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Read The Seventh Sacrament (2007)

The Seventh Sacrament (2007)

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Series
Rating
3.79 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
1405050225 (ISBN13: 9781405050227)
Language
English
Publisher
macmillan

The Seventh Sacrament (2007) - Plot & Excerpts

From Publishers Weekly The intricate fifth thriller from British author Hewson to feature Roman detective Nic Costa (after 2006's The Lizard's Bite) artfully weaves several points-of-view as it shifts between past and present. Fourteen years after seven-year-old Alessio Bramante, the son of an eminent archeology professor, disappeared underneath Rome's ancient Circus Maximus, someone seeking revenge attacks Costa's colleague, Insp. Leo Falcone, who worked on the unsolved case of the missing boy. Falcone and Costa start asking questions that should have been asked during the original bungled investigation. High on their list of people to talk to is Alessio's father, Giorgio, an expert on the tunnels beneath Rome who served time in prison for beating to death one of his students, the chief suspect in his son's disappearance. The subterranean labyrinths just may hold the answers to a mystery whose poignant resolution few readers will anticipate. (July 31) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Starred Review Hewson's uncompromising trio of antiestablishment Roman cops—Nic Costa, Gianni Peroni, and their boss, Leo Falcone—are back in the Eternal City and up to their necks in another vat of hot water. As with the previous four entries in this always-captivating series, the crime on the front burner—a dead body discovered in a Roman church—is merely the entrée point to a case with tentacles extending deep into ancient history and, in this instance, reaching below the city into the labyrinthian catacombs where a seven-year-old boy, the son of a distinguished archaeologist, disappeared 14 years earlier. Falcone was on that case and still broods over both his failure to find the missing boy and his role in putting the archaeologist behind bars for the murder of one of the young men assumed (but never convicted) of being responsible for the boy's disappearance. The archaeolgist is out of jail now and intent on settling scores. As the story weaves across multiple time lines—the present, the weeks surrounding the boy's disappearance, and the fourth century CE, when Constantine won control of the Roman Empire—Hewson keeps his readers securely tethered to a narrative lifeline; like Theseus on the trail of the minotaur, we follow the plot around countless blind corners but never lose our way out of the maze. Also helping to ground us is the flesh-and-blood humanity of the present-day characters. The interplay between Hewson's three cops—and between them and the especially rich supporting cast—lift this novel far above the plot-driven Da Vinci Code and its many imitators. A superb mix of history, mystery, and humanity. Ott, Bill

The fifth of eight (and counting) in the Nic Costa series, this is the fourth of Hewson's books I've read and third in the series.The core cast of characters is now up to six which makes it a challenge when you add in others to make a good story. And you know it is going to grow exponentially when there is a list of "Principal" characters ahead of the introduction that is in excess of 30.Despite that, I found it wasn't too bad keeping up with all these folks. What I did find challenging at times was the storytelling shifts from current to past. One segment was clearly denoted by being in italics, but there were other times when scenes were from the past that weren't.There were a few good twists and it wrapped up nicely where it began (in a sense). So I liked the ending. In fair warning, the descriptions and some incidents are rather violent/graphic, as you are dealing with at least one psycho involved in no less than nine or ten murders, so I guess you should expect some 'creativity' in the methods.I'll continue to read the series and felt this was a bit better than the Sacred Cut, and on par with Lizard's Bite.

What do You think about The Seventh Sacrament (2007)?

I know I enjoyed this one a little more than the first book in the series (and have not read 2-4), but perhaps it's because I knew right off that it was a series. The Seventh Sacrament didn't have as much historical information as I would have liked, but maybe that's because Mithraism isn't that well known.This mystery is solved more by technology and human error than by knowledge of the past. I really enjoy the developement of Lupo in this book and might have to read 2-4 to find if there's more of her in those.
—Juliette

Reading David Hewson's Nic Costa series is like slipping on a comfy pair of shoes. You know what you're going to get but you're not disappointed.This book jumps backwards and forwards between now and 14 years ago. With no indication at the beginning of the chapter which year it is did using it can be a bit confusing to start with, but you soon get in to the flow of it. This is the review of a cold case that comes back to hit the main characters with an unseen twist at the end.It also continues the personal lives of Nic, Falconi and Peroni. a you'll be caught up with them, even if this is the first of the series you read. Though why don't you start with book 1?
—Sharon Thomson

The Seventh Sacrament is the fifth in David Hewson’s police detective series set in Rome and featuring agente Nic Costa and his friends. It is as compelling as all his others. Set against a backdrop of modern Rome, we are led deep underground for much of the story, into the world of the archaeologist. The backdrop for this tale of mystery, suspense and murder are the buried temples of a pre-Christian religion, Mithraism, practiced principally by the military, the Praetorian Guard, and the many troops who conquered and defended in the name of Rome. The Seven Sacraments of the title are the sacrificial steps the followers had to progress through in order to achieve the highest level. Mithraism is said to have had more followers than any other pre-Christian religion. It was largely wiped out, its few survivors forced underground, by the enforced conversion to Christianity by the Emperor Constantine in the year AD 312.This is a book rich in historic detail, but with a contemporary story so complex and so bloody, even for Hewson, that at times I found myself skimming over the more horrific parts. As with all the books in this series, the story delivers non-stop suspense, and a surprise ending. Don’t start this book at bedtime unless you have tomorrow off. As always, Hewson adds very informative endnotes, for those (among whom I number) who want yet more history.Highly recommended. This a good read.
—Blair McDowell

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