Rachel Reviews: The Villa of Mysteries by David Hewson

I thoroughly enjoyed David Hewson's novel, the second of his Nic Costa series. It is a police thriller, set in Rome, which is action from the get go with the discovery of a body, preserved in peat and believed to be part of an ancient Roman ritual.

But is it?

With the advent of the disappearance of another girl, very similar in appearance to the body in the morgue, questions are asked about whether or not the two could be linked.

Nic Costa is presented, by the name of the series, as the main character but actually, there are many characters who have a fair chunk of the action in the book and I would argue that Costa is not the dominant one of them all. Peroni is Costa's new partner, an ugly cop, demoted due to a disgrace; Falcone is their boss, an older, more dour figure, world weary and lonely; Teresa Lupo is the pathologist with more than an anatomical interest in the bodies on the table infront of her.

The four of them are meant to work together but there are the usual conflicts and banter between them due to over ambition and overstepping whilst on duty but generally, there is a sense of a team, working together and looking out for each other.

Running alongside the investigation, Hewson gives us the story of ageing mobster Emilio Neri, a man who is on the wind down but is reluctant to pass his business over to his spoilt son, Mickey, and is consistently being harangued in his own home by the constant arguing between his new wife, Adele, and Mickey. It wouldn't be an Italian thriller without some mob action and of course, there are rivals and so we see Neri trying to evaluate what best to do to ensure that his empire endures and his men can continue with their nefarious practices.

Likewise, set in Rome, it wouldn't be unusual to assume a connection with either the Catholic Church or the resurgence of an ancient Roman cult and with a title of The Villa of Mysteries, it's not difficult to guess the association in this book.

There are twists and turns; it has a well-developed and executed plot; the banter between Nic et al is realistic and at times, funny; and the ending surprised me, which for this jaded reader was the best twist of all.

Rachel Rating: 4/5 stars

This review was first published on Reedsy Discovery:

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