
020
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 25/09/2026
Forgot the alt-text
A 30-day advent calendar grid flanked by the cover of The Pope’s Hitman on the right, and an image of Saint Peter’s Basilica at night on the left. “Berger (Optimal), a senior research fellow at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, puts his background to good use in this riveting action thriller.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly

“This is ridiculously over-the-top and I loved every second of it ... great characters ... fun premise ... crazy situations.”
-- The Optionist
010
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 25/09/2026
Of course, you don't have to wait (in fact, please don't)... Pre-order now! B&N: www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Pope's%20H... Bookshop bookshop.org/a/125012/979... Amazon amzn.to/4ojzmC6
"The Pope's Hitman by J.M. Berger" over a gray-toned image of the spiral Bramante Staircase in the Vatican Museums, Vatican City.
120
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 25/09/2026
What better way to count down to The Pope's Hitman than an advent calendar filled with the book's visual and historical references? Tune in Sunday as the countdown to October 27 begins...⚡️📚 #booksky @crookedlanebooks.bsky.social @therightsfactory.bsky.social
172
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 24/09/2026
I see LinkedIn has launched its AI job search
Search for "terrorism remote posted in the past month"

Unable to complete search
This search query may violate our Professional Community Policies. Edit your search to try again.
260
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 24/09/2026
Say the line Bart! 

"Read Optimal."
271
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 24/09/2026
My wife and I still quote this scene to each other 20 years after seeing Santo and Blue Demon vs Frankenstein
Blue Demon, dressed as an anesthesiologist except for his trademark mask, to Santo: "As you can see, I'm not the anesthesiologist."
120
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 24/09/2026
If you have somehow not discovered the Santo Cinematic Universe, I promise you will not be disappointed.
Santo vs VampiresSanto vs Wolfman and FrankensteinSanto and the Blue Demon vs The Bermuda TriangleSanto vs Nazis
241
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 24/09/2026
It's El Santo, of course
2213
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 23/09/2026
Zombie Vergara from 30 Coins. Real ones know.
191
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 23/09/2026
If only there were some profession or establishment that could objectively state in a headline whether this pervasive sense was based in fact.
‘I Was Sold a Bill of Goods’: Americans and the Distrust Election
Americans have a pervasive sense they are being lied to.
315732
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 23/09/2026
While I'd love to just sit back and call this being hoist by one's own petard, this is gross
Musk declined to sit for an interview, so Gibney created an AI version of Musk—drawing from a trove of interviews and public posts to create realistic versions of what Musk might have responded.
4275
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 22/09/2026
Tough call but
Gauntlet, an arcade dungeon crawler from 1985
2111
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 22/09/2026
This is the actual Mortadella Princess by the way
A woman in a dress styled to look like Mortadella
0280
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 22/09/2026
For a friend's vacation planning, I was searching for an image of the Mortadella Princess who is crowned every year at the Mortadella Festival in Bologna, Italy, and this AI nightmare fuel was one of the top 5 results. We are cooked as a society. It took me half an hour to find the actual princess.
A Lovecraftian concoction of pink meat tentacles wrapped around ambiguous greens
11230
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 21/09/2026
Touch of Evil: Your future's all used up
2527
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 17/09/2026
I have five ARC copies of The Pope's Hitman available! If you have a pod or newsletter that would review of this upcoming thriller, or use it as a jumping off point for another kind of article or discussion (such as "creative ways to cope with the collapse of higher ed"), slide into my DMs!
Who the fuck was Father Francis Loyola?
Martina Rocha had gone to sleep asking herself that question, and it was still there when she woke up a few short hours later. She just knew it was going to swallow her entire day, so she got up ahead of the alarm, already tense in anticipation of the ten am press conference.[A] riveting action thriller [for] fans of Frederick Forsyth’s conspiracy novels…
-- Publisher’s Weekly

[R]idiculously over-the-top and I loved every second of it.
-- The Optionist
2115
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 12/09/2026
Claude is going to wipe out humanity just as soon as it figures out how to format a spam email header
Email header scraping the Amazon listing description of The Pope's Hitman and rendering it as one massive run-on sentence in the header of an email 

The Pope's Hitman: A Novel by J.M. Berger (Author) Format: Kindle Edition John Wick meets Conclave in this fast-paced international thriller about a priest with a deadly secret who must stop a plot to kill the Pope on Christmas Eve. Everybody loves Fat...
1163
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 09/09/2026
25% off when pre-ordering The Pope's Hitman! B&N pre-orders count for a lot! So I am offering a signed bookplate if you drop a screenshot of your receipt in my DMs. Offer runs 9/9 to 9/11. US-only, sorry! tinyurl.com/barnesandnob... @crookedlanebooks.bsky.social @therightsfactory.bsky.social
Use the code PREORDER25 for 25 percent off at checkout, valid 9/9 through 9/11"The Pope's Hitman by J.M. Berger" over a gray-toned image of the spiral Bramante Staircase in the Vatican Museums, Vatican City.
143
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 08/09/2026
I Saw One Of The Babies And The Baby Looked At Me
1110
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 05/09/2026
Badly photoshopped Marco Rubio couch meme but he's bald
3234
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 05/09/2026
AdWeek: Why Brands and Agencies Can't Afford to Ignore NFTs
These success stories prove the 'fad' has staying power
1283
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 05/09/2026
It's also very much a remake
The Odyssey with Armand AssanteThe Odyssey directed by Tekin GirginThe Return starring Ralph Fiennes The Odyssey starring Lambert Wilson
160
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 05/09/2026
You have got to be shitting me
Fortune cookie: Happiness is the key to a fulfilling life. NO SHIT SHERLOCK
5212
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 04/09/2026
Rick in Casablanca: I don't mind a parasite. I object to a cut-rate one.
0151
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 03/09/2026
From The Pope's Hitman! www.thepopeshitman.com
If they were here to reinforce Indigo, Loyola’s best option 
was to retreat. He drew a bead on the woman again. If he took 
her down, they might stop to assist her, giving him time to 
escape. The distraction would be more effective if she survived, 
so he zeroed in on her left shoulder, which would have the 
added benefit of taking her left-handed gun out of play.
But she had also clocked the men, and she didn’t look 
thrilled to see them. Not one bit. Keeping as flat as possible, he 
watched to see what happened. Whatever this thing was, it 
seemed to include multiple factions, and he desperately needed 
intel. Loyola told himself he was being practical, but he had 
arguably fallen prey to curiosity—the dead man’s vice.
051
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 03/09/2026
It's perfect irony that I am constantly getting emails about Optimal from astroturf
knows virtually everything about its citizens and uses that information to recommend everything from their careers and food to their relationships.

What caught my attention was the contradiction at the heart of that society. People are told they have total information and total freedom, yet life apparently works more smoothly when they follow the System's
020
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 31/08/2026
Maybe there's some update that hasn't rolled out to me yet, but as far as I can tell, you can leave smart features on but should definitely turn off the workspace smart features.
Language:	
Gmail display language: 
English (US)
 Change language settings for other Google products
Show all language options
Maximum page size:	
Show 
100
 conversations per page
Undo Send:	
Send cancellation period: 
10
 seconds
Default reply behavior:
Learn more	
	Reply
	Reply all
Hover actions:	
	Enable hover actions - Quickly gain access to archive, delete, mark as read, and snooze controls on hover.
	Disable hover actions
Send and Archive:
Learn more	
	Show "Send & Archive" button in reply
	Hide "Send & Archive" button in reply
Default text style:
(Use the 'Remove formatting' button on the toolbar to reset the default text style)	
This is what your body text will look like.
Images:
	Always display external images - Learn more
	Ask before displaying external images - This option also disables dynamic email.
Dynamic email:
Learn more	
Enable dynamic email - Display dynamic email content when available.
Developer settings
Grammar:	
	Grammar suggestions on
	Grammar suggestions off
Spelling:	
	Spelling suggestions on
	Spelling suggestions off
Autocorrect:	
	Autocorrect on
	Autocorrect off
Smart Compose:
(predictive writing suggestions appear as you compose an email)	
	Writing suggestions on
	Writing suggestions off
Feedback on Smart Compose suggestions
Smart Compose personalization:
(Smart Compose is personalized to your writing style)	
	Personalization on
	Personalization off
Conversation View:
(sets whether emails of the same topic are grouped together)	
	Conversation view on
	Conversation view off
Nudges:
Learn more	
 Suggest emails to reply to - Emails you might have forgotten to respond to will appear at the top of your inbox
 Suggest emails to follow up on - Sent emails you might need to follow up on will appear at the top of your inbox
Smart Reply:
(Show suggested replies when available.)	
	Smart Reply on
	Smart Reply off
Smart features:
Learn more	 Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet - When you turn this setting on, you agree to let Gmail, Chat…
1111
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 31/08/2026
Y'all know that Google's stealth AI tactics drive me insane, but to the best of my ability to discern, nothing has changed on this recently, and you don't have to turn off the basic smart features that put mail in folders. Not for nothing, this viral skeet comes from a competing email provider.
A skeet with scary claims about Gmail that just coincidentally comes from  a competing email service.
1338
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 30/08/2026
Lucky I don't need a job! Wait, this just in, I'm being told
news anchor touching earpiece as he receives an update. you would not believe how hard it was to find an imagine of this.
070
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 30/08/2026
Just fucking great
LinkedIn: We’re gradually retiring classic job search starting in September. Try AI-powered job search and describe the role you want in your own words.


Try AI job search
2294
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 30/08/2026
Hans Gruber: I am an exceptionally stupid thief
15010
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 29/08/2026
Fun fact: Nothing that happens in this book is equivalent in severity to even one day of Trump's second term
1960s/1970s book cover: NIGHT OF CAMP DAVID: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WENT STARK-RAVING MAD?
1183
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 28/08/2026
The Worst Person You Know Just Made a Great Point
0154
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 26/08/2026
c'mon
Hasan Piker is somehow trending harder than Dolly Parton based on 162 skeets versus 29,000
0150
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 25/08/2026
Feel like this algo needs some work
Trending

1.
Kanter sparks WNBA trans debate
2.
ICE arrests hit record high
3.
Bluesky extends video upload limits
4.
Australia bans AI songs from charts
5.
Serena Williams, Alcaraz play mixed doubles
4290
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 25/08/2026
The final scene of Soylent Green, as Charlton Heston is carried away shouting... you know.
1186
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 25/08/2026
Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made a Great Point
0255
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 24/08/2026
I am pretty much off Chrome except for a couple of very limited use cases, but look at this shit. Why in god's name would I need an AI to tell me what credit card I should use? Why would I hand over this extremely monetizable surveillance data -- what I spend my money on -- for no benefit?
Enable AI-based card recommendations on Autofill
When enabled, AI-based card recommendations will be offered on Autofill when at least two credit card suggestions are shown. – Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS
3246
J.M. Berger PRE-ORDER THE POPE'S HITMAN @jmberger.com · 21/08/2026
Nice
A Spelling Bee score of 69. The app says it's nice.
140