David Hewson — The Garden of Evil

Macmillan 2008 Paperback, 360pp. In a hidden studio in an area of Rome where the Vatican liked to keep an eye on the citys prostitutes, an art expert from the Louvre is found dead in front of one of the most beautiful paintings that Nic Costa has ever seenan unknown Caravaggio masterpiece. But before long, tragedy will strike Nic even more terribly as his young wife is brutally killed by the suspect Costa is pursuing. The mans identity is known but he remains untouchableprotected 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 cults existence, he may well stand a chance of nailing his wifes killer. But the mystery will take him right back to Caravaggio himself and the reasons he had to flee Rome, all those centuries before. (ISBN: 9780330453998). Good.