The Seventh Sacrament

The Rome Series: Book 5

By: David Hewson

Narrated by: Saul Reichlin

Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

It begins on one of Rome's least-known hills, the Aventino, in the public piazza fronting the mansion of the Knights of Malta. There, a curious keyhole to the knights' estate reveals an astonishing view, a direct line across the Tiber to the dome of St. Peters in the distance.

For seven-year-old Alessio Bramante the act of peeping through the keyhole on his way to school each day is a ritual, a way of establishing a bond with his difficult, distant father, one of Rome's most famous archaeologists, Giorgio Bramante. Then one day, after an unexpected visit to one of Giorgio's underground excavations, Alessio disappears. A group of students who had slipped into the site, an ancient Mithraic temple, attract the blame. A tragedy occurs. Alessio is never found, and it's his father who goes to jail.

Fourteen years later, in an arcane shrine by the Tiber known as the Little Museum of Purgatory, a tee-shirt belonging to Bramante's son begins to show fresh bloodstains. No one can understand how the marks have appeared behind the glass. Soon it becomes apparent that the newly-released Giorgio Bramante is bent upon a vicious and terrifying revenge on all those he blames for the loss of his son, and numbers Inspector Leo Falcone, a member of the original investigating team, among his targets. In the depths of the labyrinth he knows better than any man, a distraught father seeks his vengeance against those he hates.

Nic Costa, watching Falcone move relentlessly into the man's deadly grip, realises the answer to the deadly present must lie in solving a cold case that, like the forgotten Alessio Bramante, has long been regarded as dead and buried for good.

©2007 David Hewson (P)2007 W F Howes Ltd.

Critic reviews

"Artfully weaves several points-of-view as it shifts between past and present....A mystery whose poignant resolution few readers will anticipate." (Publishers Weekly)

6 stars

Well here it is. This is a true mystery story. A story within a story mystery. I enjoyed every word of this book. A very good writer and a very good reader.

Underground Rome

A good book. Learned about an ancient Roman cult and listened to a mytery unfold at the same time.... Not boring at all. The team of investigators are well developed characters. Plus the scene with the 'worm' autopsy makes it totally worth it...

Another great Hewson story

If you like David Hewson, you may find this episode of the Nic Costa series to be one of his best. Hewson continues to be a master of mystery...he's a very good writer, both with plot and language. I have enjoyed all of the Costa stories, but this has been my favorite to date. This is the same narrator used for the previous two (I think) and he's very good. If you're new to Hewson, you might want to start at the beginning of the Costa story. I can't wait to listen to the next episode.

Good novel

I think you would best be served by reading this series in order although the book stands alone adequately. My very American ears/mind had some trouble keeping everyone straight in the book. It wasn't the narrator's fault(he was excellent). It was the foreign character names I kept mixing up! I loved the bit of history the book uses and suspect those familiar with Rome would be very well pleased to recognize landmarks etc. The tale focuses both on a current crime and one 14 years old. The author exposes both crimes as they evolve and even with that, although you know what is happening, you don't know why or suspect the ending. I'm glad I chose this book to read.

Awful reader

Why does Audible allow Saul Reichlin to read? He ruins so many good books. Awful.

boring

This slow moving story gets dragged down by over descriptive and gratuitous historical background which drove me to put this book "down" many times. It became a hardship to listen to it drone on and on. The plot got lost in the verbiage.

Whats happening?

I bought this book because I have actually looked through that keyhole in Rome while visiting my sister and thought it sounded interesting. I tried and tried to understand it and after a couple hours I still had no clue what this book is about and gave up on it. Maybe one day when I'm out of credits I'll give it another go.