A Season for the Dead

The first in a promising new crime series set in Rome, A Season for the Dead unfolds amidst the searing heat of an Italian summer, an atmospheric setting for murder and corruption. Hewson weaves a complex plot with confidence, embracing weighty themes such as bereavement and redemption. Detectives Costa and Rossi are assigned to track down a serial murderer whose gruesome killings are symbolically linked to the deaths of Christian martyrs. Each victim is linked to university professor Sara Farnese, whose troubled past slowly emerges. During their manhunt, Costa and Rossi encounter the secrecy of the Vatican, the corruption of Italian politics and the dark corridors of academia. Hewson skilfully reveals information over the course of the novel, involving us in a host of surprises and twists. His characters have real staying power. The mismatched cops Costa and Rossi are particularly well drawn - Costa's lean intensity is balanced against Rossi's cynicism and hidden tenderness, and Sara Farnese is a useful foil with her cool detachment and empty life. Even the lesser characters are ornately detailed, particularly corrupt cleric Michael Denney and tigerish pathologist Crazy Teresa. Hewson sustains the novel's tension through meticulous plotting and crisp prose. 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.