The Sacred Cut

Sacred Cut. David Hewson. 2006. A Season for the Dead, is the first novel in this series about an modern day policeman in Rome and Sacred Cut was a good as I remember the first one being. I plan to get the others in the series. It is obvious that Hewson has spent a lot of time in Rome. His descriptions of Rome bring back memories of my brief visit. I love the description of the city and its historic sites! Nic Costa, the main character and his partner are forced to work with a seedy FBI agent and a slimy Italian secret service guy to catch a serial killer who turns out to be a wrong CIA operative. This is a suspenseful, exciting mystery with great characters.

The plot development and twists are intriguing and make it difficult to put down. I found that the beginning of the book was the best part of this book witht the descriptions about the snowfall in Rome. The ending was fantastic, really different; there was no blood or dead people. A change from other books.

Someone is killing people in Rome, strangling them and then cutting a very specific pattern into their backs. One such body is found in the Pantheon in the midst of a very rare snowstorm, and Costa and Peroni are at a loss as to where to begin. When a couple of FBI agents show up and spirit away the body, and the investigation is declared a joint venture with the Americans in charge, the Roman police officers must find a way to work with the foreigners before too many other people die…. This is the third book in the Nic Costa series set primarily in Rome; as with the other books, this is not for the squeamish as there is a fair amount of blood and gore depicted in the story, but the relationships between the partners, their superiors show more and various other people in the Questura are really well-drawn and the characters themselves are complex, if sometimes unlikeable. Recommended, but start with the first in the series (“A Season for the Dead”) in order to appreciate the full impact! show less

David Hewson's "The Sacred Cut" makes an excellent read for anyone who likes crime stories with a twist. The story takes place in Rome, and on top of that the culprit seems to have a religious obsession that makes him kill, seemingly, random people in buildings that look like the Pantheon in Rome. Despite this, the story does not contain a complicated religious conspiracy like you would find with, for instance, Dan Brown.

What I also liked is that the Italian police offers very fundamental and efficient crime solving, while the American FBI agent seems to have a hot temper and is quick to jump to conclusions. This is the complete opposite of the common prejudices of efficient Americans and arrogant, lazy Italians who always have some show more deal going on somewhere instead of doing honest work.

The writer knows his way around Rome and his descriptions of the city make a nice setting. Anyone familiar with the city would be thrilled to remember the places he chose as a background and feel like they are wandering around in Rome with the detectives to solve this intricate case.

This was the first David Hewson book that I read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am looking forward to reading more of his work. show less

It's an OK read. It started out on a good premise, but didn't quite deliver. This is how it begins: The body of a woman is found in the Pantheon, mutilated by some diagram carved into her back, and the body arranged in semblance to the diagram of the Vitruvian Man. So here I am looking for an enigmatic read, full of symbolism and mystery -- instead it leans towards inter-agency politics and jurisdiction. The plot does unfold in due course, but because of the heavy lean, took the wind out of the sails of this one. Does not quite cut it for me.

This is the third book of the Nic Costa series. It is just before Christmas and Rome is surprised by a big snow storm. Nic, Gianni, Leo and Teresa fight on all fronts. On the one hand, the heads of the various secret services gather together. They have the feeling that with their dark machinations they can trick the four main proganists, on the other hand, a most sophisticated golf war veteran is on revenge. In the midst of all this happenings is a Kurdish teenager who hopes for a better future than in her country and an American who is confronted with the past of her father and at the same time fallen for Nic.
As always, it was an exciting reading.

Absolutely wonderful! Sadly now I have to wait a year for the next one (The Lizard's Bite), because I can't wait until these books come out in paperback & I have to buy them when they're first released. Kind of like waiting for the next Harry Potter novel. If you have read Hewson's work before, then I definitely can recommend this installment (3rd in the Nic Costa series); if you like a well-written mystery that doesn't insult your intelligence, then I can recommend it to you and if you enjoy a good conspiracy yarn & a view of Italy, then you will liek this one. If you want a cute little cozy yarn, skip it. I think Hewson writes mysteries the way they should be written, although I must say I had most of it figured out early on. Normally show more I hate that, but in this case, it's okay...it was the getting there that was really the fun part.

brief look
The Pantheon, built by Hadrian in antiquity is the scene to which Nic Costa & his partner Gianni Peroni are called to investigate a murder. The most major snowfall in years is falling in the background, and the body has been covered by it. The dead woman has been positioned on the floor, and in her back is carved something that looks like Da Vinci's famous Vitruvian Man (you know, the one with the man in the square in the circle). But wait...before you start screaming oh god, another DVC ripoff, don't. The investigation that follows leads our friends to become (unhappily) involved with the FBI, who are playing their cards very closely and not revealing more than they need the police to know. As Costa, Peroni, Falcone and Crazy Teresa get more involved, they realize that there's more here than meets the eye -- and find a mystery/conspiracy that it may not be healthy for them to become involved in.

Very well done; I couldn't stop reading once I started it. YAY...more more more!!! show less