Caravaggio revisited: The Garden of Evil

The picture contained a frightful beauty, one which burned so brightly that, once witnessed, could never be unseen… No one could take their eyes off the painting. Even the presence of two corpses, one clearly murdered, the other dead in strange and suspicious circumstances, did nothing to distract their attention from the canvas at that moment…

In a hidden studio in an ancient area of Rome where the Vatican liked to keep an eye on the city’s prostitutes, an art expert from the Louvre is found dead in front of one of the most beautiful paintings that Nic Costa has ever seen – an unknown Caravaggio masterpiece.

But before long tragedy will strike far closer to home. The main suspect’s identity is known, but he remains untouchable – protected in his grand palazzo by a fleet of lawyers and a sinister cult known as the Ekstasists.

If Costa and his team can crack the reasons for the cult’s existence, he may well stand a chance of nailing the murderer. But the mystery will take him right back to Caravaggio himself and the reasons the artist had to flee Rome and a sentence of death four centuries before….

Available in the UK from Pan Macmillan now and in the US from Bantam Dell in July 2008.

The new Nic Costa ‘is the best yet’

The sixth Nic Costa novel, The Garden of Evil, is now out and winning rave reviews. The Daily Express describes as ‘even more gripping that its predecessors’. Margaret Cannon, in the Toronto Globe & Mail, says the series is one of her favourites, and adds, ‘The Garden of Evil is the best book so far in the Costa series, and that’s saying a lot. But Hewson takes his plotting here a giant step further than in the usual cop/chase story.’

It was Book of the Month in this month’s Choice Magazine which said: ‘David Hewson is on top form with this novel, taking his readers on a gripping journey through the streets of the Eternal City’. Crimesquad, which makes David author of the month, gives the book a five-star review and says, ‘This is a heady concoction of classic crime novel elements, perceptive characterisation and illuminating historical detail, all set in exotic locations and brilliantly told by a master storyteller.’

The Garden of Evil gallery

I deliberately decided to focus the entire story of The Garden of Evil in a very small area, part of Rome north of the Pantheon which, in Caravaggio’s time was known as ‘Ortaccio’, an area of rough bars, brothels, and home to many criminals and artists too, the painter included. This gives you a flavour of a part of the city which is still wonderfully chaotic and a little run-down in places today. You can also see some of the talking statues featured in the book, which were used to communicate messages during the censored times of the Popes. To find out more about them go here.

Sandfields Library, Neath, South Wales

I’ll be in South Wales for the first time in many a year in March, talking at Sandfields Library. You can get more details here. I’ll be talking about The Garden of Evil and answering questions. The event starts at 6.30 pm on Tuesday, March 11.

A map of Ortaccio

Explore some of the locations of The Garden of Evil through an annotated Google map of Rome, complete with photographs taken during the writing of the book.

Audio slideshow

Click below for an audio slideshow narrated by the author, showing some of the locations that appear in The Garden of Evil.

Caravaggio’s final resting place

He’s generally hailed as one of the finest Italian artists of all time. So where do you think Caravaggio is buried? In a great cathedral, like so many of his peers? Or the Pantheon, like Raphael?
Oddly enough, we simply don’t know. Caravaggio died penniless trying to make his way back to Rome where he was [...]

The Bookseller buzzes the new Costa

It’s always nice to get good press back home. The UK’s premier publishing magazine The Bookseller has just produced its panel’s selection of book recommendations for the New Year. I’m pleased to say the sixth instalment of the series, The Garden of Evil, is on there with the accolade from Rodney Troubridge, fiction marketing planner [...]