BookReporter.Com
‘…breathtaking… a dark delight, a story that one is compelled to read at one sitting while simultaneously wishing it will never end.’
Publisher’s Weekly
Outsized, eccentric characters, a complex story and an abundance of historical detail make this engrossing book more than just another cookie-cutter, religious-nut serial killer thriller.
Washington Post
A Season for the Dead, like The Da Vinci Code, is a thriller that takes an unflattering look at the Catholic Church, but it is better written and more sophisticated than Dan Brown’s phenomenal bestseller… The books differ, too, in that Hewson, far more than Brown or most thriller writers, has a serious concern for character.
Hewson gives us lyrical moments (during a storm, “the city looked like the bowl of some fantastic fountain designed by a drunken Bernini”) and bizarre moments, as when the killer, in clerical robes, awaiting a victim, listens on headphones to Cannonball Adderley’s great recording of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” the point being that he has none. Amid revelations of police corruption, unexpected parentage, incest and betrayal, Hewson concocts a climactic scene in a little church called San Luigi dei Francesi…
Lit by candles, Caravaggio’s painting of the martyrdom of Saint Matthew gazes down from the wall (”the naked madman murdering the prone Matthew on the ground, sword raised, ready to deliver the final blow”). One crazed character “stumbled forward, colliding with terrified bodies in the darkness, yelling every obscenity he could think of, screaming his father’s name, begging the black maw of the nave to give up his body for vengeance.”
Let me tell you, this is great stuff. A Season for the Dead, if sometimes blissfully over the top, is intelligent entertainment… Praise be!
Dallas Morning News
Mr Hewson’s 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 Costa’s first case gives the serial murder mystery a new look.
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tennessee
This enthralling story has it all: believable heroes, villains and even minor characters, exotic setting, history, religion, gruesome violence and steamy sex. Best of all, it’s so seamlessly put together that time flies as you flip pages to get to the end. Atmospheric and captivating, Hewson’s novel has all the elements needed for the complete thriller-reading experience. This is one not to miss.
Rocky Mountain News
There will be inevitable comparisons between this novel and The Da Vinci Code because of the Italian setting, the Vatican connection and the Caravaggio association. But A Season for the Dead does not expose artistic or religious frauds nor attempt to rewrite history. This is, instead, a complicated and engrossing mystery so compelling that it begs for a one-night reading.
The good news is that this is only the first novel to star Nic Costa. Hewson said in a recent interview that he created Costa as “a good guy, an unfinished, slightly naive, innocent person … a character who was in transition.” In a proposed six-book series, he will follow the policeman and his cohorts through other adventures as they attempt not only to solve crimes but deal honestly with a society that is not always honest itself.”Most of my books aren’t whodunits; they’re more whydunits,” Hewson explained. And that is just what makes them so fascinating.
Star Tribune, Minneapolis
This atmospheric thriller begins in the Vatican library and winds around the ancient streets and churches of Rome. Detective Nic Costa is working on a series of gruesome murders that mimics the martyrdom of early Christian saints – and seems to revolve around the mysterious Sara Farnese, a professor of Early Christian history. Costa finds himself drawn to her cool beauty as well. Hewson’s 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 Vatican’s less-than-godly dealings with the secular world.
Library Journal
It’s a suspenseful thriller, cleverly plotted with great characters and a real look at the back streets of Rome and the darker streets of the Vatican.
Oklahaman
… a delicious and compelling view of the public art of Rome and the private intrigue of the Vatican. Recommended for most popular fiction collections; blooming Costa fans will be pleased to know that Hewson plans a series of novels featuring the detective.
Mystery Lovers.Com
A fast-paced tour of Rome with a nice combo of serial killer thriller and Vatican conspiracy novel.
Deadly Pleasures
What makes Hewson worth reading is not only the well-realized setting, but also, to Americans, the exotic European characters, especially the two Italian cops. The action is well paced, the plot nicely twisted, the characters often chameleon-like, and the setting is definitely fascinating for many readers. Overall, this is a well written mystery with some real surprises at the end.
Birmingham Post
David Hewson… has written mysteries set abroad before now, especially Spain, and is one of several crime writers opting for an Italian setting these days. On this form, Hewson is certainly the leader of the pack.
Publishing News
The first in a promising Italian crime series set in Rome … Hewson’s way with the Roman milieu is as cutting edge as his adroit narrative.
Sunday Mercury
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 can’t beat the old fatal attraction between an all-too-human cop and a beautiful woman.
The Good Book Guide
Hewson weaves a complex plot with confidence, embracing weighty themes such as bereavement and redemption. (He) skilfully reveals information over the course of the novel, involving us in a host of surprises and twists. His characters have real staying power. Even the lesser characters are ornately detailed. Interwoven with the manhunt and gore are interludes of compassion and forgiveness. The loving relationship between Costa and his father shows how humane Hewson’s writing can be, and it is this humanity that distinguishes Hewson from more formulaic crime writers. By the time we reach the stylish conclusion we’re already impatient to read the next in the series.
Cape Times
A Season for the Dead is one of the most unusual thrillers I have read in ages. History and travel fans will embrace this book, but it doesn’t let lovers of suspense and political intrigue down either.
David Hewson really knows his subject. His descriptions of Rome in August are so real you can see St Peter’s 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 I’m very keen to read his next novel.
Bookshelf, SAfm
… unusual and gripping. Hewson has quite a sure feel for the structure of his story and… matters that are arguably far deeper than most detective thriller writers expect from their readers.
He definitely seems keen on exploring the notion that not one of us is entirely removed from the evil in the world, and he uses the thriller genre-the archetypal ‘good guys versus bad guys’ genre-to look at that notion.Cleverly, Hewson also encourages us to ponder mortality, age, judgement and things temporal vis-à-vis things eternal. Rome is, after all, the eternal city. But it’s not a pretentious or arty-farty book… a refreshingly unusual piece of writing. I certainly stayed up till all hours enjoying a really original author. I look forward to his next book.
Crimetime
Hewson writes well, and the Rome he describes is a venous and breathing city-if not the one you recognise as a tourist. By a quarter way through the book you realise there is more to these grisly episodes than the solitary amusement of a madman. The Mafia and the Vatican are bedfellows, the female love interest seems a cold-hearted whore, and absolutely nobody can be trusted. An initially simple story becomes increasingly dark and matted – perhaps too complex to be believed, yet when one looks back, the whole astonishing conspiracy hangs together.
‘…breathtaking… a dark delight, a story that one is compelled to read at one sitting while simultaneously wishing it will never end.’
Publisher’s Weekly
Outsized, eccentric characters, a complex story and an abundance of historical detail make this engrossing book more than just another cookie-cutter, religious-nut serial killer thriller.
Washington Post
A Season for the Dead, like The Da Vinci Code, is a thriller that takes an unflattering look at the Catholic Church, but it is better written and more sophisticated than Dan Brown’s phenomenal bestseller… The books differ, too, in that Hewson, far more than Brown or most thriller writers, has a serious concern for character.
Hewson gives us lyrical moments (during a storm, “the city looked like the bowl of some fantastic fountain designed by a drunken Bernini”) and bizarre moments, as when the killer, in clerical robes, awaiting a victim, listens on headphones to Cannonball Adderley’s great recording of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” the point being that he has none. Amid revelations of police corruption, unexpected parentage, incest and betrayal, Hewson concocts a climactic scene in a little church called San Luigi dei Francesi…
Lit by candles, Caravaggio’s painting of the martyrdom of Saint Matthew gazes down from the wall (”the naked madman murdering the prone Matthew on the ground, sword raised, ready to deliver the final blow”). One crazed character “stumbled forward, colliding with terrified bodies in the darkness, yelling every obscenity he could think of, screaming his father’s name, begging the black maw of the nave to give up his body for vengeance.”
Let me tell you, this is great stuff. A Season for the Dead, if sometimes blissfully over the top, is intelligent entertainment… Praise be!
Dallas Morning News
Mr Hewson’s 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 Costa’s first case gives the serial murder mystery a new look.
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tennessee
This enthralling story has it all: believable heroes, villains and even minor characters, exotic setting, history, religion, gruesome violence and steamy sex. Best of all, it’s so seamlessly put together that time flies as you flip pages to get to the end. Atmospheric and captivating, Hewson’s novel has all the elements needed for the complete thriller-reading experience. This is one not to miss.
Rocky Mountain News
There will be inevitable comparisons between this novel and The Da Vinci Code because of the Italian setting, the Vatican connection and the Caravaggio association. But A Season for the Dead does not expose artistic or religious frauds nor attempt to rewrite history. This is, instead, a complicated and engrossing mystery so compelling that it begs for a one-night reading.
The good news is that this is only the first novel to star Nic Costa. Hewson said in a recent interview that he created Costa as “a good guy, an unfinished, slightly naive, innocent person … a character who was in transition.” In a proposed six-book series, he will follow the policeman and his cohorts through other adventures as they attempt not only to solve crimes but deal honestly with a society that is not always honest itself.”Most of my books aren’t whodunits; they’re more whydunits,” Hewson explained. And that is just what makes them so fascinating.
Star Tribune, Minneapolis
This atmospheric thriller begins in the Vatican library and winds around the ancient streets and churches of Rome. Detective Nic Costa is working on a series of gruesome murders that mimics the martyrdom of early Christian saints – and seems to revolve around the mysterious Sara Farnese, a professor of Early Christian history. Costa finds himself drawn to her cool beauty as well. Hewson’s 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 Vatican’s less-than-godly dealings with the secular world.
Library Journal
It’s a suspenseful thriller, cleverly plotted with great characters and a real look at the back streets of Rome and the darker streets of the Vatican.
Oklahaman
… a delicious and compelling view of the public art of Rome and the private intrigue of the Vatican. Recommended for most popular fiction collections; blooming Costa fans will be pleased to know that Hewson plans a series of novels featuring the detective.
Mystery Lovers.Com
A fast-paced tour of Rome with a nice combo of serial killer thriller and Vatican conspiracy novel.
Deadly Pleasures
What makes Hewson worth reading is not only the well-realized setting, but also, to Americans, the exotic European characters, especially the two Italian cops. The action is well paced, the plot nicely twisted, the characters often chameleon-like, and the setting is definitely fascinating for many readers. Overall, this is a well written mystery with some real surprises at the end.
Birmingham Post
David Hewson… has written mysteries set abroad before now, especially Spain, and is one of several crime writers opting for an Italian setting these days. On this form, Hewson is certainly the leader of the pack.
Publishing News
The first in a promising Italian crime series set in Rome … Hewson’s way with the Roman milieu is as cutting edge as his adroit narrative.
Sunday Mercury
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 can’t beat the old fatal attraction between an all-too-human cop and a beautiful woman.
The Good Book Guide
Hewson weaves a complex plot with confidence, embracing weighty themes such as bereavement and redemption. (He) skilfully reveals information over the course of the novel, involving us in a host of surprises and twists. His characters have real staying power. Even the lesser characters are ornately detailed. Interwoven with the manhunt and gore are interludes of compassion and forgiveness. The loving relationship between Costa and his father shows how humane Hewson’s writing can be, and it is this humanity that distinguishes Hewson from more formulaic crime writers. By the time we reach the stylish conclusion we’re already impatient to read the next in the series.
Cape Times
A Season for the Dead is one of the most unusual thrillers I have read in ages. History and travel fans will embrace this book, but it doesn’t let lovers of suspense and political intrigue down either.
David Hewson really knows his subject. His descriptions of Rome in August are so real you can see St Peter’s 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 I’m very keen to read his next novel.
Bookshelf, SAfm
… unusual and gripping. Hewson has quite a sure feel for the structure of his story and… matters that are arguably far deeper than most detective thriller writers expect from their readers.
He definitely seems keen on exploring the notion that not one of us is entirely removed from the evil in the world, and he uses the thriller genre-the archetypal ‘good guys versus bad guys’ genre-to look at that notion.Cleverly, Hewson also encourages us to ponder mortality, age, judgement and things temporal vis-à-vis things eternal. Rome is, after all, the eternal city. But it’s not a pretentious or arty-farty book… a refreshingly unusual piece of writing. I certainly stayed up till all hours enjoying a really original author. I look forward to his next book.
Crimetime
Hewson writes well, and the Rome he describes is a venous and breathing city-if not the one you recognise as a tourist. By a quarter way through the book you realise there is more to these grisly episodes than the solitary amusement of a madman. The Mafia and the Vatican are bedfellows, the female love interest seems a cold-hearted whore, and absolutely nobody can be trusted. An initially simple story becomes increasingly dark and matted – perhaps too complex to be believed, yet when one looks back, the whole astonishing conspiracy hangs together.
