Welcome to Italian police detective Nic Costa’s Rome: the side of the city the tourist board does not want you to see.

“Hewson does more than provide a thrilling read. He saves you the airfare to Italy. When you turn the last page, you’ll think you’ve been there” LINWOOD BARCLAY

“David Hewson’s Rome is dark and tantalizing, seductive and dangerous, a place where present-day crimes ring with the echoes of history” TESS GERRITSEN

“David Hewson is one of the finest thriller writers working today” STEVE BERRY

“No author has ever brought Rome so alive for me – nor made it seem so sinister” PETER JAMES

“[Hewson is] a master plot maker” BOOKLIST

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In the Eternal City of Rome, sixteenth-century sins are echoing into present-day crimes . . .

When British academic Malise Gabriel falls to his death from a Rome apartment, it seems like an unfortunate accident. But Detective Nic Costa rapidly comes to realise that not only is there more to the accident than he first thought, but Malise’s family – mysterious and tragic daughter Mina, stoic wife Cecilia and troubled son Robert – may be keeping vital information hidden.

The deeper Costa looks, the more he’s disturbed by mysterious links between the case and a centuries-old crime: the murder of an Italian nobleman in 1599 by his own daughter, who was beheaded by the Vatican as punishment for her sins.

And as the case unfolds, it becomes clear that something evil is circling Mina and her family. Something that’s closing in fast for the kill.

Fans of Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti, Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano and Michael Dibdin’s Aurelio Zen, as well as Louise Penny, Jeffey Siger and Martin Walker, will love this thrilling mystery series – perfect for readers who enjoy dark and complex character-led mysteries with multiple twists.

PRAISE FOR THE NIC COSTA SERIES:

“Once secrets begin to be revealed, there’s no stopping them. Readers will have a lot of fun peeling away the book’s many layers, right down to the final, closing twist” Publishers Weekly Starred Review

“The writing is superior, and the characters engage” Kirkus Reviews

“Perhaps [Hewson’s] finest novel . . . It’s hard to see how the author could have made his dark tale more fascinating, entertaining and yet entirely serious than he has” Washington Post

“I love this series. I love how Hewson integrates modern-day events with an ancient city so we get to play armchair tourist as we follow the detectives through Rome’s art and architecture as they work to solve the crime” Kathy D., 5* GoodReads review

“Atmospheric and mesmerizing . . . As the story unfolds the sudden surprising twists make compelling reading” Lizzie H., 5* GoodReads review

“So compelling that I couldn’t go on to another book until I had left Nic, Gianni, Leo, and Mina behind” Beth, 5* GoodReads review

“Hewson is a story teller par excellence. I could not recommend this author and this book more highly to lovers of the genre” Blair M., 5* GoodReads review

THE NIC COSTA MYSTERIES, IN ORDER:

1. A Season for the Dead
2. The Villa of Mysteries
3. The Sacred Cut
4. The Lizard’s Bite
5. The Seventh Sacrament
6. The Garden of Evil
7. Dante’s Numbers (aka The Dante Killings)
8. City of Fear (aka The Blue Demon)
9. The Fallen Angel
10. The Savage Shore