A Season for the Dead
1 journaler for this copy...
I saw this at Borders & had to have it. Will read/review then decide to keep or let go
keeping this one; first of a series
I would call this one a literary mystery. No cozy material here -- if you're expecting a quick read, forget it. It is tangled & convoluted, very much into character development (as a first in a series should be) and the mystery itself is at times a bit complicated. I thought it was an excellent book, myself, a very intelligent thriller.
plot review, no spoilers
Set in Rome, the story opens in the reading room of the Vatican Library, where professor Sara Farenese is thinking about her upcoming dinner date while reading. The next thing she knows, a friend of hers, Stefano Renaldi, comes into the reading room -- but not as a colleague -- holding a gun & some kind of bag. He dumps the contents on a table and out comes the flayed skin of a human being. Stefano raises the gun and says "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Sara has no idea what he's talking about, but before she has time to ask him any questions, the security guard & Vatican police rush into room. Sara does not think she is in any danger because Rinaldi is a friend, but before she can convey this to the guard, he shoots Stefano. Meanwhile, the Rome police catch wind of what is happening, and while the Vatican is supposed to be off limits, young Nic Costa and his older partner Luca Rossi decide to check it out. Tracking Rinaldi's movements, they are led to a church, where they find a woman who has hanged herself and a man with no skin. It soon becomes apparent that Sara knew the dead man (he was to be her dinner date) and had obvious connections with Rinaldi. As Costa and Rossi investigate further, other murders occur, and each of the victims has something to do with Sara. Nic must figure out what the connection is and Sara's not talking. In the meantime, the killings continue, each one posed in a different church to reflect a scene from the martyrdom of various saints. Some of the scenes are kind of grisly, but the author doesn't dwell on them for too long. Season for the Dead is a suspenseful police procedural that will keep you reading for a long time.
I would call this one a literary mystery. No cozy material here -- if you're expecting a quick read, forget it. It is tangled & convoluted, very much into character development (as a first in a series should be) and the mystery itself is at times a bit complicated. I thought it was an excellent book, myself, a very intelligent thriller.
plot review, no spoilers
Set in Rome, the story opens in the reading room of the Vatican Library, where professor Sara Farenese is thinking about her upcoming dinner date while reading. The next thing she knows, a friend of hers, Stefano Renaldi, comes into the reading room -- but not as a colleague -- holding a gun & some kind of bag. He dumps the contents on a table and out comes the flayed skin of a human being. Stefano raises the gun and says "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Sara has no idea what he's talking about, but before she has time to ask him any questions, the security guard & Vatican police rush into room. Sara does not think she is in any danger because Rinaldi is a friend, but before she can convey this to the guard, he shoots Stefano. Meanwhile, the Rome police catch wind of what is happening, and while the Vatican is supposed to be off limits, young Nic Costa and his older partner Luca Rossi decide to check it out. Tracking Rinaldi's movements, they are led to a church, where they find a woman who has hanged herself and a man with no skin. It soon becomes apparent that Sara knew the dead man (he was to be her dinner date) and had obvious connections with Rinaldi. As Costa and Rossi investigate further, other murders occur, and each of the victims has something to do with Sara. Nic must figure out what the connection is and Sara's not talking. In the meantime, the killings continue, each one posed in a different church to reflect a scene from the martyrdom of various saints. Some of the scenes are kind of grisly, but the author doesn't dwell on them for too long. Season for the Dead is a suspenseful police procedural that will keep you reading for a long time.
