The Dante Killings Read online

  Praise for David Hewson’s Novels

  THE DANTE KILLINGS

  “Easily the best yet in a really terrific series.”

  —LEE CHILD, #1 bestselling author of Gone Tomorrow

  “The return of Nic Costa is a true cause for celebration.… A literate, page-turning tale that finds our hero—one of the most appealing in crime fiction—zipping between two of the most iconic cities in the world: Rome and San Francisco. Hewson is a daunting talent—a writer who is a master stylist, who respects his audience’s intelligence and who effortlessly keeps the thrills coming a mile a minute.”

  —JEFFERY DEAVER, bestselling author of Roadside Crosses

  “One of my all-time favorite fictional detectives is David Hewson’s Nic Costa, and The Dante Killings brings Nic for the first time to American shores. From the opening scene of murder and mayhem at a movie premiere to the final, mind-blowing surprise, The Dante Killings is an elegant, clever, and terrifying tale of intrigue and murder involving Dante’s first circle of Hell and Hitchcock’s classic film Vertigo. An outstanding novel.”

  —DOUGLAS PRESTON, bestselling author of The Monster of Florence and Blasphemy

  “The Dante Killings is action-packed suspense at its smartest and most gripping. Transplanting Nic Costa and his fellow Italian detectives to the dizzying world of Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a masterstroke from a brilliant author. It’s impossible not to be swept up in the memorable, compelling world that is David Hewson’s specialty.”

  —DAVID MORRELL, bestselling author of The Shimmer

  “This is a tour de force from one of the most original thriller writers around. With Dante-inspired villainy, Hitchcock obsessives, and an abundance of imaginative twists and turns, David Hewson pulls out all the stops. Unmissable.”

  —LINWOOD BARCLAY, bestselling author of Fear the Worst

  “David Hewson is one of the finest thriller writers working today. The Dante Killings is politically wise, multi-dimensional, and psychologically intuitive. Action braids suspense on nearly every page, creating a reader’s delight from beginning to end. A superb effort by a master storyteller. The rest of the world already knows how good David is. Now it’s time America finds out.”

  —STEVE BERRY, bestselling author of The Charlemagne Pursuit

  “Sending his cast to America is a masterful touch from Hewson.… Rich in characters, complex of plot, [The Dante Killings] is a worthy entry in an erudite, entertaining series.”

  —Richmond Times-Dispatch

  “You find yourself catching your breath after each chapter for the next rush. Flawless suspense.”

  —Wichita Falls Times Record News

  “With his carefully prepared stories, larded with tasty historical tidbits and spread out across the series’ sumptuous Roman setting, David Hewson has created a growing clientele of satisfied readers.… Shocking and satisfying.”

  —Winston-Salem Journal

  “I always have a special feeling when I begin a new book by a familiar author, especially one like David Hewson, who has never disappointed.… This is no exception.… [Hewson is] a magician with the English language. This is a top-notch, thrilling ride.”

  —Mystery News

  THE GARDEN OF EVIL

  “A dark jewel of a thriller … A plot as serpentine—and suspense-filled—as the ancient Roman byways through which Costa stalks his prey.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “Hewson’s latest Nic Costa thriller opens with a shocker that will have series fans reeling.… Arturo Pérez-Reverte has long set the gold standard for mixing history, mystery, and modern life into literary stews of mouthwatering flavor and incredible subtlety, but it’s time to agree that Hewson now shares that position—and is on the verge of claiming it outright.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “The Garden of Evil is the sixth in the Costa series and is even more gripping than its predecessors. Hewson is a cunning storyteller and the opening is deceptively leisurely.… The Garden of Evil is impossible to put down.”

  —Daily Express

  “Hewson sets his stories so firmly in place that it’s possible to go from street to piazza to alley, and almost feel the stones of the walks or touch the stones of the ancient Roman bricks. The Garden of Evil is the best book so far in the Costa series, and that’s saying a lot, but Hewson takes his plotting here a giant step further than in the usual cop/chase story.”

  —The Globe & Mail

  “David Hewson is in top form with this novel, taking his readers on a gripping journey through the streets of the Eternal City.”

  —Choice magazine

  “Captivating to the final page.”

  —The Scotsman

  “It sizzles with grisly murders, well-drawn characters you will care about, dialogue to envy, and all in a story not to forget.”

  —Mystery News

  THE SEVENTH SACRAMENT

  “A sophisticated and original thriller that cements David Hewson’s burgeoning reputation as one of crime writing’s most exciting talents.”

  —Mystery & Thriller Club magazine

  “The interplay between Hewson’s three cops—and between them and the especially rich supporting cast—lifts this novel far above the plot-driven Da Vinci Code and its many imitators. A superb mix of history, mystery, and humanity.”

  —Booklist

  “Every bit as convoluted and awe-inspiring as the Catacombs themselves.”

  —The MLB News

  “Intricate … A mystery whose poignant resolution few readers will anticipate.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Brimming with realism, a touch of romance (which feels inevitable given the assortment of characters), a mystery to solve, and just a pinch of the macabre. It is always a pleasure to recommend David Hewson’s series for the sheer joy of experiencing intelligent writing plus the added bonus of the picture-postcard visits to Italy.”

  —Mystery News

  “Hewson delivers once again. His ability to combine seemingly innocuous facts and characters into a well-designed and -scripted story line ensures that readers are kept guessing until the end. Those who enjoy a good mystery should certainly consider this author.… Difficult to put down. One of the better reads of the summer.”

  —Wichita Falls Times Record News

  “Rich and intricate … with results you won’t see coming.”

  —Sullivan County Democrat

  “Hewson spins a compelling tale that educates and entertains.”

  —Richmond Times-Dispatch

  THE LIZARD’S BITE

  #5 on the Bookseller (UK) Top 20 Fiction Heatseekers List 2/9/07

  “Told with dashing style, in atmospheric set pieces that capture the theatrical grandeur of Venice and the pockets of miserable squalor behind its splendid façade.”

  —The New York Times Book Review

  “This complex novel, a journey to hell and back, is leavened with food and humor and propelled by suspense and action. The atmospherics are extraordinary—Hewson does Venice every bit as well as Tony Hillerman does New Mexico. The ending is particularly satisfying, like watching a multistage finale to a spectacular fireworks display.”

  —The Boston Globe

  “Hewson takes the story well beyond its genre-bound premise, mixing Venetian ambience and the lore of glassmaking with a multifaceted examination of his characters’ dark sides. A richly ambiguous finale only adds to the pleasure.”

  —Booklist

  “Hewson’s wonderfully complex and finely paced fourth crime novel … Hewson is particularly strong on characterization, revealing each personality subtly and naturally.… Newcomers as well as series fans will be enthralled.”

  —Pub
lishers Weekly (starred review)

  “Hauntingly evocative … a suspenseful story with a surprising conclusion and characters the reader has come to treasure … Stylish, literate entertainment.”

  —Richmond Times-Dispatch

  THE SACRED CUT

  “Stunning … Hewson expertly blends historical material into the text.… All this historical detail gives the proceedings a tasty complexity comparable to Pérez-Reverte, but what really makes this novel work is the interplay between the trio of antiestablishment Roman cops.… A masterful mix of the high-concept historical thriller and the cynical contemporary Italian procedural.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “A mesmerizing experience.”

  —Houston Chronicle

  “[With] stylish writing and his love of the city … Hewson serves up welcome snapshots of Italy much as Donna Leon does in her series set in Venice.…”

  —The Washington Post

  “An intriguing blend of spy novel and serial-killer tale. Hewson’s prose is top rate, his recurring characters even more interesting with each novel, his trademark twists as unexpected as always. The Sacred Cut is entertainment that challenges, fiction that’s a cut above the ordinary.”

  —Richmond Times-Dispatch

  THE VILLA OF MYSTERIES

  “A complex and satisfying mystery from a master plot maker.”

  —Booklist

  “An atmospheric follow-up steeped in dark ritual.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “What happens in this titular place is so macabre and nasty it makes for a story you won’t soon forget.”

  —Rocky Mountain News

  “Hewson writes a compellingly complex novel, one with numerous twists. Near the end, one surprises—and a second stuns. A haunting portrayal of evil—and damaged women. The Villa of Mysteries will leave readers eager for Costa’s third adventure.”

  —Richmond Times-Dispatch

  A SEASON FOR THE DEAD

  A Bill O’Reilly Book Club Selection

  “A delicious and compelling view of the public art of Rome and the private intrigues of the Vatican.”

  —Library Journal

  “A Season for the Dead, like The Da Vinci Code, is a thriller that takes an unflattering look at the Catholic Church, but 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.… Intelligent entertainment.”

  —The Washington Post

  “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.”

  —The Dallas Morning News

  LUCIFER’S SHADOW

  A Deadly Pleasures Best Mystery/Crime Novel 2004

  “Entertaining [and] fun.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “This intelligent and highly detailed thriller rivals Pérez-Reverte’s The Flanders Panel in historical intricacy, complexity of motive, and multileveled storytelling. Masterfully plotted … Prepare for a devilish ride in which beauty masks wickedness, and righteousness is relative.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “Good mysteries set in Venice are a growth industry … and David Hewson’s new book is one of the best in recent memory.… Hewson has created a brave and fascinating double strand of linked plots, one set in 1773 and the other in the present.… Add horribly believable scenes of violence, enough sex to ensure the city’s reputation for romance, as well as great gobbets of food and scenery both splendid and squalid, and you begin to see why Lucifer’s Shadow is unputdownable.”

  —Chicago Tribune

  ALSO BY DAVID HEWSON

  THE NIC COSTA NOVELS

  A Season for the Dead

  The Villa of Mysteries

  The Sacred Cut

  The Lizard’s Bite

  The Seventh Sacrament

  The Garden of Evil

  Lucifer’s Shadow

  AND LOOK FOR

  City of Fear in Summer 2010

  The Dante Killings is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  2010 Dell Mass Market Edition

  Copyright © 2008 by David Hewson

  This book contains an excerpt from City of Fear by David Hewson. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the full edition.

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Dell, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  DELL is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

  This work was originally published as Dante’s Numbers in Great Britain by Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, in 2008, and subsequently in the United States by Delacorte Press, a division of Random House, Inc., in 2009.

  eISBN: 978-0-440-33830-7

  Photo of tower: Kersti Frigell

  Photo of gravestones: bridgeandtunnel.com

  www.bantamdell.com

  v3.1

  Midway upon the journey of our life

  I found myself within a forest dark,

  For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

  —The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto I. Dante Alighieri,

  translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  Contents

  Cover

  Praise for David Hewson’s Novels

  Other Books by This Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Epigraph

  Part 1

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Part 2

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Part 3

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Part 4

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Part 5

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Part 6

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Part 7

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Excerpt from City of Fear

  PART 1

  1

  ALLAN PRIME PEER
ED AT THE WOMAN THEY’D sent from the studio, pinched his cheeks between finger and thumb the way he always did before makeup, then grumbled, “Run that past me again, will you?”

  He couldn’t figure out whether she was Italian or not. Or how old, since most of her face was hidden behind a pair of large black plastic-rimmed sunglasses. Even—and this was something Prime normally got out of the way before anything else—whether she was pretty. He’d never seen this one at Cinecittà, and a part of him said he would have noticed, if only in order to ask himself the question: Should I?