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As the August heat takes Rome in its fiery grip, the news of two brutal murders holds the city in thrall. And as the media gathers and Vatican officials close ranks, a young detective is sent to the forefront of the case. Nic Costa is the son of an infamous Italian Communist, a connoisseur of Caravaggio , and a cop who barely looks his 27 years of age. Thrust into the heart of a killing spree that will rattle his city down to its ancient bones, Nic meets a woman who will soon dominate both his consciousness and his investigation.
A cool, beautiful professor of early Christianity, Sara Farnese was in the Vatican library on that fateful day, a witness to her colleague's strange outburst and death. But her role will become even more puzzling as more bodies are found: Each victim killed in a gory tableau of Christian martyrdom. And each victim had intimately known Sara, whose silence Costa cannot quite crack and whose carnal history becomes more lurid and unfathomable with every revelation.
Soon, a nightmarish chase is implicating politicians and priests -- while at the heart of the matter remains the woman Costa is both investigating and guarding. Wanting to believe in Sara's innocence, Nic still cannot turn his eyes from the truths he is uncovering. Even as the secrets of a woman, a killer and a city begin to unravel...with devastating consequences.
A beguiling mystery, a dazzling treat for the senses, and a fascinating tour of the streets and alleyways of Rome, Nic Costa's relentlessly suspenseful debut is a masterpiece of suspense fiction.?
From the Hardcover edition.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
March 30, 2004 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780440334842
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780440334842
- File size: 414 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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February 2, 2004
U.K. novelist and journalist Hewson (Solstice
) presents the first in a line of thrillers set in Italy and features detective Nic Costa and an ensemble cast drawn from the ranks of the Rome state police. University professor Sara Farnese is at her desk in the Reading Room of the Vatican Library perusing a 10th-century copy of Apicius's first-century cookbook De Re Coquinaria
when former lover and fellow university professor Stefano Rinaldi careens into the room dragging a large plastic bag. Rinaldi dumps the contents of the bag—the freshly flayed skin of an adult male—and quotes the Christian theologian, Tertullian ("The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church"), then takes a couple of bullets in the head from a panic-stricken Swiss Guard. Detective Costa and partner Luca Rossi are outside the Vatican in St. Peter's Square on pickpocket patrol when they catch the news of the shooting on a police scanner, charge into the Reading Room and are quickly kicked out by security man Brendan Hanrahan for jurisdictional reasons ("The Vatican is another country"). Rossi and Costa become officially involved when the skinless remains of Sara's lover and the body of Rinaldi's wife are found strung up in an ancient Roman church. After this rousing beginning, the intricate plot spins off in several directions, involving corrupt cardinal Michael Denney, the Mafia, Vatican secrecy and the serial killer who's murdering Sara's former lovers in ways that mimic famous paintings depicting the martyrdom of selected saints. Outsized, eccentric characters, a complex story and an abundance of historical detail make this engrossing book more than just another cookie-cutter, religious-nut serial killer thriller. (Apr. 6)
Forecast
:Hewson's American publishers are betting heavily on this series, having committed to two hardbacks slated for 2004 and another in 2005. With a bit of hand-selling, they might do very well in the U.S. -
February 15, 2004
With this police procedural, Hewson (Solstice; Epiphany) introduces Nic Costa, a 27-year-old Rome Questura detective, Caravaggio aficionado, and son of a prominent Italian Communist. Initially on pickpocket detail around Saint Peter's, Costa and his partner become involved in an incident on Vatican turf that reveals the complex relationship between the sovereign Vatican state and surrounding Rome. By responding to a situation at the Vatican Library, the pair begins the hunt for a serial killer who uses his victims to create tableaux of famous martyr portraits. Although we know at an early point who did it, why is revealed slowly and surprisingly. At times grisly (though no more so than the early history of the Roman Catholic Church), with attention to artistic detail, this book offers a delicious and compelling view of the public art of Rome and the private intrigue of the Vatican. Recommended for most popular fiction collections; blooming Costa fans will be pleased to know that Hewson plans a series of novels featuring the detective.-Laura A.B. Cifelli, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., FLCopyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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