The Sacred Cut

I am currently on the 7th novel in this series and still can not figure it out. Hewson has a way of making you think one thing and then blowing you away with the result. Can not get enough.

I picked up this book because of the snowy scene of Rome on the cover. It's been a not-so-snowy winter here, so I thought I'd make up for it with a snowy novel. This was an excellent book and truly transported me. It was an intelligent novel with many twista and turns taking place over three days near Christmas. Hewson's characters are well developed and the end left me sympathetic to many of them and hoping for more in his upcoming novel to be relased in 2007. I'm going to go back and read some of his earlier novels in this Nic Costa series while waiting for "The Lizard's Bite" to be relased.

It's five days before Christmas, and Rome is covered in snow. Braving the elements on this cold winter night are policemen Nic Costa and Gianni Peroni, accompanied by civilian Mauro Sandri. A photographer, Sandri is assembling a documentary on the policeman and their city. Summoned to the Pantheon by a shaken security guard, the policemen are ambushed by an intruder, who begins shooting before fleeing into the night. The policemen are unharmed, but the photographer is fatally wounded. Later, a woman's body, bearing knife marks in the elaborate pattern of the so-called Sacred Cut, is found on the premises. Seeking justice for the photographer, Costa and Peroni begin searching for the murderer; their investigation will bring them into conflict with one of the strangest killers they've ever faced, a man out to settle scores with origins in the days of Desert Storm. A happy blend of police procedural and international thriller, Hewson's third Nic Costa novel finds the trinity of Costa, Peroni, and their Chief, the irascible Leo Falcone, in fine form, fearlessly grappling with criminals, bureaucracies, significant others, and the American intelligence community in their pursuit of the truth. Providing laughter and thrills in equal amounts, Hewson makes it look easy. The Sacred Cut is totally compelling, one of those rare thrillers which emphasizes character over action, although Hewson acquits himself admirably in that department as well. It's the attention Hewson lavishes on his entire cast that keeps readers' interest piqued; all the rest, as they say, is gravy.

David Hewson creates believable characters and a setting so real you start to shiver as you enter the cold and echoing Pantheon, where a murder has taken place in a freak snowstorm. Nobody is quite as bad, or as good, as they seem to be in this third novel featuring Roman cop Nic Costa. Hewson writes beautifully (don't miss the description of snow falling through the "oculus" of the Pantheon's dome like a spiraling strand of DNA), making this not just a hard-to-put-down thriller but a story that will linger in your mind after you finish it. Highly recommended.

In Rome, Laila, a homeless Iraqi refugee seeks warmth from the wintry weather when she observes the brutal murder in the Pantheon. The victim is naked with mystical carvings etched into the flesh and positioned apparently to mimic Leonardo da Vinci's The Vitruvian Man. Roman detectives Gianni Peroni and Nic Costa places the witness under police protection with pathologist Teresa Lupo "mothering" theyoungster who saw so much death and destruction at home and now in Rome. The two Italian cops investigate the homicide when FBI agent Joel Leapman orders them to back off or else while his Fed partner Emily Deacon tries to be diplomatic asking the locals to stay out of the case as it is part of a wider global investigation into a killer with no boundaries. Others Rome homicides occur, but neither Peroni or Lupo can understand the meaning of the religious symbolism and positioning of each corpse. The Italian police wonder whether it is a ritual killing or a calling card to play cat-and-mouse with the cops and are angry that the Feds know so much more but offer nothing to further the Roman inquiries. The third Roman police procedural starring Peroni and Costa is a fabulous thriller that has the audience enticed and captured by the opening moment when Laila is introduced to the reader. The story line is filled with twists as the readers like the two local detectives wonder if a religious serial killer is at work and what is the culprit trying to accomplish. The Feds add obxiousness especially the rude Leapman while omitting what they know about the killer. Fans will fully appreciate this strong tale while wondering for most of the novel where David Hewson is guiding us. Harriet Klausner