Product Description

'Stefano's left arm, the one holding the weapon, swept the table, swept everything on it . . . She was quiet, waiting, which was, his eyes seemed to say, what he wanted. Then Stefano lifted up the bag to the height of the desk, turned it upside down, let the contents fall on the table and said, 'The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." '

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 us inextricably linked to a series of horrific and cunning murders, each one representative of the death of a martyr of the Church. Into this climate enter Detectives Costa and Rossi, enlisted to track down the killer, and to protect Sara from the horrors he is capable of. It seems that at any time she could be the next chosen sacrifice . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31034 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 474 pages

The Washington Post
'Better than The Da Vinci Code'

Crime Time
'Astonishing. Immerse yourself'

Sunday Times
'Richly enjoyable, sophisticated and beguiling entertainment'

Customer Reviews

Great new Italian mystery series!
A SEASON FOR THE DEAD is the first in a series of Italian crime thrillers set in Rome featuring Nic Costa as the protagonist. Costa, 27, is an atypical detective in the Rome Questura. He's a straight-laced, health conscious vegetarian and son of an infamous Communist party political organizer, who is dying. He has a passion for the works of Caravaggio.
Things get off to a fast start with a grotesque double homicide in a Roman church with strong similarities to an historic martyr killing within the early Church. Because the victims had ties to beautiful university professor Sara Farnese, she is put under the protective police custody of young Costa. As the plot unfolds with more similar deaths, there is a frantic search for the heinous serial killer who appears to have ties to the Vatican. The Vatican connection is difficult to investigate because of the turf battles between the Questura and the Vatican authorities. The locations used within Rome are off the tourist track and give the reader a better understanding of the underbelly of this great city. The novel is fast moving and exciting with lots of violence and some sex; and there are some unexpected surprises near the end. It brought back memories of Hewson's first novel SEMANA SANTA.
Hewson has created an exceptional array of supporting characters, albeit a few too many were non-Italians. Within the Questura, there is Costa's new partner, Luca Rossi and their hard-nosed boss Leo Falcone. Falcone is disliked by everyone, but is honest and determined. Terese Lupo, the police pathologist, is one very busy lady as the death toll mounts. Within the Vatican, we meet security head Brendan Hanrahan and Cardinal Denney, who has been recently disgraced due to the failure of his corrupt Banca Lombardia. Minor characters include a lesbian parliamentarian from Bologna, an American tourist guide, an overweight TV commentator, a whore from Kosovo, and a patron of the arts with Mafia ties.
Assuming David Hewson continues with the Nic Costa character, I welcome him to the ranks of Donna Leon, Michael Dibdin, Andrea Camilleri and others who entertain us with their series of Italian mysteries.

Enchanting and entertaining read
This is an enchanting and exciting mystery/thriller set in Rome. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and look forward to the coming sequel. The story is set around a series of bizarre and seemingly unlinked murders that take place throughout the city of Rome. Each murder is staged to resemble the martyrdom of one of the Catholic saints. The murders are initially investigated by detectives Costa and Rossi, from the Roman police. Gradually, it emerges that all of the victims have in common with one another some form of liaison with one of the lead characters, Professor Sara Farnese. But there is much more to come. Any more details from there on would be plot spoilers!
The story is liberally laced with evidence of corruption and cover-ups in the Catholic Church, and the Vatican. This theme is currently extensively explored the popular fiction category, however, this does not detract at all from ones enjoyment of the story. There are certain similarities to themes from Dan Brown's ANGELS AND DEMONS, however, these are two very different stories. I did feel through, that the descriptions of Rome and Roman churches were better handled by Brown. I particularly liked the theme of Caravaggio's paitings, which was woven into the storyline of A SEASON FOR THE DEAD; as well as the playful banter between the two lead detectives. My only real criticism of the story concerns the character development of Gino Fosse, one of the lead characters. We don't seem to know him at all, while we seem to know Costa, Rossi, Farnese and others very well by the end of the book. But, perhaps that was what the author intended? Three-and-a-half stars from me.

First in the Nic Costa Series

David Hewson is a weekly columnist for the Sunday times. As well as several novels he has also found the time to write a number of travel books. He lives in Kent.

David Hewson's books can, to a number of people appear to be extremely violent, some would say gratuitously so, but his books are after all thrillers and this is the first of what has become an increasingly popular series of books. I am sure that if this type of book is not your cup of tea, you will not buy it.

The book was first published in 2003 and is the first in the Nic Costa series The book opens in the Vatican. While a young woman is poring over ancient texts in one of the Vatican reading rooms, a brutal murder is taking place in a church close by. Suddenly the peace and tranquility of the Vatican is broken when a man enters carrying a blood soaked bag. He walks calmly to the young woman's desk. He has something he would like her to see . . .

The author's love of foreign places is evident by the number of travel books he has written and this comes through in the background to his books. Maybe it is my imagination but having them take place in Rome and Venice etc. makes them that much more readable than say London or Manchester. That however is simply my own opinion.