David Hewson books

David Hewson is a British crime fiction author known for the Nic Costa series set in Rome, the Pieter Vos series set in Amsterdam, and novelizations of the Danish TV series The Killing.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Watchlist 2009 Buy
The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8 2011 Buy
Deadly Pleasures 2013 Buy

Faroe Islands

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Devil’s Fjord 2019 Buy

Nic Costa Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
A Season for the Dead 2003 Buy
De Vaticaanse Moorden 2003 N/A
The Villa of Mysteries 2003 Buy
The Sacred Cut 2005 Buy
The Lizard’s Bite 2006 Buy
The Seventh Sacrament 2007 Buy
The Garden of Evil 2007 Buy
Dante’s Numbers 2008 N/A
Dante’s Numbers / The Dante Killings 2008 Buy
The Blue Demon 2010 N/A
The Blue Demon / City of Fear 2010 Buy
The Fallen Angel 2011 Buy
The Savage Shore 2018 Buy

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Introduction to Desk Top Publishing 1988 Buy
The Quark XPress companion 1988 Buy
East Anglia: Travels and Short Breaks 1990 Buy
Setting Up in Spain 1990 Buy
Wessex: Travels and Short Breaks 1990 Buy
Saved: How an English Village Fought for Its Future… and Won 2011 Buy
Writing a Novel with Scrivener 2011 Buy
Writing: A User Manual 2012 Buy

Pieter Vos Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The House of Dolls 2014 Buy
The Wrong Girl 2015 Buy
Little Sister 2016 Buy
De stenen engel 2017 N/A
Sleep Baby Sleep 2017 Buy

Short Stories/Novellas

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Judith and the Holy Ferns 2011 Buy
Dead Men’s Socks 2012 Buy
The Circle 2018 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Shanghai Thunder 1986 Buy
Semana Santa / Death in Seville 1996 Buy
Epiphany 1996 Buy
Solstice 1999 Buy
Native Rites 2000 Buy
Lucifer’s Shadow / The Cemetery of Secrets 2001 Buy
The Promised Land 2007 Buy
Carnival for the Dead 2011 Buy
Macbeth 2011 Buy
The Flood 2013 Buy
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark 2014 Buy
Juliet and Romeo 2016 Buy
Shoother in the Shadows 2020 Buy
The Garden of Angels 2021 Buy
Baptiste: The Blade Must Fall 2024 Buy
When the Germans Come 2024 Buy

The Killing Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Forbrydelsen 2012 N/A
The Killing 2012 Buy
The Killing II 2013 Buy
The Killing III 2014 Buy

Travels in Spain Non-Fiction Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Granada And Eastern Andalucia 1990 Buy
Seville and Western Andalusia 1990 Buy
Mallorca 1990 Buy

Venetian Mystery Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Medici Murders 2022 Buy
The Borgia Portrait 2023 Buy
The Four Deadly Seasons 2025 Buy

David Hewson has been writing since the 1980s, with a career that spans crime fiction, literary novels, travel writing, and books about the craft of writing. His longest-running series features Nic Costa, a Rome-based detective whose cases take him through the art, religion, and dark history of Italy. The series ran for thirteen books from 2003 to 2018, starting with A Season for the Dead and ending with The Savage Shore.

Hewson also novelized the Danish television series The Killing, adapting all three seasons into book form. His Pieter Vos series, set in Amsterdam, ran for five books and brought the same attention to place that characterized his Italian fiction. More recently, the Venetian Mystery series has given him another Italian setting to work with, while Devil’s Fjord took him to the Faroe Islands. His standalone novels range from Shakespeare adaptations (Macbeth, Hamlet, Juliet and Romeo) to historical fiction and contemporary thrillers. His non-fiction includes travel guides and books on writing, including the widely read Writing: A User Manual.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has David Hewson written?

David Hewson has written 59 books across ten series.

What was David Hewson's first book?

David Hewson’s first book is Shanghai Thunder, published in 1986.

What role do European settings play in David Hewson's fiction?

Hewson’s novels are defined by their settings. The Nic Costa books bring Rome to life with its art, history, and politics. The Pieter Vos series captures Amsterdam’s canals and neighborhoods. His Venetian Mystery books explore Venice. Each location is as important to the stories as the characters themselves.

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