The Sacred Cut (2005)

Kwam niet echt in het verhaal. Startte traag, maar had wel genoeg actie om je bezig te houden. Begon er een beetje genoeg van te krijgen te lezen dat Peroni door een fout van hem bij de 'gewone' politie terecht kwam. De reden daar van was al in het [b:Het Bacchus offer|44901518|Het Bacchus offer|David Hewson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1554743658s/44901518.jpg|69558135] uitgelegd, en nu ook weer diverse keren.

Wat gebeurde er verder met dat meisje Laila?

Over het algemeen zijn dit leuke verhalen om te lezen op vakantie, omdat ze makkelijk weg te leggen zijn. ( )

This is the third book of the Nic Costa series. It is just before Christmas and Rome is surprised by a big snow storm. Nic, Gianni, Leo and Teresa fight on all fronts. On the one hand, the heads of the various secret services gather together. They have the feeling that with their dark machinations they can trick the four main proganists, on the other hand, a most sophisticated golf war veteran is on revenge. In the midst of all this happenings is a Kurdish teenager who hopes for a better future than in her country and an American who is confronted with the past of her father and at the same time fallen for Nic.
As always, it was an exciting reading. ( )

It's an OK read. It started out on a good premise, but didn't quite deliver. This is how it begins: The body of a woman is found in the Pantheon, mutilated by some diagram carved into her back, and the body arranged in semblance to the diagram of the Vitruvian Man. So here I am looking for an enigmatic read, full of symbolism and mystery -- instead it leans towards inter-agency politics and jurisdiction. The plot does unfold in due course, but because of the heavy lean, took the wind out of the sails of this one. Does not quite cut it for me. ( )

'In dit bloedspannende boek zien we de Italianen veelvuldig in hun habitat met de talrijke Romeinse Piazza's, de espresso's in cafés en aan de pasta. Bellisimo' vat een anonieme journalist het boek samen op de achterflap. En dat is het wel zo ongeveer. Geschreven met een reisgids in de hand. Clichés alom in deze whydunit. De plot is niet onaardig, maar - zoals ze vaak - je mag er niet te veel bij nadenken.
En voor de fans: als ik het einde goed interpreteer, speelt het volgende boek in Venetië. Hoera!
(Waarom lees je dit soort boeken toch uit?) ( )

David Hewson's "The Sacred Cut" makes an excellent read for anyone who likes crime stories with a twist. The story takes place in Rome, and on top of that the culprit seems to have a religious obsession that makes him kill, seemingly, random people in buildings that look like the Pantheon in Rome. Despite this, the story does not contain a complicated religious conspiracy like you would find with, for instance, Dan Brown.

What I also liked is that the Italian police offers very fundamental and efficient crime solving, while the American FBI agent seems to have a hot temper and is quick to jump to conclusions. This is the complete opposite of the common prejudices of efficient Americans and arrogant, lazy Italians who always have some deal going on somewhere instead of doing honest work.

The writer knows his way around Rome and his descriptions of the city make a nice setting. Anyone familiar with the city would be thrilled to remember the places he chose as a background and feel like they are wandering around in Rome with the detectives to solve this intricate case.

This was the first David Hewson book that I read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am looking forward to reading more of his work. ( )