Nic Costa Books In Order

Publication Order of Nic Costa Books

David Hewson was born on 9 January 1953. He is a contemporary author of mystery novels whose famous work features Rome police officers like the art-loving detective and protagonist, Nic Costa. Robert Hale in the U.K. published David Hewson’s debut novel in the year 1986. Hewson’s second novel was set in Spain. It won W H Smith’s Fresh Talent Prize for being one of the best first novels. The film adaptation of the novel was released in the year 2002, and had the same title as the book. Apart from the series, David Hewson has also authored several standalone novels including the Promised Land and Lucifer’s shadow.

At the age of 17, Hewson left school so that he could join a North England’s local newspaper team. He later on became a business, foreign and news reporter for the Times. He also worked as a feature editor for the Independent in the year 1986 when it was launched.

A Season for the Dead

In this installment, Nic Costa introduces the reader to one Sara Farnese who works as a professor at the University of Rome. On one fine day, as she was working quietly in on one of reading rooms, one of her coworkers enters into the room while behaving extremely strangely. The coworker pulls a piece of evidence which appears as if it was taken from an horrendously crime scene while waving a gun at Sara’s head. As Sara tries to make sense of his strangely behavior, he is shot by one of the security guards in the head. As they sit right outside St. Peter’s Square, Police Detective, Nic Costa together with his new partner, overhear the cries for help over the guard’s radio frequency.

Despite the fact that the two have no jurisdiction in the state of Vatican, they end up becoming the first police detectives to arrive at the crime scene. It does not take long before the two are involved in a chain of bizarre murders where each of the victims is not only killed, but also presented as a saint. As he tries to decipher the mystery at hand, the Vatican guards and corrupt police detectives constantly block Nic. With that said, the author has done an exceedingly great job of developing exceedingly interesting and sympathetic characters such as Nic and many others.

By doing this, David Hewson has managed to draw the reader deeply into the story. Apart from Nic’s inability to resist Sarah, Nic is a superb protagonist. Nick is also young and slowly learning his trade. Despite the fact that he is full of bravado he is still is not overconfident, an exceedingly great trait, to possess. Nic works extremely hard and many at times makes logical deductions. Like any other protagonist, Nic has an exceedingly interesting back-story and a love for studying the works of one Carravagio. Throughout the novel, we see Nic change and develop especially with regards to the relationship with his father.

Nonetheless, as it is the case with many storylines, the lesser characters are the ones who normally steal the shows. In this book, Lucca Rossi with his girlfriend, Theresa are some of the noticeable characters. Luca Rossi is a detective who is already broken by his work, thus he is only trying to slog until he is awarded his pension. Lucca looks like a slob and does not care about his work at all; he is a heavy drinker, who many at times is sweaty and crumpled. When he looks at Nic, Lucca sees a detective whom he once was, with his idealism and energy. Towards the end of the book, there is an exceedingly wonderful revelation about Lucca’s life.

Apart from Lucca, Theresa is also another character that many readers can easily identify themselves with. She is usually extremely happy to discuss her worklife, especially autopsy details during dinner. However, Theresa is a character who is completely dissatisfied with herself. Her position of a woman who was fighting for her slot in a world that was dominated by men, made her extremely abrasive. She is not only intelligent, but also perceptive, thus she has some great lines. Another great addition to this installment is Marco, Nic’s father and a dying communist. At the beginning of the book, it will appear as if his addition to the book is temporary, however he brings a wonderful poignancy, which grounds Nic’s character. Marco is also witty and the father son relationship between the two of them was brilliantly exploited.

The Villa of Mysteries

In a thriller of astonishing power and menace, David Hewson returns with the second installment in the series, the Villa of Mysteries. The books begins as a woman rushes up to two police detectives who are lounging in their uniforms and sunglasses. The woman informs them that her teenage daughter had been kidnapped. Police detective, Nic watches as the scene unfolds and decides to intervene. This is mainly because, Nic Costa knows something that the police officers do not know; he is aware that the police forensic pathologist is currently examining an extremely strange and mummified corpse of a different girl who was also abducted a while back. Teresa Lupo, the police pathologist is Detective Nic’s friend and colleague. She is also Nic’s equal when it comes to breaking the law so that they can be able to achieve results.

After living for so many years with the dead, Teresa Lupo tells her superiors that they should move quickly so that as to save the girl’s life. While carefully examining the dead body’s girl in the morgue, Lupo finds so many similarities between the two girls including an exceedingly unique tattoo. Teresa Lupo is more than certain that the girls together with her kidnappers are headed for Bacchanalia, an ancient city where virgins are taken for a sacrificial murder ritual. While the time is ticking on a young girl’s life, Teresa and Nick will make one of the most horrifying discoveries of a pit where human darkness exists, evil has used up innocence and a modern vengeance has already begun. With that said, if you are looking a spellbinding mix of forensic science, human drama and suspense, then this book is definitely, what you need.