The Savage Shore

Hewson’s tedious 10th Nic Costa thriller (after 2011’s Fallen Angel) transports the police detective and his team from Rome to Calabria, the home of a network of gangsters known as the ’Ndrangheta. Nic and his crew must find and arrest a “mysterious figure in the hierarchy of the ’Ndrangheta, who would turn pentito, state witness, and take down any number of crooks and fellow travelers.” In addition, he promises to turn in “the head of the combined Sicilian mobs.” Nic infiltrates the ’Ndrangheta with surprising ease, while his fellow police officers provide backup of sorts. That they talk loudly in a local restaurant about the case while disguised as tourists belies their supposed competence. Long excerpts from a guide book called Calabrian Tales offer fanciful explanations for the development of the ’Ndrangheta and Italy’s other criminal brotherhoods, musings on mythology and paganism, and some potted history. They also slow down the momentum. Readers will hope to see less padding and fewer digressions in Nic’s next outing. Agent: Alice Lutyens, Curtis Brown (U.K.). (Nov.)