David Hewson - Lucifers Shadow  

Table of Contents

For Helen, Catherine, and Thomas,whose music led me here

Passionate acclaim forDavid Hewsons novels

Lucifers Shadow

Richly enjoyable... Sophisticated and beguiling entertainment. Sunday Times (UK)

Venice is painted beautifully, both then and now, and this would be a splendid book to read after you have taken the evening air in the Piazza San Marco, or when gliding down the Grand Canal. London Times

An unusual but beautifully-written interwoven twin story of scams, deception and intrigue in the world of music, of all places, set 250 years apart in Venice. Irish News

Entertaining [and] fun. Kirkus Reviews

This intelligent and highly detailed thriller rivals Prez-Revertes TheFlanders Panel in historical intricacy, complexity of motive, and multileveled storytelling. Masterfully plotted... Prepare for a devilish ride in which beauty masks wickedness, and righteousness is relative. Booklist (starred review)

Hewson spins a compelling tale while drawing a captivating portrait of Venice that will send readers searching for their passports. Mystery Lovers Bookstore News

A Season for the Dead

A Season for the Dead, like The Da Vinci Code, is a thriller that takes an unflattering look at the Catholic Church, but is better written and more sophisticated than Dan Browns phenomenal bestseller.... The books differ, too, in that Hewson, far more than Brown or most thriller writers, has a serious concern for character.... Intelligent entertainment. Washington Post

Hewsons suspenseful, fascinating mystery has an appealing detective and many complex characters on both sides of the law. Twisting and turning through Italian history and art, Nic Costas first case gives the serial murder mystery a new look. Dallas Morning News

Hewsons absorbing series debut features a memorable cast of fully human characters, imagines the distorted mind of a serial killer and takes a chilling glimpse into the Vaticans less-than-godly dealings with the secular world. Minneapolis Star Tribune

A complicated and engrossing mystery so compelling that it begs for a one-night reading. Chattanooga Times Free Press

Boasts finely researched Vatican locations, delves into political maneuvering in the church hierarchy and has a connection to religious art... Fast-moving, smart and filled with gruesome killings and well-drawn characters. Flint Journal

Hewson has very effectively developed his own version of the serial killer.... The action is well paced, the plot nicely twisted, the characters often chameleon-like, and the setting is definitely fascinating for many readers.... A well written mystery with some real surprises. Deadly Pleasures

A slam-bang beginning with a shoot-out in the Vatican Library, a wonderful tour of Rome, a nifty Italian policeman with a father famous for his Communist activism, corruption or at least conspiracy in the Church, and a series of gruesome crimes seemingly linked to saints and perhaps to Caravaggio get this one rolling.... A grand series start for Italian cop Nic Costa. Booknews from The Poisoned Pen

The first in a promising Italian crime series set in Rome... Hewsons way with the Roman milieu is as cutting-edge as his adroit narrative. Publishing News (UK)

An oddball detective mistrusted by his bosses, a beautiful woman, the elegant backdrop of Rome and sinister goings-on in the Vatican all add up to a new spin on the serial killer tale.... All of this works not simply because of the frenetic plot but because Hewson has two beguiling, fascinating characters to hold our interest.... [He] has a lightness of touch, an eye for the macabre and an understanding that you cant beat the old fatal attraction between an all-too-human cop and a beautiful woman. Sunday Mercury (UK)

History and travel fans will embrace this book, but it doesnt let lovers of suspense and political intrigue down either.... [Hewsons] descriptions of Rome in August are so real you can see St. Peters Square shimmering in the heat, and the narrow, winding lanes of the old city bring history to life. It may be too gritty a depiction of the underbelly of humanity to suit some sensitive souls, but Im very keen to read his next novel. Cape Times (South Africa)

Dark and complex... astonishing... immerse yourself in this. Crime Time (UK)

A delicious and compelling view of the public art of Rome and the private intrigues of the Vatican. Library Journal

Hewsons extremely intelligent novels at once viscerally entertain and intellectually challenge.... Breathtaking... The result is a tale that is a dark delight, a story that one is compelled to read at one sitting while simultaneously wishing it will never end. Bookreporter.com

The Villa of Mysteries

A novel to savourimagine the deceptive relaxed atmosphere of Donna Leons Brunetti novels mixed with the darkness of Rankins Rebus sequence. Excellent. Four stars. Ink Magazine (UK)

Hewsons strong suit is his ability to blend ancient and modern Rome, a feat that happens naturally if youre standing at the edge of the Janiculum, but is difficult otherwise. Hewsons plot, woven with ancient lore, has just the right amount of information and deduction.... This is a terrific novel by a fine emerging British talent. Toronto Globe and Mail

A beautifully structured and absorbing thriller. The characters... polish up as individuals, freshly drawn. The city of Rome, her cops, bureaucrats and criminals, shine hard and clear as sunlight bouncing off the Trevi fountain. But theyre a lot less pretty. And this is tasty stuff. Crime Time (UK)

A riveting tale of revenge brought to life by sharp characterization and powerful dynamics. The Good Book Guide (UK)

A great book, a great read, edge of the seat stuffthoroughly recommended. Murder and Mayhem Book Club (UK)

A genuine page-turner that you never want to end. Hewson is brilliant at conveying mood and atmosphere and wraps the reader in the tense and terrifying pursuit every step of the way. If you missed the first book, A Season for the Dead, buy them both and savour every twist and turn. Newbury News (UK)

1

San Michele

HE REMEMBERED TO WEAR BLACK. THE CHEAP, THIN suit from Standa. Shiny office shoes. A pair of fake Ray-Ban Predators stolen from some Japanese tourist straight off the coach at Piazzale Roma.

Rizzo lit a cigarette and waited by the gatehouse at San Michele. It was the first Sunday in July. The lagoon was entering summer, the change marked by the chittering of swallows above his head and a torpid heat rising from the water. A spirited breeze rippled the cypresses that dotted the cemetery like exclamation marks. In the shade of an alcove to his right, discreetly hidden, was an ordered stack of empty pine coffins. Rizzo watched something move in a beam of sunlight catching the corner of the nearest casket. A small lizard, dots running down its spine, dashed into the patch of gold, paused, then scurried back into the cracked brickwork.