Murder and art skilfully combined

This is a further instalment in the lives and work of policeman Costa and colleagues in David Hewson's Rome series. The author's fertile imagination, yet again, conjures up an extraordinary story that mixes police detection, forensic science, religion and Italian art that carries one along wanting to know what happens next in this long recording. The book stands alone as a great story, but you'll get more out of it if you've listened to the earlier books in this series and thus know some of the background to the main characters, who are brought wonderfully to life by Saul Reichlin's outstanding performance in reading the text. Performance being the operative word as he doesn't just read the words: he, using a full range of voices, dramatizes the book as if it's almost a audio play.
As a bonus you get to learn quite a bit about the Caravaggio and Italian art: sequences of discourse that relieves some of the tension created by the furious pace of other parts of the book.
Recommended.

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25 people found this helpful

Excellent story with great narration. Kept me hooked and interested throughout.

David Hewson does his research and writes really well. A thief follows a mysterious but well dressed woman to a hidden studio. What happens there leads to the police being called. They find as part of the scene one of the most beautiful paintings that Nic Costa has ever seen - an unknown Caravaggio.

The main suspect's identity is known, but he remains untouchable - protected in his grand palazzo by a fleet of lawyers and a sinister cult known as the Ekstasists. The police are routed at every turn until Costa meets a Sister who knows a lot about Caravaggio. Can she help to unlock the case?

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Page-turner

I loved this book - interesting plot with art as the starring role and the usual thrilling story. I couldn’t put it down.

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Little confusing but enjoyable

I love this series and the narration. Fascinating, well researched history included as well as good creative licence. Found timelines and family connections outlined near the end confusing to follow as an audio book but overall an enjoyable listen.

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A really good listen.

Would give it 5 stars but Greg Iles sequel to this book is even better so have reserved 5 stars for that one.

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1 person found this helpful

Complex but totally entertaining

this book was very interesting. Took a little while to get into but then magic.

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2 people found this helpful

Highly enjoyable

I enjoy the Rome series from David Hewson and this is one of the best in my view. A good story line which holds the interest very well. David Hewson weaves a good plot and captures the atmosphere of Rome within the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and must give credit to Saul Reichlin for a very smooth narration.

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My favorite Costa book

I didn't read them in order, this is the last one for me unless more are published
T his was the best one.
I will now try the other Hewson/ reichlin combos

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Obscene

This is the product of an obscene mind , yes it’s fiction , it couldn’t be anything else , not only does it bounce from one implausibly to another but it is accompanied by incompetence in the characters that is beyond belief , quite how the narrator managed not to burst out laughing at what he was reading can only be down to the obscene nature of the story . Just shows what some people will do for money .

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Sorry but this was a Garden Full Of Rubbish For Me

Would you try another book written by David Hewson or narrated by Saul Reichlin?

For me this missed all the targets, not least of which was plausibility. Saul Reichlin does his best and though I intensely disliked the book from about halfway through, I did finish it....eventually.... but only out of respect for the narrator and the author.

The characters, for the most part,are pretty insipid and unbelievable as is the plot, most of which is taken up with speculation surrounding the life and work of the artist Caravaggio. If you're an art lover you may appreciate this far more than I did.

Anyway, I won't be buying any more of David Hewson's Rome Series. This is my second purchase of this particular series and though I wasn't too impressed by the first I had really hoped for better from the second one. I still just can't quite believe that this is the same guy who wrote 'The Killing', which for me was a superlative thriller with no issues surrounding plausibility or quality. It was outstanding as a book and as a TV serial.So I won't be writing off David Hewson .....just the Rome Series. Sorry but definitely NOT for me.

Has The Garden of Evil put you off other books in this genre?

Yes

What three words best describe Saul Reichlin’s performance?

Superb. Believable. Engaging.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Garden of Evil?

Most of It!

Any additional comments?

None

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4 people found this helpful