The Cemetery of Secrets by David Hewson Pan, HK$100

David Hewson is arguably Britain's most underrated crime writer. This is partly owing to market overcrowding: how many more middle-aged detectives with drinking problems does the world need? Perhaps it is also because Hewson writes about Italy: his Nic Costa series has brewed up well with its mixture of history lesson and contemporary thriller. The Cemetery of Secrets is a re-issue of an early mystery called Lucifer's Shadow. A Dan Brown-ish tale about a lost musical masterpiece with a dark secret, it is nevertheless an exciting read. Set largely in Venice, we begin on the cemetery island of San Michele. An Italian called Rizzo has been ordered by an Englishman called Messiter to disinter the body of Susanna Gianni. When the coffin is opened they find an ancient violin case. Meanwhile, across town, in another storyline, an academic called Daniel Forster has been told to buy a stolen violin for a man called Scacchi. Coincidence? That's nothing; wait until you hit the part set in the mid-18th century featuring Vivaldi, Canaletto, a beautiful violinist and a man called (you guessed it) Scacchi. Hewson weaves a pretty pattern from all these threads; take a look.