The Fallen Angel by David HewsonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am an avid detective story fan, especially when the story is set in a place I love and the detective involved is thoughtful, insightful and intelligent – someone I would enjoy knowing outside the pages of a book. Donna Leon’s Venetian detective Guido Brunetti is the prime example I have encountered thus far in this genre. So when I compare David Hewson’s Roman police officer, Nic Costa, favorably to Leon’s Commissario Brunetti, it is the highest praise I can offer. Such books and such characters are all too rare in my experience. How Hewson has escaped my notice to this point is difficult to understand. There are eight novels featuring Superintendent Nic Costa. If the other seven are half as good as The Fallen Angel I can’t wait to read them.
Detective Nic Costa and his colleagues come off the pages as real people. There are no clichés among them. They live and breathe and their foibles and relationships with each other quickly become a matter of interest to the reader. The case Costa is investigating in The Fallen Angel bears a remarkable resemblance to a real-life case that took place in Rome in the sixteenth century in which a young girl, believed by many to be innocent, was condemned to death by the Pope. Hewson weaves history and fiction together masterfully with references to that event and to the Galileo trial for heresy in the mix. I found myself genuinely surprised in the final pages, at the denouement of this unusual story. This rarely happens to me. Hewson is a story teller par excellence.
I could not recommend this author and this book more highly to lovers of the genre.
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I currently have three published novels and one short story. I hope you will add them to
your reading list and let me know if you enjoy them. Go to my Goodreads page, to find more info and reviews. To purchase one of these books, just click on the book link below and select the vendor of your choice.
"The Memory of Roses by Blair McDowell
is simply an incredibly lovely story. It’s also a love story, and a story about
finding yourself, and about closure. The theme running through the book is
“all’s well that ends well.” -- Marlene, Reading Reality
"Delighting In Your Company is a unique paranormal romance that brings together island folklore, history, and mystery with an unlikely romance between the past and present that had me going through a torrent of emotions and made it impossible to put down." -- The Romance Reviews
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~ Alyssa James who she barely knows, is about to become her new stepmother;
~ and Alyssa’s brother, Hugh James, is a charming Irishman who is intent on bedding and wedding the rich and beautiful Sayuri.
It’s a confusing and difficult time for Sayuri, especially when dangerous accidents happen to her father and herself – or are they accidents?
“I found Sonata to be a charming novel that left me laughing out loud
in parts and gnawing nails in others. It was a delight to read.” – Night Owl
Reviews
Abigail's Christmas is a holiday story about Abigail who goes looking for a tree on Christmas Eve, and ends up with the man of her dreams in a sleigh in the Rockies --- with a wedding in the offing! Is it real? Is she dreaming? Or is it just Christmas magic?
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Blair McDowell