Second in David Hewson's very good series featuring Nic Costa. I beg to differ with many people about this book -- I thought it was quite good, and I've already bought and plan to read next Hewson's Sacred Cut, 3rd in the series. I really enjoy a good mystery and this book did not disappoint. I would recommend it to readers who enjoyed Hewson's first novel in the series, A Season for the Dead, or others who enjoy a fine mystery set in Italy. Now listen: Hewson's book is NOT for people who pick up a mystery novel and expect mainstream mystery fiction. I couldn't believe all of the negativity people put into their reviews of this book. The plot is good, it is quite well put together and the writing is very very good. If you want mystery novels a la James Patterson, then you won't like this. Not that I'm slamming Patterson; I read most of the books he writes. It's just that Hewson puts a LOT of thought and intellect into his writing and it's not for everyone. And if you haven't read the first book in the series, you just won't get a lot of it.Here's a peek:As the story opens, a man and his wife are taking a much-needed vacation in Rome. During part of their stay, the man decides to take a metal detector to an archaeological site and see what he can find. After some bad luck, the detector goes off. He starts digging and finds what he thinks is a statue buried in a peat bog. He takes it out and decides that it would be cool to take home the head, already thinking of how he's going to show up his neighbor who had stolen some artifacts on an earlier vacation. So he takes his shovel and starts hacking at the head to take it off and realizes that it's not a statue, but a body. This, plus the fact that their car had caught on fire, brings the police and begins an investigation that dates back to a missing girl 16 years earlier. At the same time, a mother reports her daughter missing, and the missing girl bears an uncanny resemblance to and the same tattoo as the girl that was pulled out of the bog. The case falls to Nic Costa & his new partner and they must find the link between the two in order to solve the crime.As I noted, the book was well written and the mystery quite good. There's a very good twist toward the end that I never saw coming -- a definite plus. This was one I didn't put down until I finished. A very very good book.read: 1/29/2006Nic Costa Series, #2
Mobsters and Bacchanalian cults…When a preserved body is found in a peat bog, it looks as if the dead girl is a long-forgotten victim of a ritual killing from ancient times. But forensic examination soon proves the death is much more recent than that, leading to speculation that a cult based on the Bacchanalian mythology is active in present day Rome. And to make matters worse, another young girl has just gone missing in similar circumstances, a few days before the ancient ceremony of Liberalia, the anniversary of the first death...Nic Costa has returned to duty following the death of his father and his recovery from the injuries he received in the first book of the series, A Season For The Dead. Nic finds he's been paired up with Gianni Peroni, a high-flying vice cop who's been busted back to the ranks after been caught with a prostitute. Nic is a refreshingly non-alcoholic, not particularly maverick cop - young and still a bit naïve and idealistic, but with a determined streak that leads him to take occasional risks. This is a well written crime mystery with a complicated plot and an interesting setting. Although Nic is the nominal hero, we see the investigation from different perspectives through the eyes of several members of the police team and forensic pathologists. As well as ancient myth and legend, the story is firmly rooted in the Rome of today, with the authorities still battling to defeat the mobsters and Mafiosi that infest the city. As flu strikes, leaving the police short-handed, they are constantly diverted from the task of looking for the missing girl by a fresh outbreak of mob rivalry causing havoc throughout the city. Overall, I found this a good read, though I felt it was a bit too long. The ending in particular was over-padded leading to a loss in tension, and there were aspects of it that took credibility almost to breaking point. But the characterisation is very good, both of the police team and the villains, and the introduction of Roman myths and legends gave it an added level of interest. I believe there are nine Costa books to date, and this one will certainly encourage me to continue with the series. Recommended.www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
What do You think about The Villa Of Mysteries (2005)?
If you love a good mystery and you've ever been to Rome, David Hewson's books are a must read. His prose can be dense at times, but once you get to know his central characters, Roman detectives Nick Costa and Gianni Peroni, you want to know more and more about them. Start here, with The Villa of the Mysteries. It follows a dark secret cult through Pompeii and gets you hooked on these detectives' unorthodox styles of crimefighting. He has been building this cast of characters for years, you will want to know them as well as he does after you have read this book, and you will be able to follow them through many mysteries in Rome and even in Venice, in The Sacred Cut, The Seventh Sacrament and Lucifer's Shadow
—Johnston
Now here is the opposite of what Archer Mayor does...an inaccessible series. I am not sure if it was the fact that there were so many assumptions that you had read other books in the series, they way it read as if it had been translated from another language using one of those semi-poor free translation sites, the confusing array of characters or the fact that it took place in a legal/police system so different from our own but I finally gave up trying to slog my way through this. I saw a newer novel by the author on the shelf at the Burnham Library and thought I would pick up something older of his to start with. The inside flap of both books were SO intriguing, but when push came to shove, it took me nearly a week to get through 73 pages before I bagged it.Save yourself the time and energy.
—Christian
THE VILLA OF MYSTERIES (Police Procedural-Rome-Cont) – GDavid Hewson – 2nd in seriesMacmillan, 2004 – U.K. Hardcover Detective Nic Costa is investigating the apparent kidnapping of a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to a body found in a peat bog. Because of the dress and items found with the body, the pathologist first thinks the corpse is 2000 years old, but Nic proves the murder to have been much more current and is afraid history is about to repeat itself.*** Although there’s an interesting ensemble cast and the background of ancient and modern Rome, I found the story a bit disjointed, in part because you have Italians written by an Englishman, sounding like Americans. But there is good suspense and several very good twists.
—LJ
