David Hewson: The Sacred Cut (UK 2018)

From the Publisher:
A horrific murder pitches Nic Costa and his team into a collision with US agents - and a secret that has festered for fifteen years.
The snow is falling on the ancient streets of Rome. And in the heart of the city, under the Pantheon's great dome, a woman's body lies on the marble floor, carefully positioned with a gruesome carving on her back.

Arriving at the scene, Detective Nic Costa is unprepared for what he finds, nor for the intervention of US agents with a take-no-prisoners style and a shocking story to tell: the killer has struck before, in monuments all over the world, leaving the same cryptic message carved onto the bodies of the victims.

As the murder leads to more grisly slayings and the team of veteran Roman cops clash with the Americans, Nic is pulled into a harrowing search for the truth... a search that will take him into a shocking conspiracy - and a dark episode in a nation's long-forgotten past.

David Hewson: The Sacred Cut. An Italian Mystery featuring Roman Detective Nic Costa. Severn House Digital, ISBN: 9781448301522 (April, 2018), 1142 KB (ca. 342 p.), £6.99.

David Hewson: The Sacred Cut (USA 2006)

From the Publisher:
When Detective Nic Costa arrives to investigate the killing of a woman whose body is found on the floor of the Pantheon, her body brutally carved, he is caught in the middle of an ambush that costs him his only witness and follows a deadly trail that leads to more gruesome murders, high-level government intrigue, a woman's search for the truth, a shocking conspiracy, and a madman.

David Hewson: The Sacred Cut. A shocking murder. A city under siege. A serial killer who is leaving a mark all his own. Dell, ISBN: 0440242185 (August, 2006), 459 p., $6.99.

David Hewson: The Sacred Cut (UK 2006)

From the Publisher:
The third in Hewson's stunning crime series set in Rome
For the first time in decades The Eternal City is paralysed by a blizzard. And a gruesome discovery is made in the Pantheon - one of Rome's most ancient and revered architectural treasures. Covered by softly falling snow is the body of a young woman - her back horribly mutilated...

But before Costa, Peroni and Rome's Questura can begin a formal investigation the US Embassy has brought in its own people, FBI Agents who want the case closed down as quickly and discreetly as possible. But Costa is determined to find out why - and as the FBI grudgingly admits that this corpse is not the first, the mutilations of the woman's body point to Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man - and to a conspiracy so sinister and buried so deep, that only two people know its true, crazed meaning.

David Hewson: The Sacred Cut. Pan, ISBN: 0330493671 (March, 2006), 522 p., £6.99.

David Hewson: The Sacred Cut (USA 2006)

From the Publisher:
The snow is falling on the ancient streets of Rome. And in the heart of the city, under the Pantheon's great dome, a woman's body lies on the marble floor, carefully positioned with a gruesome carving on her back... In David Hewson's ingenious new thriller, this horrific murder hurtles Rome's police force into a collision with U.S. agents - and a secret that has festered for fifteen years, now unraveling in the world's most enigmatic city.

When Detective Nic Costa arrives at the scene, he is unprepared for what he finds, or for the ambush that leaves his only witness vanished into the night. The dead woman was American. Within hours, U.S. agents descend with a take-no-prisoners style and a shocking story to tell: the killer has struck before, in monuments all over the world, leaving the same cryptic message carved onto the bodies of the victims.

But one agent, beautiful, blond Emily Deacon, has yet another story to tell Nic - about a stunning act of deception that may lead back to the U.S. government, and her own chilling, personal connection to the killer. Now, as the first murder leads to more grisly slayings and a motley crew of veteran Roman cops jousts with the Americans, Nic is pulled into a woman's harrowing search for the truth... a search that will take them both into the mind of a madman, into a shocking conspiracy - and into a dark episode in a nation's long-forgotten past.

From its haunting opening to its nerve-shattering climax, The Sacred Cut defies all our expectations, proving once again the unique and compelling genius of David Hewson.

David Hewson: The Sacred Cut. A Novel of Suspense. Delacorte Press, ISBN: 038533849X (December, 2005), 341 p., $22.00.

David Hewson: The Sacred Cut (UK 2005)

From the Publisher:
For the first time in decades The Eternal City is paralysed by a blizzard. And a gruesome discovery is made in the Pantheon - one of Rome's most ancient and revered architectural treasures. Covered by softly falling snow is the body of a young woman - her back horribly mutilated...

But before Nic Costa and Gianni Peroni of the Questura can begin a formal investigation the US Embassy has brought in its own people, FBI Agents who want the case closed down as quickly and discreetly as possible. But Costa is determined to find out why the enquiry is so sensitive - and as the FBI grudgingly admits that this corpse is not the first, the mutilations of the woman's body point to Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man - and to a conspiracy so sinister and buried so deep, that only two people know its true, crazed meaning.

David Hewson: The Sacred Cut. Macmillan, ISBN: 140500049X (April, 2005), 374 p., £10.00.