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Nic Costa #4
The Lizard's Bite
Things are looking up for Nic Costa and Gianni Peroni – their humiliating exile in Venice is nearly at an end, and their long-awaited holiday is about to begin. So when they are ordered to investigate an apparently open-and-shut case, a fire in a glass foundry that has claimed two lives, all they want is to wrap it up quickly. However, as they dig more deeply into the insular glass-making region of Murano and the strange Arcangeli family, things don’t quite add up. Under pressure from above to finish quickly so that urbane British millionaire Hugo Massiter’s property deal can be concluded, events spiral quickly out of control with devastating consequences... When they realise that the only verdict the local police are interested in is accidental death and a speedily closed file, Costa and Peroni find themselves embroiled in a clandestine and dangerous investigation into the shadowy world that lies beneath Venice’s sparkling façade – and where the usual rules do not apply.
Hardcover
First published October 31, 2006
47 people are currently reading
615 people want to read
About the author
David Hewson
110 books520 followersDAVID HEWSON was born in Yorkshire in 1953. His books range from the Nic Costa series set in Italy to adaptations of The Killing in Copenhagen and the Pieter Vos series in Amsterdam.
He's adapted Shakespeare for Audible and in 2018 won the Audie for best original work for Romeo and Juliet: A Novel, narrated by Richard Armitage.
2019 sees the release of a new, full-cast Audible drama set in New York, Last Seen Wearing, and a standalone novel set in the Faroe Islands, Devil's Fjord.
Series:
Nic Costa
Pieter Vos
The Killing
He's adapted Shakespeare for Audible and in 2018 won the Audie for best original work for Romeo and Juliet: A Novel, narrated by Richard Armitage.
2019 sees the release of a new, full-cast Audible drama set in New York, Last Seen Wearing, and a standalone novel set in the Faroe Islands, Devil's Fjord.
Series:
Nic Costa
Pieter Vos
The Killing
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
January 31, 2009
The next in the Nic Costa series, the detectives Costa and Peroni along with their boss Falcone are 'exiled' in Venice following their disregard for following the rules in the Sacred Cut.
In Venice they are joined by girlfriends, Emily Deacon and Teresa Lupo for holiday that is postponed when a glass factory furnace overheats and kills two people. The pair are husband and wife, the wife is found to be pregnant and her husband is medically impotent. Compounding matters, the family is near bankrupt and a buyer is a wealthy Englishmen who deals in both legal and illegal ventures.
I had also taken out Hewson's Lucifer's Shadow, which was not in the Costa series, but as it turns out Lucifer's Shadow is a pre-story to The Lizard's Bite. I'd suggest reading Lucifer's Shadow first even though it does not feature the detectives, it does the villian and gives context to the Lizard's Bite.
I've enjoyed these books but found them tough to get into during the first third before they pick up and really grab you.
In Venice they are joined by girlfriends, Emily Deacon and Teresa Lupo for holiday that is postponed when a glass factory furnace overheats and kills two people. The pair are husband and wife, the wife is found to be pregnant and her husband is medically impotent. Compounding matters, the family is near bankrupt and a buyer is a wealthy Englishmen who deals in both legal and illegal ventures.
I had also taken out Hewson's Lucifer's Shadow, which was not in the Costa series, but as it turns out Lucifer's Shadow is a pre-story to The Lizard's Bite. I'd suggest reading Lucifer's Shadow first even though it does not feature the detectives, it does the villian and gives context to the Lizard's Bite.
I've enjoyed these books but found them tough to get into during the first third before they pick up and really grab you.
April 29, 2019
Een beter verhaal dan de vorige, hoewel nog geen topper. Op sommige momenten wat langdradig .
De detectives Costa en Peroni zijn samen met hun leidinggevende, inspecteur Falcone, verbannen naar Venetië nadat ze hun superieuren (in De Pantheon getuige) dwars hebben gezeten.
Omdat zij nu eindelijk 2 weken vakantie hebben, komen hun vriendinnen Emily en Teresa over. De vakantie wordt echter ingetrokken, als de oven van een glasblazerij oververhit raakt en twee mensen om het leven komen. De mensen zijn man en vrouw, en het blijkt al snel dat de vrouw zwanger was. Haar man was echter impotent... Het bedrijf is zo goed als bankroet. Een rijke Engelsman wil het bedrijf kopen. Hij is echter verwikkeld in een aantal legale en illegale zaken.
Zij moeten er voor zorgen dat de uitslag van hun onderzoek overeenkomt met de opinie van de commissaris, namelijk dat het om een huiselijke ruzie gaat.
Voor ongeveer een derde deel was het verhaal moeilijk om in te komen, maar daarna gaat het steeds beter.
Zo beginnen in Het zevende sacrament.
De detectives Costa en Peroni zijn samen met hun leidinggevende, inspecteur Falcone, verbannen naar Venetië nadat ze hun superieuren (in De Pantheon getuige) dwars hebben gezeten.
Omdat zij nu eindelijk 2 weken vakantie hebben, komen hun vriendinnen Emily en Teresa over. De vakantie wordt echter ingetrokken, als de oven van een glasblazerij oververhit raakt en twee mensen om het leven komen. De mensen zijn man en vrouw, en het blijkt al snel dat de vrouw zwanger was. Haar man was echter impotent... Het bedrijf is zo goed als bankroet. Een rijke Engelsman wil het bedrijf kopen. Hij is echter verwikkeld in een aantal legale en illegale zaken.
Zij moeten er voor zorgen dat de uitslag van hun onderzoek overeenkomt met de opinie van de commissaris, namelijk dat het om een huiselijke ruzie gaat.
Voor ongeveer een derde deel was het verhaal moeilijk om in te komen, maar daarna gaat het steeds beter.
Zo beginnen in Het zevende sacrament.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2018
Het openingsverhaal staat als een huis. Zeer beeldend en prikkelend beschreven. Dat staat. Goed verhaal met een leuk plot. Maar waarom dingen soms gebeuren zoals ze gebeuren wordt niet altijd goed verklaard. Waarom willen twee hoofdgetuigen plotseling wel meewerken?
Ook weet ik inmiddels bij deze schrijver wanneer bepaalde delen uit het verhaal iets gaan toevoegen of juist niet, teveel beschrijvend soms. Dus dan dat deel maar overslaan? Doe maar niet, karakters en omgevingen zijn vaak ook... gewoon... interessant.
Ook weet ik inmiddels bij deze schrijver wanneer bepaalde delen uit het verhaal iets gaan toevoegen of juist niet, teveel beschrijvend soms. Dus dan dat deel maar overslaan? Doe maar niet, karakters en omgevingen zijn vaak ook... gewoon... interessant.
February 23, 2019
leuk andere setting maar zelfde hoofdpersonen. Venetië met zijn geheimen en bijzondere plekken. vermakelijk
August 16, 2022
Disappointed.... Great start and structure but then excessive plot, characters and violence.
December 26, 2022
This book has bondolas and a mist-shrouded outline of the Punta della Dogana and the Salute. They had me at Venice, plus the author posts great Venice stuff at Twitter. What’s not to like about it?
I’ll get that out of the way first: the length of the book. At a few pages short of 500, it took me a while to go through it. I started it freshly bought at the excellent Nerja Book Centre, end of October, and just finished it, after reading it on the plane to Venice, and back, and a few more snatched moments in between. So it’s a bit verbose on details, and it’s not exactly as quick-paced and to the point as one would expect from a paperback thriller.
But it’s good anyway. It starts with the death of a man, Uriel Arcangeli, in an furnace in Murano, the ancient glass-making island in the Venice Lagoon, a couple of stops away from Cannaregio (one of them being the cemetery). Two “romani” cops, from Rome, are drawn in to investigate the death, which seems nothing more than an accident until human remains are found inside the furnace.
And thus starts a convoluted plot involving an Englishman who wants to buy the small island the furnace is found, the Arcangeli family, a duck hunter in the lagoon, corrupt politicians and Croatian mafiosi.
It’s a lot to take, certainly, and certain assumptions seem barely plausible; the higher ups that are mentioned throughout are barely there, and the sinister dealings that form the background are not too explicit; there’s more space devoted to tertiary characters than to the actual stuff going on beyond the murders. But there are great characters involved, more in the side of the suspects and perps than in the actual law-enforcing side, something which might have happened earlier in the series, I guess. This is the 4th (and maybe last) installment in it, and it’s nicely drawn to a close at the end.
All in all, a nice read, with a well-outlined Venice.
I’ll get that out of the way first: the length of the book. At a few pages short of 500, it took me a while to go through it. I started it freshly bought at the excellent Nerja Book Centre, end of October, and just finished it, after reading it on the plane to Venice, and back, and a few more snatched moments in between. So it’s a bit verbose on details, and it’s not exactly as quick-paced and to the point as one would expect from a paperback thriller.
But it’s good anyway. It starts with the death of a man, Uriel Arcangeli, in an furnace in Murano, the ancient glass-making island in the Venice Lagoon, a couple of stops away from Cannaregio (one of them being the cemetery). Two “romani” cops, from Rome, are drawn in to investigate the death, which seems nothing more than an accident until human remains are found inside the furnace.
And thus starts a convoluted plot involving an Englishman who wants to buy the small island the furnace is found, the Arcangeli family, a duck hunter in the lagoon, corrupt politicians and Croatian mafiosi.
It’s a lot to take, certainly, and certain assumptions seem barely plausible; the higher ups that are mentioned throughout are barely there, and the sinister dealings that form the background are not too explicit; there’s more space devoted to tertiary characters than to the actual stuff going on beyond the murders. But there are great characters involved, more in the side of the suspects and perps than in the actual law-enforcing side, something which might have happened earlier in the series, I guess. This is the 4th (and maybe last) installment in it, and it’s nicely drawn to a close at the end.
All in all, a nice read, with a well-outlined Venice.
September 1, 2023
A fine addition to an interesting series.
Our main detective Nic Costa has been exiled from his home base of Rome to Venice as punishment, along with ever faithful Peroni and their gruff but lovable boss Falcone. They don't want to be there, and the Venice police don't want them there either, so it's a bit of a standoff, but at least Costa and Peroni are getting some time off and their girlfriends Emily Deacon and Teresa Lupo (an ex-FBI agent and a coroner) are coming for a short holiday.
Unfortunately a killer has other plans. When a glassmaker's furnace blows up and there are two bodies found, Costa's holiday goes astray as they are confronted with a murder in a strong Venetian backdrop. A Venetian family who moved up beyond their station, a clash between tradition and tourism, family feuds and generational bitterness, a pregnant victim with an impotent husband, a rich foreigner looking to cash in on a bankrupt local - Costa has all of this to confront while facing the hostility of everyone involved.
An Italian mystery with a fish out of water twist. All amid the beautiful canals of Venice, not a bad place to be exiled.
Our main detective Nic Costa has been exiled from his home base of Rome to Venice as punishment, along with ever faithful Peroni and their gruff but lovable boss Falcone. They don't want to be there, and the Venice police don't want them there either, so it's a bit of a standoff, but at least Costa and Peroni are getting some time off and their girlfriends Emily Deacon and Teresa Lupo (an ex-FBI agent and a coroner) are coming for a short holiday.
Unfortunately a killer has other plans. When a glassmaker's furnace blows up and there are two bodies found, Costa's holiday goes astray as they are confronted with a murder in a strong Venetian backdrop. A Venetian family who moved up beyond their station, a clash between tradition and tourism, family feuds and generational bitterness, a pregnant victim with an impotent husband, a rich foreigner looking to cash in on a bankrupt local - Costa has all of this to confront while facing the hostility of everyone involved.
An Italian mystery with a fish out of water twist. All amid the beautiful canals of Venice, not a bad place to be exiled.
February 22, 2019
Nic, Peroni, Falcone, Emily and Teresa are in Venice and become involved in a messy murder of a glass maker and his wife. The investigation involves a wealthy Englishman, the local police, hitmen from Croatia, local Venetians, a 5-year old murder linked with present day murders and Emily being put in a difficult position in obtaining information illegally for Nic and the team. A page turner.
March 14, 2022
Another very good detective novel by this author. Placed in Venice and suitable atmospheric, making such of the main protagonist distance from their home of Rome, and the difference between the cities and their inhabitants; as much a commentary on the differences that may still exist between the old city states now brought together as Italy.
A good holiday read.
A good holiday read.
April 21, 2023
audible version narrated by Saul Reichlin. set on a small island near Venice, a tale of an italian family trying to fulfil its dynasty, but actually destroying itself.
murder, art, friendship, nasty british aristocrat, and some amazingly descriptive writing.
one part i had to listen to about 5 times, it was so brilliant.
love this series, the narrator is perfect!
murder, art, friendship, nasty british aristocrat, and some amazingly descriptive writing.
one part i had to listen to about 5 times, it was so brilliant.
love this series, the narrator is perfect!
October 16, 2021
Nick Costa has been exiled to Venice and is hoping to just do his job while there and hopefully be restated as a Roman cop, but so much for his plans. He finds himself in the middle of a high-profile murder case and under pressure to resolve the case. Many interesting characters and much intrigue.
August 22, 2017
De ontknoping vond ik goed en vertaste me. Verder kwam ik lastig door dit boek heen. Van wat ik me herinner vond ik de Vaticaanse moorden veel beter.
January 25, 2018
3,5 stars for this one!
August 2, 2018
Overall a good book however I wouldn't say it gripped me!
February 7, 2021
I greatly enjoyed this book. The ending took me by surprise. Another great read from D. Hewson. Kind of interested in reading more of his books.
June 9, 2024
Always spellbinding.
November 14, 2025
Really good crime story, being set in Venice made for a nice change, and some good twists along the way
January 11, 2017
I am reading these out of order. I started with book six and now I’ve leapt back to four.
The three Roman Questura(fictional) police have been sent to Venice as punishment. Of course, they can’t keep out of trouble and when there is a serious accident at the Murano glass foundry, they are called in to investigate. It seems like a simple accident until a skull is found inside the glass oven and a half burnt man on the floor outside. All the doors are locked.
Nic Costa is a detective, in love with Emily but he’s not good at telling her. Leo Falcone, the somewhat aloof if well-meaning father figure who’s Costa’s inspector. His partner and friend, Gianni Peroni, is an older, bluff former officer knocked down to the ranks. Gianni is dating a doctor Teresa Lupo, who is a forensic expert and both women help them out in this case.
The Archangeli family have made glass in their extraordinary building for decades but the local islanders still see them as newcomers. They are aloof, proud and all named after angels: Michele, Gabriele, Uriel, and their sister Rafaella.
Another newcomer, Englishman Hugo Massiter, is trying to buy the whole property but the family are against it, the Venetian councillors for it, and the locals are disinterested. He is ruthless; perfectly willing to destroy whoever gets in his way by whatever means necessary. He’s becoming more and more powerful and the Murano purchase will make him effectively untouchable.
Tell these three to wind something up quickly and they are highly likely to keep investigating just to be perverse. But Teresa nearly freaks when the local coroner wants to mark Uriel’s death as spontaneous combustion. Uh huh. In a glass foundry in front of the furnace? The body in the furnace is his wife, Bella, and she’s pregnant but it can’t be his child; her husband was sterile.
***
Hewson has a way of making his settings gritty and real. I didn’t know Venice spoke it’s own language, for instance.
Falcone is very interested in Rafaella Arcangelo, which is unlike him.
Emily, with her FBI training, accepts a job as architect for Massiter and tries to find evidence on his yacht. Putting herself in harm’s way in the process.
The ending is very much a ‘shades of grey’ solution. There is a kind of justice, but not true justice.
4 stars
The three Roman Questura(fictional) police have been sent to Venice as punishment. Of course, they can’t keep out of trouble and when there is a serious accident at the Murano glass foundry, they are called in to investigate. It seems like a simple accident until a skull is found inside the glass oven and a half burnt man on the floor outside. All the doors are locked.
Nic Costa is a detective, in love with Emily but he’s not good at telling her. Leo Falcone, the somewhat aloof if well-meaning father figure who’s Costa’s inspector. His partner and friend, Gianni Peroni, is an older, bluff former officer knocked down to the ranks. Gianni is dating a doctor Teresa Lupo, who is a forensic expert and both women help them out in this case.
The Archangeli family have made glass in their extraordinary building for decades but the local islanders still see them as newcomers. They are aloof, proud and all named after angels: Michele, Gabriele, Uriel, and their sister Rafaella.
Another newcomer, Englishman Hugo Massiter, is trying to buy the whole property but the family are against it, the Venetian councillors for it, and the locals are disinterested. He is ruthless; perfectly willing to destroy whoever gets in his way by whatever means necessary. He’s becoming more and more powerful and the Murano purchase will make him effectively untouchable.
Tell these three to wind something up quickly and they are highly likely to keep investigating just to be perverse. But Teresa nearly freaks when the local coroner wants to mark Uriel’s death as spontaneous combustion. Uh huh. In a glass foundry in front of the furnace? The body in the furnace is his wife, Bella, and she’s pregnant but it can’t be his child; her husband was sterile.
***
Hewson has a way of making his settings gritty and real. I didn’t know Venice spoke it’s own language, for instance.
Falcone is very interested in Rafaella Arcangelo, which is unlike him.
Emily, with her FBI training, accepts a job as architect for Massiter and tries to find evidence on his yacht. Putting herself in harm’s way in the process.
The ending is very much a ‘shades of grey’ solution. There is a kind of justice, but not true justice.
4 stars
August 24, 2011
Falconi, Peroni, Costa, Lupo & the former FBI agent Emily Deacon return.
A fire in a glass foundry leaves two dead, but is it an accident, a murder/suicide, or double murder? Falconi and his team having been banished from their Roman home to the city of Venice slowly uncover a tale of deceit and murder in the ancient city. With Massiter the intriguing Englishman all is not as it seems, and as further murders follow, Falconi's men must uncover the truth.
This is the fourth "Nic Costa" book, and the series goes from strength to strength, from the horrific opening scenes to the satisfying final chapters, this entry in the Costa series is by far the best of the first four, in my opinion. As I have read the series out of order I know that it goes from strength to strength from here on, but I am trying to start and read/reread the series from the beginning.
For me, whilst these are very much of the crime crime/mystery genre, they are also about art, culture, architecture, travel, good food and good wine. One of my favourite weekend pastimes now is to sit with a Nic Costa tale, and a glass of Italian white that I have read about in a previous outing.
The Lizard's Bite also sits alongside David Hewson's standalone novel, "The Cemetery of Secrets", although I have yet to read the latter, and either book can be read without the benefit of the other, some characters appear in both books.
Ah, Venice and murder, another outstanding Nic Costa tale from David Hewson, recommended!
A fire in a glass foundry leaves two dead, but is it an accident, a murder/suicide, or double murder? Falconi and his team having been banished from their Roman home to the city of Venice slowly uncover a tale of deceit and murder in the ancient city. With Massiter the intriguing Englishman all is not as it seems, and as further murders follow, Falconi's men must uncover the truth.
This is the fourth "Nic Costa" book, and the series goes from strength to strength, from the horrific opening scenes to the satisfying final chapters, this entry in the Costa series is by far the best of the first four, in my opinion. As I have read the series out of order I know that it goes from strength to strength from here on, but I am trying to start and read/reread the series from the beginning.
For me, whilst these are very much of the crime crime/mystery genre, they are also about art, culture, architecture, travel, good food and good wine. One of my favourite weekend pastimes now is to sit with a Nic Costa tale, and a glass of Italian white that I have read about in a previous outing.
The Lizard's Bite also sits alongside David Hewson's standalone novel, "The Cemetery of Secrets", although I have yet to read the latter, and either book can be read without the benefit of the other, some characters appear in both books.
Ah, Venice and murder, another outstanding Nic Costa tale from David Hewson, recommended!
August 9, 2007
THE LIZARD’S BITE (Pol. Proc.-Ensemble-Venice-Cont) – G
Hewson, David – 4th in series
Dell Suspense, 2006, US Paperback – ISBN: 9780440243007
First Sentence: In the shifting darkness of the vessel’s bowels, low over the undulating black water, the animal waited, trembling.
*** Roman police officers Nick Costa and Gianni Peroni think they are going to get some time off with their girlfriends, former FBI agent Emily Deacon and pathologist Teresa Lupo. But things change when their boss, Leo Falcone shows up and the three of them are told they are to investigate the deaths of a Moreno glass worker and his wife. But the pressure is on as wealthy Englishman, Hugo Massiter is about to buy the island currently owned by the victim’s family. The three policemen are told to investigate the deaths quickly and verify the man killed his wife and then died of spontaneous combustion. With the help of their girlfriends, the three policemen finds things are not as simple as hoped.
*** As a big Donna Leon fan, this was an interesting perspective of Roman policemen working in Venice. Many of the things Leon’s Insp. Brunelli loves about Venice, these detectives hate. However, the corruption of some of the Italian police remains a consistent theme. There are a lot of interesting characters, but the story was short on character development. It was really the twists and turns along the way that kept me reading.
Hewson, David – 4th in series
Dell Suspense, 2006, US Paperback – ISBN: 9780440243007
First Sentence: In the shifting darkness of the vessel’s bowels, low over the undulating black water, the animal waited, trembling.
*** Roman police officers Nick Costa and Gianni Peroni think they are going to get some time off with their girlfriends, former FBI agent Emily Deacon and pathologist Teresa Lupo. But things change when their boss, Leo Falcone shows up and the three of them are told they are to investigate the deaths of a Moreno glass worker and his wife. But the pressure is on as wealthy Englishman, Hugo Massiter is about to buy the island currently owned by the victim’s family. The three policemen are told to investigate the deaths quickly and verify the man killed his wife and then died of spontaneous combustion. With the help of their girlfriends, the three policemen finds things are not as simple as hoped.
*** As a big Donna Leon fan, this was an interesting perspective of Roman policemen working in Venice. Many of the things Leon’s Insp. Brunelli loves about Venice, these detectives hate. However, the corruption of some of the Italian police remains a consistent theme. There are a lot of interesting characters, but the story was short on character development. It was really the twists and turns along the way that kept me reading.
February 3, 2024
Nic Costa, Gianni Peroni and Leo Falcone have been temporarily exiled from Rome as a result of their police work that ruffled more than a few feathers; they are currently finishing out their exile in Venice, where they are despised by the local constabulary and itching to leave the tourist-infested place. When a couple of unsavory deaths occur at a glass-making factory on a nearby island, the local police ask that the Romans clear up the matter for them quickly: it is obvious that the husband killed the wife and then, remorseful, himself, so if they can just do a quick investigation and come up with that conclusion, everybody will be happy and the Romans can go home a little early. Unfortunately, the local police don’t know Nic, Gianni and Leo - not at all…. “The Lizard’s Bite” is the fourth in David Hewson’s Nic Costa series, and although it’s set in Venice rather than Rome, it is just as complex and brutal as the earlier three novels. The relationships between the three men and Nic and Gianni’s girlfriends as well are given more depth as the series goes on, and the complicated ways in which Italian justice seems to work (or not) are very strongly depicted. I like the way that our heroes never give up a case; they are shown as being perhaps the only honest detectives in the police forces of Italy, although of course they have their own failings as well. Highly recommended, but make sure you have a strong stomach before trying these books out!
April 18, 2011
This is my second David Hewson/Nic Costa novel. It is a bit overlong but grabbed me and held me waiting for the next surprise.
The story opens with Nic Costa and Gianni Peroni, Nic's partner looking forward to the end of a
humiliating exile in Venice and the beginning of a long-awaited vacation with their girl friends, Emily Deacon and Teresa Lupo. Unfortunately they are ordered to investigate a case, in which a fire in a glass foundry has claimed two lives. They want to wrap it up quickly, but as they get more and more involved with the people of Murano, a glass-making region, the weird Arcangeli family, and British millionaire Hugo Massiter, they realize the case isn't as open and shut as it first appeared. They resist the pressure from above to close the case quickly for political and economic reasons, precipitating a series of events that quickly spiral out of control, including the near death of their boss, Falcone. The plot unfolds quickly at that point and comes to a somewhat satisfying conclusion.
Hewson makes Murano and Venice almost characters in themselves. He also does a great job of exposing the corruption and emptiness of this once great city. His other characters are always well drawn and their motivations and actions understandable within the constraints of the story.
I will continue to read other books in the series.
The story opens with Nic Costa and Gianni Peroni, Nic's partner looking forward to the end of a
humiliating exile in Venice and the beginning of a long-awaited vacation with their girl friends, Emily Deacon and Teresa Lupo. Unfortunately they are ordered to investigate a case, in which a fire in a glass foundry has claimed two lives. They want to wrap it up quickly, but as they get more and more involved with the people of Murano, a glass-making region, the weird Arcangeli family, and British millionaire Hugo Massiter, they realize the case isn't as open and shut as it first appeared. They resist the pressure from above to close the case quickly for political and economic reasons, precipitating a series of events that quickly spiral out of control, including the near death of their boss, Falcone. The plot unfolds quickly at that point and comes to a somewhat satisfying conclusion.
Hewson makes Murano and Venice almost characters in themselves. He also does a great job of exposing the corruption and emptiness of this once great city. His other characters are always well drawn and their motivations and actions understandable within the constraints of the story.
I will continue to read other books in the series.
January 9, 2008
Has the most impressive story and its characters are believable and livable.
The reason the two venitien cops and their wives are involved, its rather a life style for them, and is because they're leading in investigations, it wasn’t to get involved with the family, which nearly seemed to become the point. But where as Falcone takes a sudden infatuation for the miss Arcangeli during the investigation, and falls for her. Supposing to be a old family, who once had wealth, now living remotely on their own island, and with their own buisness of shaping glass figurines for a living.
Massiter is a project-a-holic of quailty type, while bearing a mark of indifference, his difference is of a cover-up getting slowly exposed of his personal involvement, maybe blame. He appears all cool headed about his work though, meanwhile, and takes a chance now and then to achieve what he’s believing in.
The reason the two venitien cops and their wives are involved, its rather a life style for them, and is because they're leading in investigations, it wasn’t to get involved with the family, which nearly seemed to become the point. But where as Falcone takes a sudden infatuation for the miss Arcangeli during the investigation, and falls for her. Supposing to be a old family, who once had wealth, now living remotely on their own island, and with their own buisness of shaping glass figurines for a living.
Massiter is a project-a-holic of quailty type, while bearing a mark of indifference, his difference is of a cover-up getting slowly exposed of his personal involvement, maybe blame. He appears all cool headed about his work though, meanwhile, and takes a chance now and then to achieve what he’s believing in.
April 8, 2009
A bit bloody, but like all of Hewson's books, well researched and written. Nic Costa is a seriously flawed main charachter, who always manages to find the reason behind the crime.
This book takes place with Nic and his cohorts transfered to Venus as a punishment. In the last week of their exile, a seeminly open & shut case takes place on the island of Murano, where the Venitian glass is made. Of course Nic, Falcone, Emily, Peroni & Theresa, never do things the easy way and they soon have the bones of a real case which seems connected with Hugo Massiter, a character from Hewson's book "Lucifer's Shadow".
Although I would rather think of Venice as being under the sole protection of Guido Brunetti (Donna Leon's main character in her series of mysteries), Hewson does a very credible, vivid story full of Venice's street (canal?) life, corruption, and the ebb and flow of life in a city that is always on display, almost a character itself .
This book takes place with Nic and his cohorts transfered to Venus as a punishment. In the last week of their exile, a seeminly open & shut case takes place on the island of Murano, where the Venitian glass is made. Of course Nic, Falcone, Emily, Peroni & Theresa, never do things the easy way and they soon have the bones of a real case which seems connected with Hugo Massiter, a character from Hewson's book "Lucifer's Shadow".
Although I would rather think of Venice as being under the sole protection of Guido Brunetti (Donna Leon's main character in her series of mysteries), Hewson does a very credible, vivid story full of Venice's street (canal?) life, corruption, and the ebb and flow of life in a city that is always on display, almost a character itself .
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September 4, 2007two italian detectives become involved in a bizarre double murder that occurs in venice. the victim is a member of an eccentric family sur-named arcangeli. they live on an island where they operate a glassmaking furnace, the art of glassmaking having been passed down to them from their father. the two cops are called in to shuffle papers and rubberstamp the opinion of the town fathers, which is that the glassmaker and his wife died as the result of a domestic dispute. but, being who they are, the cops cannot let their doubts about the truth of the matter rest.[return]the story is full of detail and moves rather slow. i had a hard time getting into it and didn't find it that suspenseful. those looking for a 'literary' read and who would enjoy immersing themselves in the venetian setting would probably enjoy it more.
March 4, 2011
Two Italian detectives become involved in a bizarre double murder that occurs in Venice. The victim is a member of an eccentric family sur-named Arcangeli. They live on an island where they operate a glassmaking furnace, the art of glassmaking having been passed down to them from their father. The two cops are called in to shuffle papers and rubberstamp the opinion of the town fathers, which is that the glassmaker and his wife died as the result of a domestic dispute. But, being who they are, the cops cannot let their doubts about the truth of the matter rest.[return]The story is full of detail and moves rather slow. I had a hard time getting into it and didn't find it that suspenseful. Those looking for a 'literary' read and who would enjoy immersing themselves in the Venetian setting would probably enjoy it more.
April 3, 2015
In David Hewson's The Lizard Bite, the 4th installment in the Nic Costa series, Nic and the rest of his team in the Carabineri tackled another hard core mystery. The Arcangelo family lived on their private island in a decaying palazzo and making glass in their factory. But now the world comes to them when there's a vaporetti of police embarked on their private property, when two members of their family died in a foundry fire. For Nic Costa and her partner, they were on a special assignment and knew that two members of that family were murdered. A predatory tEnglishman was a suspect as the family of the women were persons of interest, too. As they want the police to go away, when they can't, when a matter of lies, death and desire turns murderously on one of them.
March 6, 2014
Nic Costa -sarjan neljäs osa siirtyy Roomasta vaihteeksi Venetsiaan. Hewson vie laguunikaupunkiin koko aiemmista seikkailuista tutun tutkijatiimin, aina patologia myöten. Tulipalo lasikaupassa on vaatinut kaksi kuolonuhria ja Costa päätyy selvittelemään tapausta. Venetsian vanhojen sukujen rappiolla ja ulkomaalaisten romantisoinnilla herkutellaan koko rahan edestä.
En voi sanoa tuntevani omakohtaisesti Venetsiaa kovin hyvin, mutta jossain vaiheessa kirjaa mieleen hiipi ajatus, tunteeko Hewsonkaan. Siinä määrin Donna Leonin kirjojen kliseitä englanninkielisestä dekkarista tuli vastaan. Voi toki olla sattumaakin...
Hieman turhan venytetty, mutta juoneltaan mukiinmenevä dekkari. Ei herätä suuria intohimoja, mutta täyttää asiansa viihdyttävänä lukukokemuksena.
En voi sanoa tuntevani omakohtaisesti Venetsiaa kovin hyvin, mutta jossain vaiheessa kirjaa mieleen hiipi ajatus, tunteeko Hewsonkaan. Siinä määrin Donna Leonin kirjojen kliseitä englanninkielisestä dekkarista tuli vastaan. Voi toki olla sattumaakin...
Hieman turhan venytetty, mutta juoneltaan mukiinmenevä dekkari. Ei herätä suuria intohimoja, mutta täyttää asiansa viihdyttävänä lukukokemuksena.
November 16, 2013
It has taken me a while to read this book and it took a while for the story to get going. This is not as fast paced as some of the previous Nic Costa books, although there is an interesting twist at the end. I am not sure I want to read the next in the series now because this book was so slow and laboured. I think it is just the fact you know the characters so well and their little foibles and you like the characters and have invested time in them and their lives, that kept me going through this book.
I have already read the next in the series 'The seventh sacrament' and I could not put it down, so hopefully 'The Garden of Evil' will be equally as compelling and back to Hewson's best.
I have already read the next in the series 'The seventh sacrament' and I could not put it down, so hopefully 'The Garden of Evil' will be equally as compelling and back to Hewson's best.
September 15, 2015
Dit boek is de vierde roman waarin Nic Costa en Leo Falcone en Gianni Peroni een rol spelen. Ze zijn in Venetië op vakantie met Emily en Teresa. Ze worden gevraagd een zaak te onderzoeken door de lokale politie. Dit omdat Hugo Massiters midden in het geheel zit. En rijke Engelsman die het eiland van de glasblazers Isola degli Arcangeli wil kopen. Binnen deze familie hebben ook de moorden zich voorgedaan. De lokale politie wil hiermee niets te maken hebben door deze man. De heren onderzoeken de zaak de dames raken ook betrokken. Emily als "infiltrant" bij Hugo Messiters en Teresa als patholoog.
Ik heb het boek in twee dagen uitgelezen. En ik was zeker geboeid.
Ik heb het boek in twee dagen uitgelezen. En ik was zeker geboeid.
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