One day as Aldo takes his usual bus ride he makes the acquaintance of a beautiful woman who has lost her way in Rome’s confusing assortment of streets and blind alleys. Aldo gives her explicit directions, but lifts her purse at the same time. In assessing his booty he notices a container of medication, which from the schedule of dosages indicates she must have her medication every four hours. Now he has a dilemma. If he doesn’t return her medicine, she may die; if he does he will expose himself as a thief.

Aldo follows the directions he gave her, stopping at a coffee shop to ask if the woman had passed by. He manages to trace the woman to a painter’s studio near the Palazzo Malespina, which is, in fact, a huge mistake. Through his effort to save her life by restoring her medication he exposes himself to a villain who murders both the woman and Aldo himself.

By the time the authorities learn of the murders, the murderer and, seemingly, most of the evidence is gone. What remains is a gruesome scene of two bodies overshadowed by a painting by the famous Caravaggio in which an equally horrific scene is depicted. Inspector Leo Falcone assigns Detective Nic Costa to the case because Nic is well versed in Art history and is especially knowledgeable about the works of Caravaggio.

Nic, recently back from his honeymoon, feels a little overwhelmed especially in light of the fact that the painting, although it has the distinctive hallmarks of Caravaggio’s work, is not familiar to him. Since the renowned painter has always been one of Nic’s favorites, he can scarcely believe that Caravaggio had painted something that Nic had not seen or at least read about.

Nic has nothing against the Catholic Church or its disciples, but he is surprised when the person deemed most able to assist him in delving into Caravaggio’s life is a nun or sister as she prefers to be addressed. Agata Graziano is a scholarly woman who, despite her choice of vocation, harbors a wealth of knowledge of Italian art and artists especially those that were painting in the sixteenth century. Agata may be ignorant of the ways of those not living a cloistered life, but she knows her field and is not at all shy about speaking her mind. She provides a perfect foil for the equally cerebral Nic Costa.

In The Garden of Evil David Hewson has produced a well written, well researched story that will appeal to readers with a variety of interests. The art history buff will be pleased with his attention to detail and, though creating a work of fiction, has seated his tale on fact. There is enough available evidence to suggest that the story could have happened even though it, in fact, did not. In addition Mr.Hewson knows Rome. Were one to consult a road map of the city, one would find the sites and streets of the city accurately represented. The mannerisms of the inhabitants are faithfully portrayed.

The characters are vividly described such that it is easy to imagine picking them out of a crowd on a Roman street corner. They are have their individual physical characteristics rendering them a good deal less than Hollywood perfect. It seems much more likely to meet individuals with such characteristics in real life than the perfect specimen of manhood or womanhood. They don’t always get along with each other, and sometimes very bad things happen to them. Hewson does not make his characters invulnerable or superhuman.

The story takes place in December allowing the author to educate his readers about Italian holiday traditions and customs. Gift giving practices, special foods and/or meals associated with the season are described so clearly that it is easy to imagine oneself participating in the holiday festivities.

Obviously since the plot deals with the murder of at least two people, there is some blood and gore for forensic pathologist Teresa Lupo to deal with, but grisly details are not the major focus of the work. The skillful way in which transgressions of the sixteenth century are allied with modern ones are testimony to David Hewson’s skill as an author.

This novel is the seventh in a series of books which feature the same main protagonists who are part of Rome’s police force and one of Hewson’s best. The very realistic characters keep growing and changing. There is never any shortage of people who are unwilling to work within the system of laws and regulations adopted to try to provide a means for living together equitably in a society.

--Andy Plonka