Hewson, David. The sacred cut.

HEWSON, David. The sacred cut. Read by Saul Reichlin. 12 cds. 14 hrs. Clipper Audio, dist. by Recorded Books. 2005. 1-4193-6823-0. $119.75. Vinyl; plot notes. SA

This begins familiarly: the naked, strangely mutilated body of a murdered American tourist, her corpse arranged to mimic da Vinci's Vetruvian Man, is discovered in Rome's Pantheon. But this taut thriller is no Dan Brown knock-off. At the murder scene, Roman police discover that the FBI has obtained clearance to remove this case from the Questura. The swaggering hubris and bullying tactics of Joe Leapman, who heads up the US team of agents, so offend Nic Costa and his partner Gianni Peroni, however, that they are inclined to continue investigating, especially once they discover that this murder is neither the first nor the last committed by the same killer.

Part police procedural and part espionage novel, the book is unified by its fully developed, interesting, offbeat characters and draws much of its power from the clash of Italian and American cultures. Reichlin is British, and his American accents are occasionally over the top, particularly in the case of the powerful but obnoxious G-man, Joe Leapman, who sounds like he'd never pass a Civil Service exam. But that's a small quibble. Reichlin's reading is expressive, his pacing brisk, and his character differentiation engaging and highly effective. Francine Levitov, Attorney, New York, NY

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.