The Vatican Deal by Michael Balter
- Mission Point Press
- May 13
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 3
A Marty & Bo Thriller
Author of Award-Winning Crime Thriller Returns with Vatican-Set Sequel Packed with Intrigue, Secrets, and Suspense
Traverse City, Michigan—Following the success of his 2023 debut Chasing Money, which earned six literary awards including BestThrillers.com’s 2024 Crime Thriller of the Year, author Michael Balter is back with The Vatican Deal: A Marty and Bo Thriller, Mission Point Press, (May 15, 2025), the second installment in his gripping six-book series.
Once again, readers join Marty Schott and Bo Bishop—“two ordinary guys” with an uncanny knack for getting caught in extraordinary situations. This time, they travel to Italy to acquire a sculpture foundry and close a high-stakes licensing deal with the Vatican. Backed by their enigmatic partner Natalya and her powerful Russian financier, the deal seems destined for success—until shifting alliances, violent threats, and a shocking kidnapping turn everything upside down.
Based on Experience
With the Naples Mafia, Vatican Bank, and a ruthless Russian oligarch closing in, Marty and Bo must peel back the layers of deception and find a way to rescue Natalya before it’s too late. Inspired by real-life events, The Vatican Deal draws heavily from Balter’s many trips to Rome in 2004, when he negotiated a license with the Vatican Library. His experiences—from sitting near Luciano Pavarotti at a papal concert hosted by Pope John Paul II to visiting the historic Chiurazzi Foundry—lend authenticity and depth to the novel’s richly layered plot. The book also weaves in real historical events such as bloody Mafia wars and Vatican banking scandals.
“My experiences in Italy were fertile ground for storytelling,” Balter said. “When it came time to write the sequel, setting it in Rome and Naples felt inevitable.”
More to Come
Balter is already hard at work on the third book in the series. “I’ve enjoyed being a published author more than any other professional role in my life,” he says. “I write every day. If I weren’t writing, I’m not sure what I’d do with myself in retirement.”
The success of Chasing Money continues to validate his new career path. “I learned that I’d won the Best Indie Book Award a few months after it was published. That first award brought increased legitimacy, and the book eventually became an Amazon bestseller. The accolades that followed—especially the 2024 Crime Thriller of the Year Award—have been incredibly rewarding.”
Balter shares his writing journey, from early drafts to publishing insights, on his blog at
The Author
Michael Balter is an Amazon best-selling author and a natural storyteller. Born in post-war Berlin and raised in Ottawa and Detroit, he served as an air traffic controller during the Vietnam War, earned an aerospace engineering degree, and launched a successful tech career in Silicon Valley before turning to writing. His real-life experiences—including a friend’s kidnapping by the Russian mob—inform the compelling plots of his thrillers. Balter lives in Charlevoix, Michigan, where he continues to work on the Marty and Bo series.
Upcoming Author Events
● Saturday, May 24 – Dockside Books, 204 Bridge Street, Charlevoix, MI 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
● Saturday, June 7 – McLean & Eakin Booksellers, 307 E. Lake Street, Petoskey, MI 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
The Book
The Vatican Deal: A Marty and Bo Thriller
Michael Balter
301 pages, 6 x 9 inches, B/W
Fiction, Thrillers, Crime, Action & Adventure
ISBN: 978-1-965278-45-1, $29.95 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-965278-44-4, $17.99 (Softcover)
Mission Point Press, May 15, 2025
Copies are available for preorder at Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Amazon, and other online retailers. On its May 15 publication date, it will be available for purchase wherever books are sold. For information or to arrange for signings and events, contact smbalter@gmail.com or visit www.mbalter.com.
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