About the book

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 _______________________ An ancient ritual. A modern-day crime. When a young woman turns up dead in a peat bog near the banks of the River Tiber, Teresa Lupo, a maverick pathologist, thinks she's got the victim of an ancient Roman ritual on her hands. She's wrong. Detective Nic Costa, of Rome's police force, knows this case is recent history and the horror is still very much alive. So begins an investigation that will take the police deep into the dark underworld of modern-day Rome's most disturbing and sinister secrets, all the while battling their own demons. Nic Costa is trying to stay off the drink, and his new partner, Gianni Peroni, used to work vice . . . until he was caught in one of his own department's stings. As the investigation progresses, it soon becomes clear: someone is trying very hard to kill the pathologist. And then another beautiful young woman goes missing, and the clock starts ticking in earnest . . . 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 VILLA OF MYSTERIES: "Riveting and fast-paced . . . complex and satisfying" Booklist "Entertaining stuff, with a literate style and an appealing cast" Kirkus Reviews "Atmospheric . . . steeped in dark ritual" Publishers Weekly "Hewson's inventiveness never flags" Sunday Times "Taut and exciting" San Francisco Chronicle "If you love a good mystery and you've ever been to Rome, David Hewson's books are a must read" Johnston, 5* GoodReads review "I judge a good book by one that I read in every spare moment, and this one is one of those" Alan W., 5* GoodReads review "David Hewson is quickly becoming my favorite author" Karen, 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