Showing 1-4 out of 4 reviews.

• Book 7 from the Nic Costa series finds the team being involved with guarding the death mask of Dante during the premiere of the film Inferno. However the premiere turns on its head when the death mask goes missing to be replaced with one created of the star Alan Prime - who is also missing from the films opening night.The film moves to San Francisco for its American premiere as do the detective guarding the exhibit. They know something is happening but cannot help as they are being continually sidelined from the investigation. However this does not stop them from finding out that the remaining stars of the film are in danger and the backers are not making as much money on the deal as they first thought. And are all the references to the film Vertigo by accident or with something more sinister in mind.A good holiday who dunnit. Or in this case a curl up under the blanket on the sofa and forget about the cold cruel winter. Well worth the read!

  4.00 out of 5

  StuartAston

• This is the seventh installment of the Nic Costa series, and it's a bizarre one. Then again, if these Roman cops ever solved anything not bizarre, the books wouldn't be half as good as they are. I've been following these books since Hewson first started writing them, and I finish them wanting more. If that's not a recommendation, I don't know what more can be said.The action begins in Rome where RobertoTonti's new movie, Inferno, is about to make its premiere. But right away, the lead actor, Allan Prime, is murdered in a most gruesome and very public way, while the lead actress, Maggie Flavier, is the victim of an assault. Add to this the theft of one of Italy's national treasures and there you have a fine opening to an awesome story. The Carbinieri take control of the murder investigation, claiming that it is obviously following along the lines of the different levels of hell as described by Dante. The police (our old friends from the previous books in this series) are relegated to being the protectors of Italian treasures when the movie group leave for San Francisco for the US premiere. That's when the story really begins to get strange.The plot set up is quite well done; I won't go into it but not everything is as it seems here. The rivalry between the Roman police and the Carbinieri is fun; the characters outside of our regular group of detective friends are, for the most part, well drawn. If you haven't read this series, do start with the first one, because the characters and their relationship with one another develop from the first book onward. I really enjoy Hewson's writing, and this series, and I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, or enjoys police procedurals with a twist, or to anyone perhaps wanting to try a new series author. In this particular book, some of the plot elements may be a bit unbelievable and maybe a little too much sometimes. I do have to say (without giving anything away) that I felt a bit robbed at the end with the identity of the killer (you'll figure out why when you read it). In the long run, however, it is quite suspenseful and a good mystery read.

  3.50 out of 5

  bcquinnsmom

• I'm a big fan of the Nic Costa series, but this entry was a disappointment. Nic and his team were often absent, and most of the action took place in San Francisco, not Italy. The plot centered on a film based on Dante's Inferno and connected to Hitchcock's Vertigo, and it was repetitive and dull. Hopefully the next entry will be back to the series' usual 5-star quality.

  3.00 out of 5

  auntmarge64

• Good mystery. The world view of the Italian dective is different. There is less violence and more thought. You learn more of the inner workings of the characters. The pace is slower than with an American detective, but there are other rewards. A good rfead with characters you will care about.

  out of 5

  robertw924

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