Italian Detective Nic Costa is back and the crime scene he faces is particularly brutal. Two bodies, one a naked woman, are dead near a painting that may be a Caravaggio. But the murderer hasn't left the area and Nic takes off in a chase that will cost him tremendously. Before it is over, the hooded man gets away, and Nic suffers a devastating loss. He's so emotionally torn up that he's removed to a peripheral role in the case, authenticating the painting with an art expert who also happens to be a nun.
As this case draws him in and challenges Nic to control his personal feelings, he makes connections to historical happenings that have a bearing on today's murders. Chases through the streets of Rome and clues that lead back hundreds of years will eventually take Costa and his team to a finale that does nothing to make up for Nic's loss.
This sixth in the Costa series lives up to its predecessors. Tense, action-packed and terribly sad, too, you'll definitely want to read this book.
In a deserted artistβs studio in the heart of Rome,
detectives stumble upon a scene of shocking brutality: two
bodies, freshly killed. Looming over them is a painting
that bears all the hallmarks of a Caravaggio: a
brilliantly colored canvas depicting a violent tableau of
beauty and depravity. . . . In David Hewsonβs bold new
novel of suspense, this grisly discovery sends Detective
Nic Costa on a desperate chase through the streets of his
city. The consequences are devastating. And for Nic, the
case has only just begun.At the crime scene,
detectives find a treasure trove of evidenceβfrom fresh
blood to lurid photos of dead prostitutes. For Costa,
finding the killer who escaped him is intensely personal.
But his prime suspect arrogantly hides in plain sight
behind a fortress of money, power, and the law.
Teaming with an art expert, Costa follows clues
hidden in the mysterious Caravaggio canvas. As he moves
through a maze of history, he begins to make stunning
connections to the present case. And each discovery brings
him closer and closer to a secret buried in a priceless
work of art, a conspiracy dating back four hundred yearsβ
and men who will stop at nothing to protect their own
private garden of evil.From modern forensics to
the realm of the Medicis, from the force of faith to the
corruption of power, The Garden of Evil is a
novel steeped in Roman historyβand an unforgettable
experience in richly atmospheric, modern-day suspense.
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