Friday, May 13, 2011

What is David Hewson reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: David Hewson, author of the Nic Costa series of novels.The latest title in the series is The Fallen Angel.

Hewson's entry begins:
I probably read more non-fiction than fiction these days, often works that are connected with something I'm writing. I'm currently deeply into a series of books about Florence, the current one being Scourge and Fire by Lauro Martines. This is about an extraordinary monk from Ferrara, Girolamo Savonarola, who rose to become a kind of ruler in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century, largely through his amazing, apocalyptic preaching skills. Savonarola was responsible for a clean-up of Florence's louche reputation -- or at least an attempted clean-up. The original bonfire of the vanities, in which precious objects were burned, was his idea. Supposedly Botticelli threw some of his own works into that fire. A few years later Savonarola was...[read on]
Among the early praise for The Fallen Angel:
"…perhaps his finest novel. It’s hard to see how the author could have made his dark tale more fascinating, entertaining and yet entirely serious than he has."
--Washington Post

"Mr. Hewson’s crime novel, the ninth in a series, is like a satisfying “Law & Order” episode set in modern-day Rome… the ending is the rich tiramisu we’ve waited for."
--New York Times

"This international mystery is as good as it gets."
--USA Today

"The main story takes time to gain momentum, but once secrets begin to be revealed, there's no stopping them. Readers will have a lot of fun peeling away the book's many layers, right down to the final, closing twist."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"...the writing is superior, and the characters engage."
--Kirkus
Learn more about the author and his work at David Hewson's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: The Seventh Sacrament.

The Page 99 Test: The Garden of Evil.

My Book, The Movie: Dante's Numbers.

The Page 69 Test: City of Fear.

The Page 69 Test: The Fallen Angel.

Writers Read: David Hewson.

--Marshal Zeringue