I have read the entire Nic Costa series: my addiction began with reading “A Season for the Dead.” The series is set in Rome and follows not only Nic Costa, a late 20’s detective, but also his crew of fellow detectives, each interesting in his/her own way. This story describes a serial killer terrorizing the city and a female historian assaulted in the Vatican archives. David Hewson knows how to write a mystery/thriller and keeps the tension high. Oh, and yes, the killer is recreating the deaths of important Christian martyrs that adds to the nefarious goings-on. Strap in for an exciting (and creepy) read!

Great setting, good characterisation and a nicely paced thriller.
Overall a gripping and entertaining read and I would certainly read more by this author.

Someone is murdering people in Rome and draping their bodies in artistic ways reflecting stories of early Christian martyrdom. It's weird and also terrifying, and young police detective Nic Costa and his partner, veteran police officer Luca Rossi get pulled into the center of the crime spree.

This is the beginning of a new series by David Hewson and I'm a bit ambivalent about it. The murders are gruesome, the multiple POV don't appeal to me much, and the revolting story of the crimes revolts me. Mr. Hewson makes some plotting decisions I'm not sure are the strongest.

I think that if I knew Rome and its churches better I would have enjoyed this book better. At least it would have been more personal.

The first in the Nic Costa series, <i>A Season for the Dead</i> relates the case Costa stumbles upon when assigned to watch St Peter's Square in the Vatican - the only place in the Vatican which Rome's police force patrols. What appears to be an open and shut case is far more than that, with a swerial killer on the loose, using the deaths of the martyrs to inspire his vengence. The victims seem connected to one woman, a Univertity History professor. But are they connected in a different way to a breaking financial scandal in the Vatican? Well paced and written, a great read for fans of books by David Baldacci, Donna Leon, and similar authors.

A unique and gripping premise, this book takes you on a wild ride inside the mind of a diabolical killer...one who ends up hitting a bit too close to home. Eye-opening twists keep you engrossed in the story for hours on end, and culminates with a satisfying conclusion. Recommended.

**My sincere thanks to the author and publisher for providing a copy free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

Loved the setting and the pace of the story. I got interested in the characters and the events as they unfolded. I will definitely be reading more in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Absolutely unputdownable thriller - extremely well written - tight and perfectly paced. I have never visited Rome and this book makes me want to - despite the gruesomeness of some of the scenes.

It you like your thrillers well plotted, involving and filled with suspense (and rather a lot of quite graphic violence)_ this is for you

A gripping and entertaining read, a novel with interesting characters and a well crafted plot that kept me hooked till the end.
I liked the well thought cast of characters, the solid mystery and the realistic descriptions of Rome.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A shooting in the silent Vatican reading room leads to a horror beyond imagining for Detective Nic Costa and his team. Whilst Sara Farnese pours over ancient texts in the silent Vatican reading room, a brutal murder is taking place in a nearby church. Then suddenly a crazed man enters the Vatican carrying a bloodied bag. He walks up to Sara's desk. He has something he would like her to see . . .
Soon Sara is inextricably linked to a series of horrific and cunning murders, each one representative of the death of a martyr of the Church. Into this charged climate enter Detectives Nic Costa and Luca Rossi.
This book was my introduction to the author’s books & I’ve found another must read author. I loved the descriptions of Rome & he made he city come alive for me. I also liked Nic from the beginning but the more I delved into the book the more his character grew & had depth & by the end I loved him. I also loved his sidekick Rossi who added a bit of light heartedness to the book. The pace was good the mystery enthralling & I loved it
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

There are a lot of reviews for this 2003 thriller, so I'll just say that it kept me mostly engaged. It has a complicated plot, and though there are better serial killer tales, this one is entertaining.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

We open in a Vatican library all quiet just Sara Farnese.
All would change shock, horror and unimaginable death drops in.
The Vatican has its own rules but Luci Rossi and Nic Costa two policemen would stumble into this nightmare. People will come to question their faith with these murders. Fast paced from the first page you will be riveted to every line. There is nowhere to hide in Rome. No one is safe. What connection does Sara Farnese have to the victims. You will not want to put this book down till you uncover the truth.
I was given an Arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love the Nic Costa series. Italy, crime, Caravaggio. Nic and his fellow police detectives bring them all to life.

A Nic Costa novel set, as usual, in Rome. Standard escapist fare involving murder and mayhem. I found the constant references to the setting in Rome to be a distraction. Usually I love the armchair travel aspects to books set in foreign locals. All in all, does not disappoint if you are a fan of David Hewson.

A Season for the Dead was interesting. I liked the Vatican setting as well. The intrigue in the Church was interesting. When the novel gets into high gear I was quite pleased to keep on reading! Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

As a cop in Rome, Nic Costa knows his place - and it's not in the Vatican, even if he happened to be the closest to the scene if a bloody crime in the Vatican Library, as well as the investigator if a series of grisly crimes outside the walls of the Holy See. What those killings have in common are their ecclesiastical touches - tortures and murder carried out in imitation of paintings depicting various scenes of bloody martyrdom- and the connection of all the victims to a beautiful woman, a scholar of Church history and a promiscuous sexual history that included liaisons with all of them.
Hewson' s richly described setting is evocative, and the growing romantic feelings between the cop and the woman in question artfully depicted. The imminent death of Nic' s father adds emotional texture to the novel, which is well -crafted and illuminates some of the outwardly pious but inwardly corrupt denizens of the Church and the secrets still hidden within it.

Set in Rome, this is a particularly dark and sinister story about a serial killer, who murders his victims according to the portrayed deaths of martyred Roman Catholic saints. Because it is set within the high walls of the Vatican, we get intrigue and secrets involving Church officials, who naturally try to hush up the fact, that one of their brethren may be implicated in theses gruesome incidents.
Sara Farnese, is a lecturer in early Christianity, and whilst she is studying in the library of the Vatican, a fellow professor walks towards her with a gun in one hand, and a bloodied object in the other, which turns out to be the flayed skin of a man. When the professor is shot dead, the police become involved, despite Vatican disapproval, and Nic Costa, an art loving detective, with a passion for the paintings of Caravaggio,is upon the scene. This is the start of a series of murders, that echo the fates of Catholic martyrs, Bartholomew, San Clemente, Cecilia, Matthew, John and Paul, involving flaying of the skin, drowning, suffocation and beheading, and other atrocities. Sara is the key, as most of the victims have had a close sexual relationship with her, but why? Cardinal Denny, is in disgrace, because of unsavoury behaviour, but what is his connection to these events?
The murders are gruesome and described in detail, which can make ones stomach churn a little. There is an ongoing rhyme that undercuts the story, As I was going to St Ives, I met a man with seven wives, but I can't find the relevance of this to the story, and I remain puzzled, I'm sure someone else will find the connection that I was unable to. Every murder mystery set in Rome and involving the Vatican, will bring comparisons with Dan Brown books. I have to say I found the writing style of the former books to be an easier read, and they translated to the small screen very well, whereas this book, may struggle, in both respects. The historical details were brilliant and so informative, I really enjoyed reading about the early martyrs, the descriptions of the Vatican and Rome, reads almost like a travel guide, but the story lacked something, perhaps a likeable person that you could root for, was missing from this book. I liked this book, but I didn't fall in love with it.

This is a Rome set conspiracy thriller from David Hewson, a rather gruesome one with a serial killer running rampant in the city. A beautiful Professor of Early Christianity, Sara Farnese, is in the Vatican Library, when a distraught colleague of hers enters, Stefano Rinaldo, armed with a gun and the skin of a man recently flayed is shot dead by a security guard. A young 27 year old police officer, Nic Costa, is first on the scene, and despite the Vatican being out of his jurisdiction, he gets drawn into the investigation. Based on what Stefano had whispered to her, Sara drags Nic to a church where the bodies of the flayed man and Rinaldo's wife are discovered, with graffiti proclaiming that the blood of the martyrs is the seeds of the church. Nic and his older cop partner, the jaded Luca Rossi, explain the grisly crimes motivated by jealousy, with Stefano, a previous lover of Sara's, killing her current lover. However, this is the first of a series of horrifying murders emulating the deaths of Christian martyrs.

The case reveals a connection to the disgraced Boston born Cardinal Michael Denney, now a virtual prisoner in the Vatican, responsible for the downfall of the Banca Lombardia, a man with powerful enemies, many from the criminal underbelly, who lost vast amounts of money and now seeking vengeance. If Denney steps outside the Vatican City, the police are waiting to arrest him, but the Catholic Church are not happy to be harbouring him, seeking a political solution as all his influence drains away. Inspector Falcone of the Rome State Police gives the art loving Nic, obsessed with the paintings of Caravaggio, a major role in the investigation, despite his obvious inexperience, and to the dismay of his partner, Luca, worried about anomalies in the case. All the victims have personal and intimate connections with Sara, it's Nic's task to get close to the dispassionate and enigmatic Sara, a Sara that appears to be the key to the entire case, but she is determined to keep her secrets.

Hewson writes a intricately plotted thriller with plenty of suspense and tension, set in the beautiful city of Rome, immersed in Italian culture and art, amidst the intrigue and corruption associated with the Vatican. There is an entertaining and engaging read, it easily held my interest with twist after twist. My only concern was the character of Nic, with his beloved famous communist father in the process of dying, and finding himself attracted to Sara. Nic was not a man I wholly believed in, but this did not diminish my enjoyment of this novel. Many thanks to Black Thorn for an ARC.

Having read (full disclosure: listened via Audible) to David Hewson’s Shakespeare adaptations, I was enthused with the chance to jump into his Nic Costa crime series. As a fan of Michael Dibdin’s Aurelio Zen series, I was completely ready for a full-on Trevi fountain immersion, gelato well in hand. Instead, A Season for the Dead is a bumbling read, both in style and substance. Instead of splashing in the sun, I was soaked in the Tiber with grappa splashed in my face. Not quite the expected Roman crime experience.

The story starts interestingly enough with the introduction of semi-rookie detective Nic Costa, which is a refreshing turn as many genre mainstays are either grizzled vets (Harry Bosch) or well-established top-of-their-gamers, like the aforementioned Zen. Yet as a rook, Costa is not particularly charming or even especially talented. He’s good police, but a flat character. Truly makes me wonder how a full series is based around the dude. Maybe the fun of future installments is seeing him develop? I’m afraid to bear witness as I’m not certain I have the patience for ten books of self-doubt, incorrect questioning, and juvenile anger.

A Season for the Dead focuses on a serial killer running within and around the Vatican recreating the deaths of key Christian martyrs (admittedly, a cool concept) and a corrupt cardinal apparently doing more than taking confessions behind that curtain. Costa and his fit-for-retirement partner Rossi catch the case, one that is out of their depth. Sara Farnese, a unique femme fatale who is caught in the center of the maelstrom, isn’t helping. Rossi is wary of her; Costa attracted.

Hewson never allows the reader to play the guessing game, to try out their Poirot mustache or Holmes pipe. Instead, details are fed at an unusual pace, and are often times repetitive.

Hewson has an odd writing style, particularly the dialogue, which comes across grammatically-challenged, almost as if the narrative was written in Italian and run through Google Translate prior to publication. The crime genre has a built-in cadence, be it procedural, movie-scripted, or full-on noir. A Season for the Dead is almost attempting to be high-literature but falls into a number of potholes making the read a bumpy ride. Certain plot points are never realized. The ending is rushed.

The reader, however, is provided a grand tour of the city. I haven’t been to Rome since college and am desperately seeking a return. I’m wary if that will come through Hewson installments.



Thank you to NetGalley and Black Thorn Books for the Roman holiday.

I really liked this book, despite the horrifying violence.

There are complex characters, the several police detectives, and the high level church officers that all have secrets and first, second and third agendas.
A dramatic killing in a very unlikely place sets the tone - the bodies continue to pile up. in terrible fashion. An unlikely police partnership begins the follow the case. As it winds among family members, untangling relationships becomes really revealing both both the good guys and the bad guys.

I found myself reading every page rather than skimming, with the exception of the really violent sections.
It is atmospheric about Rome, the heat and history. It is quite exotic relative to West Los Angeles.