Book Description
The 15th novel in the acclaimed Marcus Didius Falco series finds the first century sleuth confronting Roman legal forces that may just destroy him--and his family.
Fresh from his trip to far-flung Londinium in Britain, Marcus Didius Falco needs to re-establish his presence in Rome. A minor role in the trial of a senator entangles him in the machinations of two powerful lawyers at the top of their trade. The senator is convicted but then dies, apparently by suicide. It may have been a legal move to protect his heirs, but Falco is hired to prove it was murder. As Falco shows off his talents in the role of advocate, he exposes himself to a tangle of upper-class secrets and powerful elements in Romes legal hierarchy that may have consequences he hadnt quite bargained for.
Customer Reviews:
Falco, the Legal Eagle.......2006-10-04
This is the fifteenth novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth in Rome at the time of Vespasian. A series of books that have become hugely popular, so much so that the author is now at the forefront of historical mystery writers. It was probably a stroke of genius on her part to have novels that are extremely well researched and contain all the elements that would be and should be found in the Roman world of circa AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop.
After spending more time than he intended to in Britain (The Jupiter Myth) Falco is back in his beloved Rome. In theory he is still an informer for the Emperor although the less he sees of the Imperial family, the better he will like it. He becomes embroiled in a dispute between two high successful members of the legal profession and of course the dispsute ends up in a death.
Hired to prove that the senator's death was not suicide, Falco find himself following a trail of scanal, blackmail and corruption, the like of which even he has rarely seen. Has he bitten off more than he can chew this time. After all he is playing with the big boys now . . .
Very Disappointing.......2005-10-13
Because the writing is literate, I would have rated this book a "3" but for my high expectations when I began reading it. I've reviewed Lindsey Davis' FALCO mysteries before, and always rated them highly--something they deserved--for local color, human interest, scholarship, wit, and unusually good writing.
This one goes nowhere. It's plodding, devoid of Falco's usual mental and physical exertions. There's little if any character development except that Helena's brother Aelianus seems to be maturing and mellowing. Falco is acted upon, rather than being his usual competent and courageous self, someone who controls the denouement of the plot. He makes an inordinate number of errors and bad judgments. His actions turn to dust, and at the end nothing really has changed except that a sour widow has unnecessarily died.
The humor in all the others is missing here; instead there's a deep cynicism. I'm sure Davis will hit her stride again, but this is the least important novel in the series.
Courtroom drama.......2005-02-14
Ah, it's wonderful to be back in sunny, familiar ancient Rome again, after the last two Davis books where we've been "exiled" to bleak and blustery Britain. Here, murder is again subtle and surrounded by the power plays of the rich and elegant rather than the muddy connivings of barbarians. The historical (textual) richness of Rome is given full play to produce one of Davis' best stories of Falco, informer to the emperor.
In Falco's hobnailed boots, you'll cross and recross Rome (there are handy maps), from dives to courts (not much difference there!, Davis would say), ferret out recalcitrant witnesses and suspects, smell the stench of corpses, suborn informants, suffer goon attacks, fence with devious lawyers, loose your shirt, and be rescued by smart wife Helena--and not just once. Davis leads off with unusually rough language for her. There are delicious ironies scattered through the story: the guilty getting off, the implication of innocents, the unscrupulous rewarded, foul murder excused, rich scions bankrupted--ah, the Roman Forum at work to maintain Senatorial probity.
This story enters deeply into the snares of patriarchical Roman inheritance law. Unsuspecting Falco takes an involved family case of inheritance, suicide, and malfeasance, ranged against two far cleverer and wilier lawyers. Suitably, Davis has a striking change of style for this book. She adds the apparatus of law and deposition to Falco's usual investigations into the underworld or seamy side of Rome. Several times Davis merely summarizes on wax tablets (uh, casebooks) the results of the endless background interviews by Falco and Associates, rather than bore us to tears. Then she presents the entire speeches made before the judge. They read like actual speeches by an advocate like Cicero, full of flourishes and clever rhetorical devices, to insinuate scandalous guilt in the absence of real evidence. What makes this a 5-star story is the ending, one surprise after another, and still more twists follow. (One hint: keep track of the little children.) Superb.
Intrigue in ancient Rome.......2004-11-26
Lindsey Davis' imaginatively conceived "The Accusers" is an historical fiction set in 75 A.D. Rome following the exploits of her protagonist Marcus Didius Falco. Falco is employed as an informer, the Roman equivalent of a modern day detective. Of equestrian rank, a middle class sature, Falco has been gone from Rome for 6 months and has returned seeking work. He has been summoned by Silius Italicus, a rich and storied informer to perform some investigating.
Italicus had presided over a trial involving senator Rubirius Metellus. Metellus had been convicted of corruption in meting out patronage. The penalty for this conviction was a million and a quarter serterces of which Silius Italicus was to garner the lion's share. Unfortunately for Italicus, Metellus' apparently planned suicide served to protect the family finances and deprive Silius Italicus of his considerable fee. Falco was to investigate the circumstances of the questionable suicide, trying to prove murder instead.
Falco was ably aided by his clear thinking wife, Helena Justina, daughter of a Roman senator and her younger brothers Justinus and Aelianus. Together they formed a formidible team that plodded through all the nuances of Roman law and Metellus family machinations to unravel the circumstances behind Metellus' death.
Davis creates an impressive representation of Roman life complete with maps and genealogic trees. The story however has too many dull moments which serves drag its pace.
Another Great Mystery of Ancient Rome!.......2004-11-26
I seldom read fiction but I make exceptions for some science fiction and very rarely mysteries (my wife is an avid mystery reader and so I get my pick). In these genres I only read works by authors whom I consider to be good writers and that fit my interests in history and science. I realize that this may sound a bit high-handed and arrogant, but I only have a limited amount of time for recreational reading and so have to pick and choose. Lindsey Davis is one of those authors that always fits my standards. Anything written by her is sure to be a good read and is always thought provoking.
In her recent book (2003) "The Accusers" she has not disappointed me. Her knowledge of the culture of ancient Rome of Vespasian's time is astounding, at least as far as I can tell. The informer Marcus Didius Falco, his indomitable patrician wife Helena Justina, their various relatives, associates and enemies round out a group worthy of a Russian novel.
In "The Accusers" a Roman citizen, beset with legal problems, apparently commits suicide at the urging of his wife and possible collusion of his daughter (suicide would cut back on the liability of the family and save the family fortune, which in another twist has been left not to the man's wife, but to his daughter-in-law!) As it becomes evident that the death was murder, his son Negrinus becomes an easy target of those would profit by the murder. Falco and Associates (Falco's wife and her two brothers are the staff) take on the defense of Negrinus (also known as "Birdy"), who they realize is hiding something. As one might suspect, that secret is the key to the death of the father. By the time you read a few pages you are hooked and want to read more.
For me this is the best of mystery writing. I recommend it heartily.
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- Falco The Poet
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Ode to a Banker
Lindsey Davis
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Three Hands in the Fountain (Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries)
ASIN: 0892967404 |
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Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis's clever private informer, passes a hot Roman summer tracking down the killer of a Greek banker and publisher. Was the killer one of Aurelius Chrysippus's stable of writers, dissatisfied with the patron's lack of enthusiasm for his latest opus or resentful about the humiliating terms of his contract? Or was Chrysippus's bloody death connected to financial shenanigans at the Aurelian Bank? Commissioned to investigate the murder by his friend Petronius Longus, Falco finds himself in the middle of a case with clues that may lie in the fragments of a manuscript found at the murder scene--or maybe in the banking records someone seems willing to kill to keep secret. At the same time, Falco's sorting out a thorny family matter concerning his mother and his sister, both of whom seem inordinately fond of an imperial spy Falco has good reason to distrust. And if that's not enough, he's also being taken to the cleaners by the contractors his wife Helena Justina has engaged to renovate their new home.
As usual, Davis brings first century Rome to glorious life, and subtly drives home the striking parallels between ancient and contemporary business, politics, and family life. In the 12th book of in this increasingly popular series, she makes the most of every opportunity for satire and spins a lively yarn guaranteed to make the reader laugh out loud and clamor for more. Fortunately, there's a solid backlist to entertain readers encountering Falco for the first time (One Virgin Too Many, Two for the Lions). --Jane Adams
Book Description
Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis's clever private informer, passes a hot Roman summer tracking down the killer of a Greek banker andpublisher. Was the killer one of Aurelius Chrysippus's stable of writers, dissatisfied with the patron's lack of enthusiasm for his latest opus or resentful about the humiliating terms of his contract? Or was Chrysippus's bloody death connected to financial shenanigans at the Aurelian Bank? Commissioned to investigate the murder by his friend Petronius Longus, Falco finds himself in the middle of a case with clues that may lie in the fragments of a manuscript found at the murder scene--or maybe in the banking records someone seems willing to kill to keep secret. At the same time, Falco's sorting out a thorny family matter concerning his mother and his sister, both of whom seem inordinately fond of an imperial spy Falco has good reason to distrust. And if that's not enough, he's also being taken to the cleaners by the contractors his wife Helena Justina has engaged to renovate their new home. As usual, Davis brings first century Rome to glorious life, and subtly drives home the striking parallels between ancient and contemporary business, politics, and family life. In the 12th book of in this increasingly popular series, she makes the most of every opportunity for satire and spins a lively yarn guaranteed to make the reader laugh out loud and clamor for more. Fortunately, there's a solid backlist to entertain readers encountering Falco for the first time (One Virgin Too Many, Two for the Lions). --Jane Adams
Customer Reviews:
Falco The Poet.......2006-10-04
This is the twelfth novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth in Rome at the time of Vespasian. A series of books that have become hugely popular, so much so that the author is now at the forefront of historical mystery writers. It was probably a stroke of genius on her part to have novels that are extremely well researched and contain all the elements that would be and should be found in the Roman world of circa AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop.
This book sees Falco delving into the world of literary jealousies and everything that goes with them. Writers block, jealousy and fraud is just scratching the surface. He discovers that there are a series of puzzling links to the Aurelian Bank and finds out the business is owned by Chrysippus.
Chrysippus is a man that Falco knows only too well, because a little private recital of Falco's poetry had recently been gate crashed by Aurelius Chrysippus, a scriptorium owner and some of his literary friends and the following day Chrysippus offers to publish Falco's poems.
When the body of the scriptorium owner is found Petro, long time friend of Falco and the Vigil's enquiry officer, commissions Falco to investigate the murder, while at the same time trying not to pull his leg too hard regarding his poetic prowess.
A Bit of a Disappointment..........2004-06-28
I remember when I first discovered this series. I couldn't get enough of Falco! This was about two years ago. I bought this book and it has sat on my shelf for quite awhile; getting lost in the mounds of books I need to read. This weekend I decided to pull it out and re-visit ancient Rome. This book was a bit of a disappointment. I began to get bored at some point and question why I had liked this series. The plot just meandered around. It seemed unreal to me that Falco just "forgot" to check up on some basic facts and alibis. Falco and Lindsey Davis both seemed really tired. I am not giving up on the series...I hope to read more...I just hope that they are a little livelier. Hopefully this will be the only Dud in the bunch. I gave this three stars because I do love Falco and the gang so much, and hope does spring eternal...
Falco's Literary Adventure.......2004-04-21
Ode to a Banker begins with Falco reading his poetry at a public reading. He's flattered when Chrysippus, a wealthy banker and scriptorium owner, offers him the chance to publish, but outright refuses when he learns he would have to pay Chrysippus for it. He's commissioned for the investigation when Chrysippus turns up murdered in the library. There is an abundance of suspects-lots of people thought Chrysippus was as creepy as Falco did, including a bunch of bitter authors and a twisted family, all with motives of course. There is a twist when someone else turns up dead, but the plot of the actual mystery unfolds pretty slowly until the end when Falco gathers all the suspects and interrogates them. Until then the plot is driven mainly by Falco's crazy extended family and their bizarre relationships and escapades.
This book explores the Roman world of the scriptorium and the Greek banking industry. The characters are interesting, and there are certainly a lot of them. The mystery develops slowly, or perhaps minimally until the end, but the story is enjoyable throughout the book. Overall, an enjoyable read but a slow plot.
Falco at home.......2004-03-06
The series of Falco books is constructed from three parts. Ostensibly exotic and intricate mystery stories-murders investigated by Falco, an imperial freelance agent of Vespasian's early Roman empire (AD 69-79)-they also serve as tours of the various (mostly western) provinces, and as "behind the scene" introductions and evocations of Roman versions of things such as: mining (SILVER), travel, art business, retail, city policing, the games and animal hunts (LIONS), stagecraft (PALMYRA), construction, apartment and family life, the status of women, water supply (FOUNTAINS), and now publishing and banking (but neither politics nor the army). Unlike the Ciceronian books of the Late Republic written by Steven Saylor, Davis' stories don't seem to hew close to actual ancient Roman law cases, but formulate what might have been typical middle class crimes that seem of reasonable cause to a modern reader. The dialogue can be English slangy modern without a tang of old Latin, but there's no need for footnotes or glossary either. (If you miss them then you can find a lot of pertinant background information in the glossaries of Colleen McCullough's Caesar books.) Davis seems to capture the roistering, tireless, scheming, and fouled essence of ancient Roman city life.
The wise-cracking, sceptical Falco and his so smart Helena are Davis's own splendid "modern" creations. Their repartee is usually spritely and intelligent-not because Davis is being politically correct but because they are partners in an alliance of man and woman unusual for Rome, yet serving to move the plot forward when a case is at impass. Davis (and Falco) are cynics in all things, but classically so, entertaining rather than mean. No one ages fast in this series; for example, this 12th book covers only one month in summer, AD 74, and Falco is only a prime 33 despite his many adventures.
Although I've said the Falco stories that stay close to Rome are the best ones, this sticks TOO close to downtown. ODE features a tight coterie of bankers, publishers, and authors (including Falco as a poet!). The claustrophobic atmosphere, the innumerable puzzling suspects, the dogged police interrogations, and the climactic confrontation in the concluding chapters a la Poirot reminds me strongly of an inelegant Agatha Christie closed-room mystery, not at all my favorite sort. Each recent volume includes more and more of Falco's domestic relations, disputes, and family love interests-a theme that almost eclipses the mystery here and is continued in the next volume, A BODY IN THE BATHHOUSE.
This Series is Seriously Slipping.......2004-01-26
When the Marcus Didius Falco series began, over a decade and eleven books ago, I was immediately hooked. The combination of detail about the Roman Empire, combined with the wisecracks of the much put upon informer (detective) hero enthralled me-for a while. After five or six books I discovered Steven Saylor's Roman mystery series, and the charm of Davis's potboiler plots and tongue-in-cheek jokes wore thin. I thought I'd pick this latest offering up to see if my taste for them had changed, and the unequivocal answer is no.
Falco is much the same as I last saw him, still married to the luminous and whip smart Helena, still bedeviled by an outrageous extended family, still cronies with his old army buddy Petronious, and still warily jousting with the imperial spymaster Anacrities. For the plot Davis relies upon that most tired of devices, a story linked to the world of publishing-complete with anachronistic satirization of subsidy publishing, ghostwriting, and the like. Ah yes, the publishing insider jokes just keep coming when Greek publisher and banker Aurelius Chrysippus is murdered and Petronious enlists Falco to unmask the killer.
The story is much more constrained than most of the series, with Davis creating an atmosphere that's part a game of Clue and part Ms. Marple cozy. The action never leaves Rome, and kicks off with Chrysippus found dead in the library with a scroll shoved up his nose (no sign of Col. Mustard though). As with any good little village or country house murder tale, there are a bevy of suspects for Falco to work though: new young wife, ex-wife, son, various writers, bank customers-each with their own possible reason for disliking the dead man. It's a very rote affair, with Falco plodding after each lead, checking each alibi, etc.
Oh wait, no he doesn't... A fact that leaps out at even the most casual reader, virtually placing a neon sign over the killer's head. Yes, Falco's got a lot of personal issues on his plate, but then again, he always does, so that hardly seems like a good reason for him to botch the basics of Detecting 101. So, while Falco creates the classic scene of bringing all the suspects together for a grand denouement, calling in surprise witnesses, and employing trickery to force a wholly unlikely confession, it all seems kind of pointless to the reader who saw the writing on the wall halfway through. The book has a few good scenes here and there (including one very good fight scene), but there's certainly not a lot of creativity in evidence, and the attempts at satire fall flat. It pains me to say so, but like so many series that start strong, Davis seems to be floundering and may need to think about starting something new.
Book Description
In ancient Rome, the career path for ambitious citizens who aspire to become senators is called "The Course of Honor." And this honorable course has an unbreakable rule: A senator is forbidden to marry a slave. When the soldier Vespasian meets an interesting girl frying sausages in the imperial palace, he doesn't know that Caenis is immensely intelligent, or that she holds a position in the household of Antonia, daughter of Mark Anthony and sister-in-law of the Emperor. But soon he's in love, struggling against a world that rejects his lover. And as emperor after emperor plays out deadly, seductive games of lust and conquest, no one envisions that a country-born army man might win the throne-no one except a slave girl who observes the bizarre fortunes of an imperial city and begins a daring course of honor of her own.
Download Description
This novel tells the sweeping story of the ascendancy of the Emperor Vespasian, the impecunious son of a provincial senator who finally brought peace to Rome after years of fighting during the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, and the year of the Four Emperors. It is also the story of the forbidden love between Emperor Vespasian and his mistress, Antonia Caenis, a slave working for Claudius's mother.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding background.......2007-01-23
If you are a Falco fan and have not read this, do so. It provides wonderful background material for Vespasian. He's not just an old man, but a fellow who lived and loved the best. In fact, he's more like Falco than he would like to admit. The details only hinted at in the Falco books are here: Vespasian's survival in a time of 'really strange' and dangerous emperors, his rise to power, and his inherent humanity in the face of a vicious age. The tale has a different style than the Falco books. It's difficult to desribe, but it's "sweeter," a love story between Caenis and Vespasian that survived decades of events. Falco is Falco and he and Helena are fun. It's a great adventure series. But this one? It will put a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes. But that's a good thing. They made it. It worked. A love story in the time of turmoil is a great thing. Thank you to Lindsey Davis with sharing this.
In many ways, her best........2007-01-02
Before she started her witty and successful Falco series, Lindsey Davis wrote this book, but couldn't get it published. How glad I am that Falco's success allowed us to see this gem! As the readers' poll on her website testifies, it is in many ways her best - and best-loved - book.
Romance in Ancient Rome.......2006-10-04
This is one of the best books I've ever read. It has a little bit of everything while being very well written and a very fast read. First there is this remarkable romance. Ceanis is a character I will never forget. We have the joy of watching her grow and mature as she goes from slave to freedwoman. Then there is the setting: ancient Rome, with all its political intrigue and violence. I first read this book when it was published some 10 years ago and I have never forgotten it. When I recently reread it, I was once again reminded why it had always stayed with me.
Such an Eloquent and Inspiring Love Story.......2006-03-08
I read this book about a year ago, and now, a year later, I find myself searching for it on Amazon because I enjoyed it so much. The story is based on historical fact and is about the extraordinary love affair between the emperor Vespasian and a slave, his Caenis. I was surprised at the amount of care the author took in describing events and characters and found myself comparing the story to the emperor's biography by Suetonius...the novel is extremely accurate! Lindsey Davis is a fantastic writer; she somehow translates emotions into words so that when the reader reads them, he/she knows exactly how the character is feeling.
Isn't it romantic............2005-12-29
This is an amazingly sweet book.
Two people, one a bad tempered angry slave and one the unimportant son of a provincial tax collector meet when the man and his brother get lost in the imperial palace in Rome. They come across a young slave girl cooking sausages and an attraction is formed for life between the young man and the slave.
Vespasian is not an important man in Rome when he meets Caenis. In fact, though he is later and senator and she is later a freewoman, there is a long span of time where her connections to the royal family make her important than he is. But they loved each other deeply their whole lives in spite of their long separation of twenty years when he married, and she even helped him raise his children. When Nero died and Vespasian took the purple in a military coup, he has his beloved move into the palace with him-defying all social conventions to be with her.
The absolute only thing I think could have made this book more sweetly romantic would be Vespasian overruling the law that members of the senate couldn't marry freedwoman. But hey, perhaps that was a more drastic step that it seems it would have been. Roman society confuses me, but in this book it is clear, wonderful, corrupt and a place where even social opposites can fall in love.
Five stars.
For more reading on Vespasian's younger son corrupt and disastrous rule of Rome check out The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie.
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- Falco in Ostia
- Sleuthing in the underbelly of ancient Rome, #16
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Scandal Takes a Holiday (A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery)
Lindsey Davis
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ASIN: 0312940408
Release Date: 2006-05-30 |
Book Description
As an “informer”—a private detective—Marcus Didius Falco has an insider’s knowledge of the Empire’s less than glorious side. He’s also been in the middle of its most dangerous secrets more than once. So when he’s hired to find notorious gossip “scribe” Infamia, Marcus figures the missing muckraker is either taking advantage of a vacation bribe from some wealthy wife—or resting up from injuries inflicted by some senator’s henchmen. But instead of earning an easy fee, Marcus soon finds himself at odds against a sinister ring of pirates preying on the wealthy; a ruthlessly-vulgar construction magnate...and several of his own less-than-reputable family members. And what he uncovers will lead him through the dark byways and underground of the Empire’s busiest seaport…where a cold-blooded killer with nothing to lose waits to bury one cynical informer for good...
Customer Reviews:
Falco in Ostia.......2007-03-29
Our intrepid hero has the task of finding a missing gossip writer in the seaport town of Ostia. Of course, with Falco, nothing is ever as simple as it initially appears, and quite soon he finds himself up to his neck in various nefarious doings. In addition, he meets an uncle who is never spoken about by the rest of the family, and also learns some very interesting things about his father. This is a rollicking story, and it moves along quite rapidly. The Falco series is one of the best, and this book certainly lives up to the quality of the others.
Sleuthing in the underbelly of ancient Rome, #16.......2006-07-18
What sort of story is this? It is not a study of character. Marcus Didius Falco is as feckless an "informer" as ever, his patrician wife still has the smarts in the family, his sister Maia is ever obnoxious, the growing kids have quarrels, and Petronius is here. So, this is a tale of a Roman extended family (very extended here), on a vacation of a sort. Most all the other series characters make appearences, if only to send them away. Each one is a well-differentiated and recognizable "character," indeed, but there's little character development (despite one big revelation). Not much back-story is given for this mob, although there's now a handy genealogy for the Didius clan and some helpful maps. So, this is not the place to start this amusing series.
This volume lacks much of mystery (well, there is the mystery cult of "mother" Cybele and her eunuch priests). Falco the sleuth is seeking a missing muckraker, but he doesn't make much progress for a great many pages. Instead he seems to fall into one tangential investigation after another (although, this being a novel, they must all tie in somehow, even if as red herrings--or should I say garum?*). Actually, the tangents ARE the story this time. Falco is at his best when his values are at stake, but the missing scandal monger is not really one of them. (Rome did have a daily newspaper, but it belonged to the Emperor and was posted only in the Forum.)
I really enjoyed Davis's descriptions of several Roman customs new to this series. There's the workings of the port city of Ostia where the Didii spend their time in this volume, numerous temple cults besides Cybele's, a grand Roman funeral at the cusp of the story, and everybody's favorites: Pirates--on shore, afloat, and somehow entangled in this story (ah, there's the mystery).
Davis is writing the most amusing, or cynical, or contemporary, series of Roman whodunnits. I think there are more funny asides here than usual. Her humor tends to drag it out a bit, or divert attention from the plot, or reduce the tension of Falco's quest. Falco's sceptical view of everything is the most "contemporary" aspect of Davis's writing (aside from the absence of the Ciceronian rhetorical flourishes seen in ancient writings). Davis is light on Latin words and terms, probably a good thing (in contrast to Colleen McCullough's very serious series that comes with a glossary).
I give it four stars because while it is not Davis at her best, and lacks suspense, the setting and plot are fresh. The pb cover art drops the previous "mosaic" image taken from the story in favor of an atmospheric city scene, which I think is an inappropriate Renaissance scene.
*For more on this piquant sauce, see the story in Steven Saylor's amusing collection, A Gladiator Dies Only Once (the title story is also most entertaining).
Book Description
When Marcus Didius Falco, a Roman “informer” who has a nose for trouble that’s sharper than most, encounters Sosia Camillina in the Forum, he senses immediately all is not right with the pretty girl. She confesses to him that she is fleeing for her life, and Falco makes the rash decision to rescue her—a decision he will come to regret. For Sosia bears a heavy burden: as heavy as a pile of stolen Imperial ingots, in fact. Matters just get more complicated when Falco meets Helena Justina, a Senator’s daughter who is connected to the very same traitors he has sworn to expose. Soon Falco finds himself swept from the perilous back alleys of Ancient Rome to the silver mines of distant Britain—and up against a cabal of traitors with blood on their hands and no compunction whatsoever to do away with a snooping plebe like Falco….
Customer Reviews:
This is where it all begins..........2007-09-07
I bought this book when it was first published in the USA and was so excited and impressed that I immediately put the author on my ultra-short list: "Buy every new book". There are now a gazillion in the series and I have every one. Recently I started reading them to catch up and found to my amazement that I had only ever read the first two in the series - this after reading 4 books in the middle of it. So, I am going back and starting the series all over again from the beginning. In other words, it is a wonderful set of books! I like good history and am a maven in Science Fiction. Strangely this seems to combine both by effectively transporting the reader back to the time of Vespasian, viewing it as it "really" was, but with a modern sensibility. As the author points out in her most recent volume, all we have is inscriptions, historical writings, and some graffiti to go on. Davis very believably supplies the rest, everyday speech, the multitude of vernaculars that always exist in every culture, the jokes, the hopes and fears and the minutia of everyday existence. All mixed with a bundle of fun and plenty of action - physical, mental and amatory. The protagonists become as familiar and dear to you as your best friends. This feat becomes possible because we humans are all very much alike, differing mostly in customs and our societal surround. Our needs, interests and attitudes don't change that much with time - only the means of expressing and fulfilling them. The man in the street seldom if ever speaks in the words of the Declaration of Independence - far less the Constitution. I highly recommend this to readers of all ages. Years ago I would have tacked on a PG rating, but I believe that anyone adult enough to read and enjoy these stories is plenty old enough (mentally). Long live Marcus Didius Falco, Helena Justina, Petrus Longinus, and Lindsey Davis!
Introducing Falco.......2007-07-22
This is the first of a series of detective stories set in Vespasian's Roman Empire and featuring the informer Marcus Didius Falco.
I tried this historical detective story because I had enjoyed Ellis Peter's "Brother Cadfael" detective stories. They were excellent but this is brilliant, as is the rest of the series.
Funny, exciting, and based on a painstaking effort to re-create the world of 70AD.
By chance, Falco rescues a 16-year old girl called Sosia Camillina from a gang of thugs. She turns out to be the illegitimate niece of a senator, who suspects that an illegal trade is going on in silver pigs (ingots) from a godforsaken remote corner of the empire - Britain. To Falco's disgust he has to return to this barbaric spot where he had once served with the legions ...
If you have met and enjoyed either the Cadfael or Thraxas series, this is even better.
It isn't absolutely essential to read these stories in sequence, as the mysteries Falco is trying to solve are usually-self contained stories. Having said that there is some ongoing development of characters and relationships and I think reading them in chronologial order does marginally improve the experience.
The full Falco series, in chronological order, consists at the moment of:
The Silver Pigs
Shadows in Bronze
Venus in Copper
The Iron Hand of Mars
Poseidon's Gold
Last Act in Palmyra
Time to Depart
A Dying Light in Corduba
Three Hands in the Fountain
Two for the Lions
One Virgin Too Many
Ode to a Banker
A Body in te Bath house
The Jupiter Myth
The Accusers
Scandal taks a Holiday
See Delphi and Die
Saturnalia
Lindsey Davis has also written a historical novel set in the same timeframe called "The Course of Honor" which is about the love affair between Vespasian and his mistress Caenis. The author has taken two sentences from Suetonius and from them conjured the vital image of a woman beautiful in both form and personality and a charming love story.
A di fferent kind of detective story..........2007-05-06
Marcus Didius Falco is a former soldier and now a private informer in ancient Rome. After the brutal death of a young girl named Sosia, he is driven to find her killer even if it means putting his own life in danger.
Helena Justina is the daughter of a senator and Sosia's cousin. She is not afraid to prove her independence and joins up with Falco to try to find Sosia's killer.
In his search to find Sosia's killer, Marcus Didius Falco stumbles upon thievery from the silver mines in Britain. Among the suspects is the young son of Vespasian, the new Emperor of Rome. This puts Falco in more danger then he imagined. There are more suspects and one of them is not only a thief, but also a murderer. This is the one suspect that Falco will go to great lengths to find. From Rome to the dark hills of Britain, Falco and Helena hunt for a killer.
The chemistry between Marcus Didius Falco and Helena Justina was brought to life on these pages with witty dialog that I found refreshing. I had no trouble imagining these two butting heads while longing to kiss one another. The author did a wonderful job of bringing ancient Rome to life and showing the dark side of this ancient society. I would recommend this for readers who enjoy mysteries or historical novels.
Moderately entertaining.......2007-02-23
Several years ago I read the Rubicon series of Roman mysteries by Steven Saylor. This past Christmas I started the excellent SPQR series by John Maddox Roberts, so after finishing SPQR IX last week, I started casting about for something new. This first Marcus Didius Falco book caught my eye through the links on Amazon's pages, so I ordered it. It is moderately entertaining, much like the Gordianus (Saylor's) books, though not as good as the SPQR books. To me, neither Gordianus nor Falco is as sympathetic a character as Roberts' Decius is.
It very much follows the same layout as the SPQR books: single, poor-ish young man with a big family who snoops around a lot of connected events until they all come together in the climax. Sprinkle some women, street fights, and highly-placed officials into the story, and voila.
I notice the publication dates on this and SPQR 1 are within a year of each other. Maybe the two authors had a bet to see who could get better reviews, or get published the most quickly, or something. In any case, I'd consider this series worthy of taking out of the library, but I probably won't spend any more money on them unless I need something quick to read on a flight.
Twists, turns and romance in ancient Rome.......2007-01-17
I picked up this book at random in the bookstore because the title THE SILVER PIGS caught my eye -- I'm so glad it did! I have now read every book in the Falco series and am eagerly awaiting SATURNALIA. I am absolutely hooked -- this is the most enjoyable series I've read for sometime and the romance is as fresh and fun as the main character's struggles with family, friends and people out to get him!
If you like your heroes handsome, irreverent and loyal, this book is for you!
Book Description
"I haven't read historical fiction this good since I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves and PERSIAN BOY by Mary Renault--and this is a lot funnier."
DETROIT FREE PRESS
He's Rome's favorite son, and of late, Emperor Vespasian's favorite palace spy, charged with finding the culprits who are plotting his imperial demise. In the meanwhile, Marcus Didius Falco has unfinished business with one citizen, Helen Justina, a high-born beauty he has given his heart to. And at these wages, his heart is all he can afford to render unto her--which causes its own problems.
The second in Lindsey Davis' Ancient Rome detective series.
Customer Reviews:
Reading it was a Rare Pleasure.......2006-09-24
This is the second novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth. A series of books that have become hugely popular, so much so that the author is now at the forefront of historical mystery writers. It was probably a stroke of genius on her part to have novels that are extremely well researched and contain all the elements that would be and should be found in Rome in AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop.
In this novel the hero Marcus Didius Falco has returned from the remote island of Britannia, a god forsaken place whose people are morose and surly and the weather, well the weather is best left to its own devices. Marcus has lost his heart to senator's daughter Helena but is not sure that the passion he feels is reciprocated. Why is that women he is not interested in, fall over themselves to get to him, but the one that he has lost his heart to, treats him with a cool disdain?
He has not long returned to the welcoming arms of Rome before a series of fatal accidents and things that go bump in the night convince Falco and the Emperor that there are traitors still conspiring and they must be brought to book. Falco is not happy, it seems he must leave his beloved Rome yet again, but the conspirators are serious about their plans and will not let anyone stand in their way. Will Falco ever return . . .
More Great Falco!.......2004-03-04
The second in the M. Didius Falco series, Shadows in Bronze, finds Marcus taking a "holiday" to Pompeii and the surrounded areas in search of a murderer who is also in search of him. With typical Falco bad luck following him every step of the way, he feels his way through the investigation and bumbles his relationship with Helena. The funny part of it is, you can't help but root for him while in the same breath you curse his pride and downright blindness. Davis' trademark lively narrative, witty dialog, and historical details makes for another great Falco adventure through Ancient Rome.
I'm re-reading the M. Didius Falco books as my husband reads them for the first time, and he is just as fond of Falco as I am. I can't recommend this series enough to those who like comedy, mystery and history. Just be sure to start with the first one in the series, though. These are not books to get out of order.
A good sequel to "Silver Pigs".......2003-07-31
More a continuation of the plot from the first Falco novel "Silver Pigs" than a brand new sotry, "Shadows in Bronze" takes Falco to the countryside of Roman Italy, including Pompeii, to follow more patrician scheming related to the conclusion of "Silver Pigs." The burgeoning relationship between the plebian Falco and senator's daughter Helena Justina is masterfully developed by Davis's subtle and evocative prose. The rich details of the ancient Roman setting provide a fascinating backdrop to the round characters with complex motivation and the gritty, sarcastic mood. Davis's skillful writing triumphs again.
Not My Usual Fare.......2002-06-13
I quite enjoyed Silver Pigs (the first book in the series), and expected to enjoy this one, but I was disappointed. Yes, I read the book, but it's not a mystery in the true sense of the word. The villain was apparent all the way through. The book is more like a Romantic history than a mystery, and that's not my cup of tea. I was recommended this author by Amazon as well, and thought I had a winner of a series after I read Silver Pigs, but I'm not so sure now. I find the reading a bit difficult since Falco is almost "too precious" for words. He appears to take nothing seriously (except his ladylove Helena, and even that is touch and go). I did enjoy the history, and the travel log of the countyrside in Ancient Rome. I will try one more in the series to see if the fun of Silver Pigs is recaptured.
Must be a page turner,.......2002-02-24
'cause I turned all the pages and read most of the words on them, but _Shadows in Bronze_ is a poor whodunit, because the reader knows before that befope the halfway mark and the whys soon thereafter.
Amazon recommended this book to me because I have exhausted all the Stephen Saylor Roma Sub Rosa series and Michael Dibdin's modern Italian detective novels. The action scenes in Saylor's recent books are far superior to Davis's and both Saylor and Dibdin draw more interesting character than Davis.
Davis tosses in many characters -- it takes two pages to list the cast of characters. "Informer" Didius Falco is very similar to 20th-century detectives, badly bad and badly used by those who hire him. His primary employer is the new Emperor Vespasian, who is an interesting character (as is Falco) who speaks freely to his lowborn employee. Falco's nephew Larius has some charm, too, but I don't buy the patrician lady Helena Justina and her bumpy romance with Didius Falco.
There are interesting details about life across Italy in AD 71, and the book provides some entertainment -- but not enough for detective fiction.
Book Description
The 13th novel featuring Marcus Didius Falco finds the Roman P.I. in the midst of a home improve- ment that brings an unwanted 'visitor' to his bathhouse. Poor Marcus Didius Falco: The two shiftless contractors working on his new Roman bathhouse have left him with a horrible smell emanating from the below-ground furnace....and some gruesome site debris. Meanwhile, the king of the Atrebtes tribe in faraway Britannia is planning his own home improvements. But the spectacular Fishbourne Palace he is building is beset by numerous financial problems....not to mention the 'accidents' that seem to plague the construction site. Enter P.I. Falco to investigate the scene and make things right. But trouble starts anew when his favorite contractors from Rome appear on the scene, and Falco realizes that someone with murderous intentions is now after him......
Customer Reviews:
Falco novels.......2007-03-09
I'm a big fan of this series and this character. I expect this book to be as good as Davis' last.
Falco takes a Holiday.......2006-10-04
This is the twelfth novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth in Rome at the time of Vespasian. A series of books that have become hugely popular, so much so that the author is now at the forefront of historical mystery writers. It was probably a stroke of genius on her part to have novels that are extremely well researched and contain all the elements that would be and should be found in the Roman world of circa AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop.
Falco has like many people been experiencing problems with builders in what was to be his new Janiculum home. Glaucus and Cotta (remember them) were supposed to be renovating the bath house. It would seem that Glaucus and Cotta have left some rubbish behind when they left the renovation and it is down to Falco why they left it there.
While on the subject of building and renovations the Emperor Vespasian has more than a few problems with a building project he is financing for the Togidubnus, Chieftain of the Atrebates in that god forsaken place called Britannia. As Falco has served his time in Britannia he seems the logical person to send and sort out the mess. Helena is keen to turn the expedition into a family holiday, so Falco, Helena and the two young children, plus one or two hangers on arrive at the half built palace in Noviomagus.
Falco soon starts to rub the builders up the wrong way by asking too many questions. Bodies start to appear and the family are soon put in danger. Falco begins to realise why he hated this cold, wet and windy island so much.
Brilliant as Usual.......2005-08-04
Lindsey Davis has created a great series about an informer in ancient Rome. The informer, Marcus Didius Falco, is the modern equivalent of a private detective. In this novel he is commissioned by the Emperor Vespasian to settle problems on a building site in Britain. He refuses the commission until he finds the body of a labourer under the floor of his own bath house and discovers the builders who put him there have absconded to Britain, probably to the very same palace that the Emperor is concerned about. Davis has chosen the site of the palace that was discovered in Fishbourne near Chichester in 1960. The costs are too high for the civic purse and Falco discovers a phantom team of labourers and a crooked architect's stash of stolen building materials when he arrives with his family at the distant province. Davis' style of writing makes this a most enjoyable series to read.
The Falco series.......2004-01-25
Can't understand why half the editorial reviews and some of the reader's reviews are for another book altogether. But this Lindsey Davis book is from the Falco series and is fun like all the others. I frequently buy my Davis books from amazon.co.uk since they come out there about a year before in the US. There is a new one Scandal Takes a Holiday coming out in June 2004. They also spell the name Lindsay Davis which I think is the correct spelling.
About Lindsey Davis' Book.......2003-11-01
I like this book almost as well as any of the other Falco novels, even though it needs to be a bit longer. Up until now, amazon.com seems to have joined this book with the reviews for a different book altogether; until the situation is caught, let me assure you that this is indeed a book about the further adventures of the much-loved ancient Roman detective. Helena, both of her brothers, Petronius Longus, and another good character that we haven't seen since _Shadows in Bronze_ make this a good outing for Falco, who is in sent to his absolute least favorite place in the world. It's a winner in a series of winners. What book the other reviews (as of 10/31/03) are talking about I do not know.
Book Description
"Delectably funny...A novel that gives new meaning to the term 'classic detective fiction.'"
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
In 70 A.D. in ancient Rome, no one is a saint. Or so thinks Marcus Didius Falco, a private investigator first introduced in the award-winning SILVER PIGS, who's trying to prevent a murder before it happens. When every man a woman marries dies, Falco knows there's smoke and fire--and he'll stop at nothing to untangle the Gordion knot that proves it.
Customer Reviews:
Venus in Copper.......2006-11-10
This is my favorite of all the Falco books. I love the plot, especially the MO of the murderer, I love plebian Marcus' ongoing relationship with patrician Helena Justina, but most especially I love the storyline involving Titus, the turbot, Marcus' brother's shield, and the Praetorian Guard. Read it and weep, because you'll be laughing hard enough to.
Snakes Alive.......2006-09-25
This is the third novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth. A series of books that have become hugely popular, so much so that the author is now at the forefront of historical mystery writers. It was probably a stroke of genius on her part to have novels that are extremely well researched and contain all the elements that would be and should be found in Rome in AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop. In this the third novel Falco is starting to feel like an old friend.
Falco is trying to live down the indignity of being released from jail with the help of his mother of all people and he has accepted a case from some rich private clients. He is also in the middle of trying to entice his girlfriend Helena Justina to come and live with him, though why a senator's daughter, especially one who has just lost their baby, would wish to live in the hovel he calls home is anybody's guess.
When the client Falco is supposedly protecting dies, he is immediately re-hired by none other than the chief suspect. The crux of the matter is that Falco must find and expose a woman, a fortune hunter, who has lost more husbands to accidents than it can be believed possible.
Falco has more than a little excitement during the investigation, including a brush with a female contortionist who has a very interesting snake act. He also has the tremendous honour, or otherwise of a "friendly" visit from Titus Caesar himself, right in the middle of Falco attempting to cook a huge turbot without the aid of every chef's must have, a fish kettle.
A decent new case, but still witty character interaction.......2003-07-31
"Venus in Copper," the third Falco novel, marks his first new 'case,' as the previous two novels covered facets of the same extended plot. However, the social scheming of the freed slaves the Hortensii, the reputedly deadly widow Severina Zotica, Falco's clashes with the Emperor's agents, and poisonings at banquets don't provide as exciting a plot as the political conspiracy of the first two novels. In addition, the action never moves outside of Rome, and therefore lacks the charm of the additional rural settings of Britannia and Pompeii featured in the previous novels.
Falco still spars with his patrician girlfriend Helena Justina, often in the best of Davis's subtle and evocative prose, and Falco's morose attitude about the future of the relationship is skillfully fueled by the entrance of true historical personality Titus Caesar as a suitor. The Falco-Helena character relationship is the real core of these novels, not the actual plots, so the slightly lesser mystery in "Venus" does not detract from the continuing development of these rich characters.
High on Mystery, Low on History.......2003-04-21
Lindsey Davis is no Steven Saylor - which is both good and bad. On the one hand, Davis crafts a better mystery, with excellent attention paid to dropping just the right amount of clues at just the right time, keeping us guessing til the very end as to who is to blame for what. On the other hand, Saylor is far, far more effective in evoking ancient Rome. Davis' Falco, to quote a previous reviewer, is "a modern mystery in togas." Ancient Rome is the backdrop, but it could just as easily be ancient Greece, or medieval France, or Victorian England. So, which is better: Saylor or Davis? That depends on your tastes, obviously. For the mystery, go to Davis. For the history, go to Saylor. Or, better still, read both!
This was my first foray into the Falco series, and I did not feel any loss from missing the first two volumes. Almost the opposite, in fact. These books are very difficult to find nowadays, so do not wait until you find book one to get started.
Great Wit--Great History!.......2002-08-25
I'd give this novel a 4.5 if I could. It isn't the top of the line as Falco stories go, but it's so far superior to most other historical mysteries that I hated to rate it less than 5. This is the novel that contains Davis's most waggish bit of BRITISH fun, on page 135 (paperback version):
"It was a hundred years since Rome decided to civilize the Gauls;. . . I am prepared to concede that one day the three cold Gallic provinces will come up with a contribution to the civilised arts--but nobody is going to convince me that it will be mastery of cuisine."
My best friend, married to a Frenchman who is an excellent home-kitchen chef, fell off her chair at that one, as I had done when I read it a few years earlier! And that's just one sample of Davis's mordant sense of "tweak."
I demand to know why this book is out of print!
Book Description
Winner of the Best First Novel award from the Authors' Club, and debut of the Didius Falco mystery series.
It is A.D. 70, when Roman P.I. Marcus Didius Falco runs into comely Sosia Camillina on the steps of the Forum. It seems she's being chased by a few unsavories for a stockpile of silver pigs--silver ingots--but Falco wants more information. What he gets is a whiff of treason and a one-way ticket to his own funeral pyre....
"It has everything: mystery, pace, wit, fascinating scholarship, and above all, two protagonists for whom, by the end, I feel genuine affection, and want to meet again."
Ellis Peters
Customer Reviews:
The Start of a Wonderful Series.......2006-09-18
This is the first novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth. A series of books that have become hugely popular, so much so that the author is now at the forefront of historical mystery writers. It was probably a stroke of genius on the part of the author to have novels that are extremely well researched and contain all the elements that would be and should be found in Rome in AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop.
Falco has done his time in the legions in that god forsaken place called Britain and it is the last place on earth that he would return to through choice but he has been told by the powers that be that he will go back to Britain and no, there is no choice.
When he arrives the weather is even worse than he remembered and the natives are still as unfriendly as ever. He just wants to complete his mission, find the missing silver and get the hell out of it, that is until he meets the lovely Helena Justina and if he thought he was having a hard time before he met her, he was in for an almighty shock.
What a fun book - I feel like I lived in ancient Roman times!.......2006-08-01
This isn't an easy book to find - I think its out of print - but its great. Lindsey Davis does a great job of bringing ancient Rome back to life. The characters are believeable and the situations seem real/plausible. If you enjoy traveling through time, albeit virtually, find and read this book.
Awesome read full of intrigue and history.......2006-02-18
I first had to read this book for my Latin language class in college. Well, I was looking for something to read recently and remembered this book. I always love a good mystery. This book definitely fits the bill. In addition to just plain good writing (hers not mine!), the book is intelligent and historical. I had forgotten all of the history crammed into the book. It is rare that a writer can turn out a thoroughly enjoyable read combined fiction, history, and intelligence. Bravo! I am now searching for her other books to enjoy!
Needs suspension of disbelief.......2006-02-01
I will proceed by means of an (obviously enough) comparision with Saylor's Roma Subrosa series: Saylor's Gordianus, anachronistic as he was, at least knew his place, while in order to enjoy Davies' Falco, you have to begin by believing that a Roman humilior - who had even to qualify for the corn dole sometimes - of the Early Roman Empire could adress a senator and his daughter on an equal footing. If you can achieve that (as I did, with an effort) the novel becomes enjoyable.
Makes the Roman Empire come alive!.......2005-12-18
This first book of a series about a working class Roman detective, who makes himself out to be a scoundrel while behaving with honor, is a detective story, a romance, but most of all great history about ancient Rome and Roman Briton, with lots of great characters from slaves to the emperor. It should be in print, along with the rest of the series.
Book Description
"GREAT STUFF...A classic hard-boiled, smart-mouth detective who happens to work in ancient Rome."
--Molly Ivins
Los Angeles Daily News
After six months in wild Germania, imperial gumshoe Marcus Didius Falco is back in Rome sweet Rome. But his apartment has been ransacked. And although he desperately needs 400,000 sesterces in order to marry his aristocratic love, Helena, his only client is his mother, who insists that he find out whether the scandalous claims against his dead brother, Festus, are true.
Then the chief tarnisher of Festus's good name is murdered, and Marcus becomes the prime suspect. Someone is definitely fiddling with the scales of justice. The more Marcus hunts for the thread that will lead him out of this doom-laden labyrinth of misery and mystery, the less his life is worth. Except, as seems likely, as a meal for the Emperor's hungry lions...
"AN INTRIGUING TALE...COMPULSIVE READING."
--Roanoke Times & World-News
"A VIVIDLY REALIZED IMPERIAL ROME--NOISY, DENSE AND DANGEROUS."
--Publishers Weekly
Customer Reviews:
He ain't Heavy, He's my Brother.......2006-09-26
This is the fifth novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth in Rome at the time of Vespasian. A series of books that have become hugely popular, so much so that the author is now at the forefront of historical mystery writers. It was probably a stroke of genius on her part to have novels that are extremely well researched and contain all the elements that would be and should be found in the Roman world of circa AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop. In this the fifth novel Falco and Helena Justina seem like old friends.
Falco is eager to get back to the hustle and bustle of Rome after what has seemed like an endless journey from Germania where his last adventure took him. Falco and Helena are shocked to find the apartment in Rome has been ransacked and used by squatters. Falco has been talked into staying with his mother until he finds out that she already has a lodger, an ex-legionary friend of Festus, Falco's brother and this so called "friend" is demanding money he says he is owed to him by Festus from a business venture.
The next day the ex-legionary is found stabbed to death and the chief suspect is guess who? Falco has his work cut out to prove that he is innocent, find the real killer and also prove that his brother is innocent of the crime too. The last part won't be easy because it is just the sort of crude justice that Festus would employ. As if that wasn't bad enough Falco may have to call on someone else for help. The last person he wants to be indebted to . . . Geminus, formerly Marcus Didius Favonius, Falco's father. If his mother finds out his life won't be worth living.
Great Stuff!.......2002-12-04
This is an excellent book. It's sharp and witty like all Didius Falco books, but in this one we see a more vulnerable Falco as he tries to get rid of a lot of preconceived notions about his father. Geminus Falco is a wonderful character, and I certainly hope we see more of him in upcoming books. In this book Falco and his father are working together to try to clear his late brother's name and some very outstanding debts. Falco gets in a lot of scrapes as usual, but this is more of a caper book than the others I've read so far. It's great fun, and hard to put down.
A masterful mix of history and mystery.......2002-05-05
I've been a fan of Lindsey Davis for some time. I am an amateur historian who is especially interested in ancient Rome, so I've read dozens of books on the subject. I am amazed at the wealth of detail contained in this book (and in all of Davis' Falco mysteries, all of which I've read). Such minute attention to detail not only provides an absorbing background to Davis' stories, but also testifies to her admirable efforts at presenting a plausible snapshot of ancient Rome, its geography, its history, and its populace. Davis' novels are both literature and history. This would not be exceptional were it not for the fact that Davis is a hell of a story-teller. Her tantalizing mysteries are spiced with the day-to-day details of life in ancient Rome, and the result is a fascinating read. Highly recommended!!
A Funfilled Journey through Rome.......2000-11-30
This was, in my opinion, one of the best Marcus Didius adventures. Marcus's relationship with his father adds great humor to an already wonderful story.
I don't think the reviewr below and I read the same book.......2000-10-23
Poseidon's Gold pits Falco against the forces that would defame the good name of his not-so-honorable brother Festus, his father and a band of art thieves trying to collect a questionably unpaid debt. This lacked some of the action that marks the earlier Falco novels which is why it only merited four stars, but it's still great fun. It's not entirely fare to compare Davis with Saylor - his writing is very different and while it is sophisticated it lacks the irony and humor of Davis' work. Read her when you want to smile and let's hope poor Falco gets a break in one of her future books.
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