Book Description

Customer Reviews (13)

Same, old
Given an opportunity to bustout (Saturnalia is all about role reversals), Davis chooses to follow her prudish, tired formula. There's no new and interesting "Roman Empire" themes here instead (like the frontier, aqueducts, gladiators, theater in earlier novels). Her characters are recycled once again, even including Falco's first antagonist, Veleda, the influential German priestess from "five years" ago (in The Silver Pigs), and now an invisible, escaped prisoner in Rome.

It washard to finish this novel, I tried twice. Maybe it is the relentless banter that pervades these novels. Or maybe I was looking for a more serious, involving escape at this moment.

Entertaining
Marcus Didius Falco is a hard-boiled private eye during 1st century Rome. He comes from a plebeian background but is married to an aristocrat, the daughter of a senator. If you've seen The Thin Man with William Powell and Myrna Loy you have an idea of the relationship.

This is the 3rd or 4th book in the series that I've read, and about the 18th in the series overall. The ones I've read have been entertaining. Not nearly as historically interesting as the Steven Saylor Gordianus series, but good solid entertainment. The Falco character is raffish, tough, smart, outspoken, and self-deprecating.

The author makes a point of having her characters speak in slang, some of it made-up for the purpose. The result feels like Chicago in the '20s, and maybe that's appropriate. Rome was a pretty rough-and-tumble place, a huge cosmopolitan city, corrupt at all levels, and violent in a way that would be familiar to big-city residents in America.

as good as it gets
I'm not going to do a detailed review because there is as much as you may want to know about the plot already on site. But having followed this series for many years and always pleased with Davis' research, character development, dialog, plotting, etc., I have to say that this particular episode exceeded my expectations. Just when I thought she had explored Rome to the limit, she came up with this wonderful book! I listened this time and loved Christian Rodska as the voice of Falco.

Another excellent part of this series that I hope never ends
Marcus Didius Falco is one of the most engaging heroes in a story that we've ever read.Ms. Davis is a brilliantly skilled writer that brings to life history.Her stories are so engrossing and beautifully written.We've read every one of the books in this series as well as the book she wrote about Vespasian. All are so well worth reading and creating a special place in the library to showcase them to enjoy over and over again.

Now to wait for another in the series.....

Another Enjoyable Falco Case
I have read every book in the series, and while there are a few that don't quite measure up, this one is right on target.It contains the history and atmosphere that make the stories unique, along with the family and political scheming that give us all something to which we can relate.I consider this one less of a mystery and more of true private eye novel, but no matter how you see it, Ms. Davis has created some terrific characters, and I look forward to meeting up with them again each time a new book comes out. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Falco in Ostia
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
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 takenfrom 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). ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (17)

See Delphi and Die
Davis had Falco and company head to Greece to solve a murder.A well woven story with a lot of of wit.

Travel is the pits
Falco and Helena travel to Greece to solve mysterious deaths, and more happen all around them.With the help of their family and many red herrings the truth is finally told.I am eagerly awaiting the next installment even though I would have liked to have seen an afterword to this one.

a charming read
Lindsey Davis never fails to provide a fun read. Though the family members traveling with Marcus and Helena to Greece offered little of what we have learned to expect from their relatives in the way of extra heartburn for Falco, the spot-on observations about tourist groups and travel were great. I completely enjoyed "See Delphi and Die".

Falco in Greece
It's hard to believe that this book is the 17th in the Falco series, for the plot and the action seem fresh. Once again we are taken, along with Falco and party, to a different province of the Roman Empire, this time Greece. There are two mysterious deaths of young women, and Falco wangles some travelling money from the Imperial treasury to do investigating. The writing, as usual is crisp and humorous, and the characters are extremely well-defined, particularly the members of the ill-fated touring group involved in one of the deaths. The plot goes round and round, and the ending is quite a shock, although the author has laid clues here and there throughout the book. Looking forward to the 18th entry in the Falco series!

Audio Version of a Fun Road Trip Mystery
It always makes me happy to see a new Falco mystery.In fact I was somewhat surprised to realize that although this is the 17th case for Falco only about five or six years had passed in the Roman Empire.

Anyway, this one is definitely one of Davis' better efforts. While Falco had previously traveled outside of Rome on a number of adventures, this book is a great satire of travel tours-- both ancient and modern.I sympathized with Falco beating off guides at various historical sites and dealing with the odd assortment of people who seem to end up together in tour groups.

As for the narrator, Christian Rodska, he does a very believable Falco, a little coarse and tough, with a cynical outlook. However he is a sentimental pushover when it comes to those he loves.

If you have about 11 hours and 15 minutes of driving time (or house work time for that matter) then give this one a try. ... Read more

Amazon.com
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 AdamsBook 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 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Not Free SF Reader
Publishing peril.


Falco is still toiling away till late hours at times working on his writing, and here he falls in with a banker/publishers that plays up to struggling writers.

Falco gets in trouble again when a man dies via a literary blunt implement, and with Petronius' help he gets to investigate and find out what is going on.

Like Last Act In Palmyra, the whole publishing thing may be of little interest to some, and this does detract a bit in general from the book making this one of the lesser entries in this series.

Falco The Poet
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 elementsthat would be and should be found inthe 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...
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
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
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. ... Read more

Book Description
Nobody was poisoned at the dinner for the Society of Olive Oil Producers of Baetica, though in retrospect this was quite a surprise…

Inimitable detective Marcus Didius Falco is back with a vengeance. Muggings, occur, a man is killed and Rome’s answer to Phillip Marlowe is plunged into the fiercely competitive world of olive oil-production. Political intrigue, an exotic Spanish dancer and impending fatherhood, all add to Falco’s troubles.

Eighth in Davis’ award-winning and acclaimed Falco novels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Not Free SF Reader
Oil and Spanish dancers.


The oil industry is in town and is lobbying in the time honoured method: wine, women and song.Falco is invited along for some reason, and when successful and attempted murder is discovered, he realises why.

Falco not only has to protect his arch rival, ask his mother for help and placate a jealous pregnant Helena if he succeeds in his task, he has a murder to solve.

Definitely one of the better books in the Falco series.

'Pressing Times' for Our hero
This is the eighth 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 elementsthat would be and should be found inthe 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 eighth novel Falco and Helena Justina almost seem like long lost relations to the reader.

A dinner for the Olive Oil Producers ofBaetica, goes badly wrong when one man is killed and another - Anacrites, the Emperor's spy - is seriously wounded and left for dead. Because Anacrites is to be laid up for some time, Falco is brought back into the Emperor's fold as imperial sleuth. Falco is plunged head long into the world of olive oil production and heads out to Baetica.

It soon becomes apparent to Falco that the killing was no simple murder. Falco and Helena are staying in Baetica, using the excuse of inspecting the villa and olive crops of Helena Justina's father, Camillus Verus. This case is not the only thing on Falco's mind either, impending fatherhood is creeping up on our Roman sleuth.

Very Readable
Enjoyable journey back to the Roman Empire under Vespasian.Of course, like all empires, Rome needed a police service or, in this case, a Private Eye.Marcus Didius Falco makes a good detective, private or otherwise.And the history sounds pretty plausible as well.

On the Road Again!!
This book starts out in Ancient Rome where Falco gets involved with the murder of another informer and the almost fatal injury of, all people, Anacrites - the chief of the spies who actually set him up to be killed in the last book.Faclo is commissioned to try to find out the killer and to stop some price-fixing plans that are being contemplated on olive oil - a very profitable product even in ancient Rome.His commission takes him to Roman Spain (or Corduba).The story is great fun and gives the reader a good understanding of ancient Spain and the Olive Oil industry.Falco brings his very pregnant cohort Helena with him on his journey.What would a Falco story be like without the beauteous Helena?

A good one in the Marcus Didius Falco series...
I don't always go for mysteries set in ancient Roman times, but Didius is such a likeable character with a great sense of social irreverence and a healthy disrespect for the foibles of human nature.He's an informer or what we would call a private eye.The series has a long term arc of Didius' personal relationships particularly to his wife Helena Justina, his aristocratic in-laws, his own confusing family and many friends and enemies.In One Virgin Too Many, the first in the series that I read, Didius and Helena had a child and we learned that his brother-in-law, Aelianus had a romantic failure with a Spanish heiress. The thought of this detective in Andalucia (where Corduba is located) and more info on the background of the characters in One Virgin Too Many helped ensnare me.The mystery starts out with Didius attending the banquet for the society of Baetican (i.e. Spanish) Olive Oil Producers.After the banquet, which is a snarling vicious affair, Didius learns that his old enemy, the Chief Spy Anacrites who was also there, has been attacked and nearly bludgeoned to death, and another man, an informer Didius had only met that night, but rather liked, has been killed.Didius is hired by the imperial agent Laeta to find out what the heck is going on.Unfortunately all the olive oil producers have fled back to Southern Spain.Meanwhile poor Didius' girlfriend is about to give birth to their first child.Didius knows he must refuse the assignment.But Helena knows he must take it.Fortunately her father, the senator Camillus Verus happens to have some olive oil fields in Southern Spain. The couple visit the area under the pretext of checking out the family lands.But really they're there to investigate a murder and an attempted murder that occured in the imperial city itself.The plotting is complex yet followable, and Davis does an excellent job of creating, presenting and illustrating characters and relationships from differing social backgrounds and of various abilities.It's a very entertaining series, and this one particularly so because the Spanish portion of the Roman empire is so well drawn. ... Read more

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 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Not Free SF Reader
Dodgy relative deals.


Back from Germania, Falco again has to deal with trouble that is literally much closer to home, or at least closer to family. His male relatives have more than a touch of the Arthur Daley about them, and it seems, in this particular antique business, somethign valuable has gone missing.

Amusing investigations and the odd bad joke follow. Definitely a good one.

He ain't Heavy, He's my Brother
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 elementsthat would be and should be found inthe 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!
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
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
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. ... Read more

Book Description
The spirit of adventure calls Marcus Didius Falco on a new spying mission for the Emperor Vespasian, to the untamed East. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Not Free SF Reader
Killer entertainment.


Falco is undercover for the Emperor again, and Helena is along for the ride. A disappeared muso lands our intrepid Informer in the middle of a travelling theatre show, and murder isn't far behind.Even worse, Falco tries writing his own.

A reasonable book, but if you have no theatre interest at all you may not enjoy it as much with all the jokes there.


3.5 out of 5

About Amazon
I have not recieved this book and have ordered it twice. My review is that Amazon should not sell things they do not have and cannot get. I have been trying to read the series in order of printing.

Last Act, but not for Falco, I Hope
Quite a number of authors have jumped on the sleuth in Ancient Rome bandwagon, but Lindsey Davis is probably the best of the lot. Her leading character Marcus Didius Falco has been sent out of Rome on a dangerous mission to spy out the Lands of the East. An Imperial order sends him and his girlfriend Helena Justina, the daughter of a Senator to the rose red city of Petra. There they discover a murdered playwright.
Falco feels obliged to investigate the murder and soon becomes embroiled in more murder and mayhem, making him wish he had not left his beloved Rome. All the author's books have been entertaining and of a very high standard, this one is no different.

A low point in an otherwise enjoyable series
I have been happily ploughing through the Falco series over the past few months.This entry was most disappointing.It has Falco traipsing all over the far eastern reaches of the empire through town after town.Nothing much happens as Falco searches for a murderer in his midst and inevitably finds him.I found the travel to be repitious and I was bored by several pointless side plots.

Also, is it just me or is this book particularly crass with language and blantant profanity?I'm not adverse to "realism" in my reading, but the tone of the books seem to have changed for the worse with this entry.

I have the next in the series, Time to Depart, and am hoping for a return to form.

Wonderful Rollicking Fun!
I don't care what everyone else had to say about this book.I really enjoyed it.It was rollicking good fun.Didio and his beautiful Helena are on the road again, this time in Syria, and they join up with a travelling group of performers.The antics and adventures that they get into during the book are hilarious.The actual catching of the killer is done in the most unique way (as part of a performance).Falco gets better with each outing.Ms. Davis' writing is sparkling with wit, and her characters breathe!This book is back to a real whodunit format, and that was fun as well.Bring on the rest! ... Read more

Book Description
Marcus Didius Falco and his friend Petronius find their local fountain blocked – by a gruesomely severed human hand. Soon other body parts are found in aqueducts and sewers. The killer lurks, preparing to strike again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

All Hands to The Pumps
Falco is back in his beloved Rome with Helena and a new baby girl, tactfully named after both grandmothers, Julia Junilla Laeitana. Falco is out enjoying himself with old friend from his army days, Petro, who is now a member of the Vigiles, when they comes across a gruesome discovery in the fountain they are standing by. A severed human hand. With the possibility of bits of Rome's population floating around the Roman water system it is time for our hero to get involved.

This time he has the help of Petro, who has been suspended from the vigiles for having a rather unfortunate liaison. But of course nothing is easy for Falco. What with more than my jobs worth water board officials, who seem to have a vested interest in keeping things quiet, Falco and Petro seem to be running up a dead end. That is until Julius Frontius an ex-consul who Vespasian has assigned to look into the matter becomes involved. He is certainly able to use his influence and the investigation begins to make progress.

When another girl goes missing Falco begins to realise who the serial killer is, but will he be able to catch them before they strike again . . .

A Serial Killer in Ancient Rome!
This is another great entry in the Marcus Didio Falco series.We learn all about the ancient Roman acqueduct and sewer system as we watch Falco go after a serial killer.(Yes they must have had them even then).Falco is back in Rome with his wife and baby daughter and in urgent need of employment as usual.But he sort of falls into this particular case. He and his friend Petronius are sitting by a non-working fountain taking some much-needed R and R when they discover a severed human hand.This sets them both on a quest to catch a serial killer that it appears has been abducting and killing women for a long time.Like all of Ms. Davis' books this book is great fun.We get to renew our acquaintance with old friends and meet some new ones as well.I can hardly wait for the next episode.

Another fun Falco mystery
This is my third one.I've read two.One Virgin Too Many, and A Dying Light in Corduba.This one is before Virgin and after Corduba.Junia Junilla Laeitana (partially named after a wine!) has been born to Falco and his 'wife," the aristocratic Helena.Anacrites, Chief Spy and Falco's sworn enemy, is just beginning to come out of convalescence after being beat up in the previous book and being nursed to health by Falco's Ma.Claudia Rufina, a character from the last book, has been engaged to Helena's snotty brother Aelianus. Falco's best friend Petro has been fired from the police force after being unfaithful to his wife with a gangster's daughter, and Petro and Falco have teamed up to form an investigative partnership.They find a human hand in a fountain that is being repaired by a civic workman and rapidly it comes to light that there has been a serial killer at work during the Roman Games for years.This is not good news.The ex-consul Frontinus employs Falco and Petro to stop this person.As usual, Falco and Petro have problems of their own, and Rome's bureaucracy is not entirely helpful, while the actual mystery, particularly in this story is not entirely the point.(I did have a quibble with its resolution, however.) The Local Color of Ancient Rome, and surroundings in this book, is so well conveyed through Falco's dry wit and wary yet hopeful humor that the read is just plain fun.And this mystery particularly wrily displays the struggle with bureaucracy that has been Rome's legacy to the modern day.One scene has Falco and Helena registering the birth of Julia Junilla Laeitana (partially named after a wine!) at the birth registry office and that is quite funny.

Review
Three Hands in the Fountain (Lindsey Davis, 1996) is quite a disappointment.Although genuinely funny, with good dialogue, the plot is a mess.

The setting is Rome, vividly depicted, and seen through the eyes of a plebeian, with emphasis on the waterworks, "a vital state concern, and had been for centuries.Its bureaucracy was an elaborate mycelium whose black tentacles crept right to the top", and on the bureaucratic complications of the aqueducts.To these waterworks, someone is adding various pieces of human anatomy-gore, with much scope for black comedy.It soon becomes apparent that the murders are linked to the many Roman Games, giving the informer hero Marcus Didius Falco "an excellent excuse to spend much of the next two months enjoying himself in the sporting arenas of our great city-all the while calling it work".The atmosphere of "watching scores of gladiators being sliced up while the Emperor snored discreetly in his gilded box and the best pick-pockets in the world worked the crowds" is vivid and almost tangible.

Setting, therefore, is quite good (although certainly not comparable to the brilliant depiction of Rome in Robert Graves' superb I, CLAUDIUS).What is not so good is the actual plot: the detection is not very good, with few clues to speak of, and no suspects; and the murderer's identity is a complete let-down, completely characterless, and introduced on page 231 of 294.This is not what I expect from an author The Times suggested as being "well suited to assume ... the title Queen of the Historical Whodunnit".

Thoroughly Entertaining
If you've found the other Falco books dull, a story about dismembered bodies should liven things up. This is a wonderful series that everyone should enjoy.Helena does not play as important a role as I would wish, but this is still an excellant book. ... Read more

Book Description
Fresh from his trip to 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 Silius Italicus and Paccius Africanus — two real-life lawyers at the top of their trade. These notorious ex-consuls play a dangerous game, where success brings rich pickings but a mistrial or a wrong verdict entails huge financial penalties.

The senator is convicted but then dies, apparently by suicide. It may be a legal move to protect his heirs, but Silius hires Falco and his young associates to prove it was murder. As Falco shows off his own talents in the role of advocate, he exposes himself to powerful elements in Roman law: offending the wrong people may lead to charges he has not bargained for, in a contest that threatens financial ruin for himself and his family. . . ... Read more

Book Description
Rome, AD 71. In the second book in the bestselling Falco series, Marcus Didius Falco, now Imperial Agent to Emperor Vespasian, has not been resting on his laurels. Tidying up corpses, kicking over the traces of a failed coup, making a bit on the side in stolen lead ingots — it’s all in a day’s work for an ex-private eye. But a new plot to usurp the purple robes of power puts Falco on the back of a mule with a one-way ticket down the Appian Way — bumping into trouble, treason and Helena Justina, a senator’s daughter he’s trying hard to forget. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Incredible Series
Lindsey Davis has captured the feel of ancient Rome and surrounding countries/seas.She brings Rome and it's inhabitants alive, so much so that you can almost feel what she writes!I recommend the entire series of Marcus Didius Falco and his friends to anyone who likes history and who would like to feel what it was like in ancient Rome.

shadows in bronze
Lindsey Davis, as usual, is an excellent author and did a great deal of research before writing this book. Enjoyed it.

Not Free SF Reader
Burning conspiracy relations.


Covered up executions, arson, and people from Helena's past all pay a role in this Falco story. Back in Rome, he has some running around to do with his friend Petronius to discover what is going on, under cover of a holiday journey.

His paths cross with Helena multiple times in the course of these investigations, ensuring this book is just about as good as the previous novel.

Reading it was a Rare Pleasure
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 elementsthat would be and should be found inRome 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!
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. ... Read more

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...... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Falco novels
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
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 elementsthat would be and should be found inthe 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
Lindsey Davis has created a great series about an informer in ancient Rome.The informer, Marcus DidiusFalco, 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
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
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. ... Read more

Book Description
“Rats are always bigger than you expect.” Falco, ancient Rome’s hangdog investigator, hates sharing a cell with a rodent, though being bailed by his mother is almost as bad. His highborn girlfriend can’t decide if she wants him. And Titus Caesar’s reward for past services is a wet fish. Hoping for better things, he takes on new clients: on the elegant slopes of the Pincian Hill, three nouveaux riches freedmen and their flashy wives are under siege to a clever redhead, Severina Zotica, and her foul-mouthed parrot. As he pursues this flame-haired fortune-hunter, Falco finds himself beset by violent rent-racketeers, poisoners and dangerous women with designs on him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Not Free SF Reader
Bail, bashings and banquet.


Falco is in so much trouble he is in the slammer, thanks to the machinations of his rival Anacrites.His family and friends also have problems with a nasty landlord.

The Emperor, needing some work done, offers and solution, and Falco makes a favorable impression on his younger relatives, as well.

A continuation of the entertaining hijinks in previous books, and you won't be disappointed with this one.

Venus in Copper
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
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 elementsthat would be and should be found inRome 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
"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
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. ... Read more

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


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good puzzle is nicely paced although the end meanders.
A solid mystery with a good puzzle.Davis's greatest strength is her description of Rome and its daily life.However, the Sisyphean story of Falco and Helena not being able to get married is starting to pall.Memo to LD:time to pick up speed and move these two onto another level in their relationship. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Marcus Didius Falco is back in another lively first-century historicalmystery. The Roman investigator, informer, and imperial spy's snappy patter,romantic leanings, strong sense of irony, and penchant for getting intointeresting situations have won Lindsey Davis a growing number of fans. Flushwith his earnings from an African adventure (Two for the Lions), Falco'sjust been rewarded for his service to the empire with an unusual bit ofpolitical patronage: he's been appointed to the largely ceremonial position ofProcurator of the Sacred Poultry, meaning he's in charge of the care and feedingof a gaggle of sacred geese. This un-Falco-like upward mobility is anopportunity for Marcus to move his patrician wife, Helena Justina, and theirtoddler out of a tenement and into a home of their own. As much as Marcus scoffsat middle-class pretensions, he's not above leaving his seedy surroundings andproviding his family with some of the finer things, if only to show his in-lawsthat he can. But when Helena's brother falls over a corpse that disappearsbefore it can be identified, Falco tosses the geese some food and gets busyfinding the connection between the dead man and a 6-year-old girl who's inline to be chosen as the new vestal virgin. That leads him into intrigue,danger, and a confrontation with a former vestal virgin that almost costs himhis life. Well paced, with good dialogue, excellent plotting, and a cast ofterrific characters surrounding Falco and Helena, including some familiar fromearlier stories, One Virgin Too Many shows Davis in top form. Falco thefamily man is better company than ever. --Jane AdamsBook Description
Marcus Didius Falco, the cynical, hard-boiled investigator from the rough end of Rome, is back from a difficult mission in North Africa. As a result of his hard work, Emperor Vespasian awards Falco with the title of Procurator of Poultry for the Senate and People of Rome, or keeper of the city's sacred geese. Not much of a salary, of course, but the title does give him a better standing with his in-laws. Now, all Falco wants is to spend time relaxing at home with his family. But there is no rest for Falco as he finds himself drawn into the world of the Roman religious cults...and the murder of a member of the Sacred Brotherhoods. And then there's the disappearance of the most likely new candidate for the Order of Vestal Virgins. Falco soon uncovers a sinister cover-up-and is too deeply involved to back away from the truth.Download Description
Marcus Didius Falco is a cynical, hard-boiled investigator from the rough end of Rome. He does a bit of everything, from political investigating to art-fraud work. But he never seems to make enough money to move his family out of a seedy tenement. But fresh from his adventure in Two for the Lions in North Africa, he finds new respectability. His efforts are rewarded when he is appointed to a post in the religious hierarchy of government cults and becomes keeper of the city's sacred geese. Now Falco wants nothing more than to spend time relaxing at home. But all too soon he finds himself caught up in the murder of a member of one of the sacred brotherhoods and the disappearance of the most likely new candidate for the Order of Vestal Virgins.Lindsey Davis's look at the complexities of Roman society and attitudes has rarely been so impressively on display as in this engrossing historical mystery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Not Free SF Reader
Religious responsibilities.


Falco has, for better or worse, some religious duties to take care of, both personally, even though he doesn't much care for it, and professionally after a girl comes to him for help.

It seems as though something strange is going on in her family, one which is in the running to provide the next vestal virgin.

That is not all though, with problems on Helena's side of the family, and this being a murder mystery type book with a religious theme, you need a cult and a dead person to go along with it.

Another entertaining installment in the Falco series.


3.5 out of 5

a pleasure!
I had a fun time reading "One Virgin Too Many". As with all Falco mysteries, the humor and affection for the characters is delightful and the history lesson goes down like candy. I was glad to see Marcus FINALLY got his promotion to the Equestrian rank. His accompanying appointment as Keeper of the Sacred Poultry is pretty funny! The linked mysteries of a missing child (the top vestal virgin candidate) and a murdered member of a religious order is interesting and inventive. Such likeable characters! It makes reading the story a pleasure even when the action isn't advancing all that quickly.

Someone's Goose is Cooked
This is the eleventh 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 elementsthat would be and should be found inthe Roman world of circa AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop.

In this novel Falco becomes embroiled with the religious cults of his beloved Rome after he is approached by a young girl, who claims that someone is trying to kill her. The girl has been proposed as a Vestal Virgin, a highly soughtafter position, although most of the city believe that the voting is fixed and that another girl will win. Falco and Helena are having dinner a few days later with helea's parents, when Camillus Aelianus returns home shaken to the core at discoveringa man's dead body in a Sacred Grove.

Falco has to put his detective's hat on once again, but somewhat reluctantly after all he has recently been given the singular honour of Procurator of the Sacred Geese and he is finding out that the ones with feathers on that strut about and make that stupid noise are not half as attractive as those that haven't and don't . . .

Falco Falters
This is a fine series so when I began this volume I had hopes that it would be of the same standard as the others.Ms. Haney has a genuine gift in giving readers the "texture" of everyday life in imperial Rome (at the time of Vespasian and Titus in this one).The dialogue and the characters are both engaging.So what went wrong?A young girl appears to speak with Falco believing someone in her family wants to kill her.And away we go, on and on and on!I was weary by the time I got to the rather flat conclusion and felt that a good editing would have been most helpful; the length of this book (326 pages) really cannot support so thin a story.I was left wondering what had happened and if somehow I had missed something as there was so little going on.

Another Great Story
If you have not read any of the Falco series, I strongly recommend that you do so, but start at the beginning.Lindsey Davis gets better with each outing.Her characterization is wonderful, and she peoples her books with lots of eccentric and wonderful people.If you read the series in order, you will get to know them all, plus be able to understand the undercurrants that run between Falco and the many people that are close to him.In this book we see Falco on the search for a missing child.His search exposes him to a very disfunctional family.No wonder the little girl was missing!Her grandfather and all her relations are the worst lot you'll ever meet.The search for the child becomes a race against time, and the last few chapters are "edge-of-your seat".All the while the quips and jokes just seem to flow from the pages.Falco finds himself in a very dangerous and embarrassing position where the lack of wearing a loin cloth under his tunic becomes of paramount importance.This is a wonderful, fast-moving book.Through all the turmoil and danger, Falco finds out that he has a number of people that are very loyal to him and this comes as a pleasant surprise to him, since two of his partners were people he didn't like or didn't trust, and the other - his friend Petronious - had been distant of late.Wonderful Book! ... Read more

Amazon.com
With his entire family in tow, including wife, two children, and asister whose spurned lover's plans for revenge have put her life in danger,Marcus Didius Falco, the Roman Emperor Vespasian's smart-aleck PI, follows twounsavory building contractors suspected of murder to a barbarous, uncivilizedoutpost of the Empire--the south coast of Britain, where its Great King, hisroyal architect, and an officious project manager are building a magnificentpalace. Since Vespasian is paying for it, he's charged Falco with making sureRome's money isn't being wasted, as well as with tracking down the suspects--twojobs that morph into one as the body count keeps rising. Falco is a livelyprotagonist who can't stay out of trouble but always comes out of it with themystery solved and his sense of humor intact in this consistently fine series of historicalthrillers. --Jane AdamsBook Description
The thirteenth whodunnit featuring Marcus Didius Falco – ancient Rome’s Philip Marlowe – set against the very real backdrop of the Roman Palace at Fishbourne in Britain.

Falco and Helena have escaped Helena’s expensive mistake on the Janiculan Hill and house-swapped with Falco’s father. But they’ve left behind a nasty surprise. There’s a corpse in the newly completed bathhouse and the contractors, Gloccus and Cotta, have fled to Britain. As it happens, Britain is currently Falco’s best employment opportunity. Frontinus, Governor of the Isle, wants Falco to sort out some problems he has with a huge Imperial building project on the south coast. Is it there that Gloccus and Cotta have fled? With his burgeoning family in tow, Falco sets out to the land he swore he would never visit again, not knowing that a string of murders and building site politics await him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Not Free SF Reader
Builder bumping off means off to Britain.


Falco has an unpleasant discovery in a new structural addition, and the disappearance of those involved leads him to yet another trip to Britain, not his favorite place by any stretch.It is a whole family affair, with kids, and even some in-laws.

Falco sticks his Informer nose in to see if he can solve what is going on with corruption in the building industry and a large Roman project.


3.5 out of 5

Back to Britannia
Falco revisits old haunts here, returning to Britain "five years" after the start of this series. In the interim he's had many far-flung adventures in increasingly domesticated situations.

The setting provides numerous opportunities for Davis to take jabs at her fellow Britons, while developing Falco's sleuthing after misbegotten building contractors-as if the caustic author were revenging herself on a bad personal experience. The first two-thirds of the story is more scornful witticisms than it is mysterious. Oh, right, there are some bodies falling from the scaffolding but what can you expect on an imperial construction site in barbarian Britannia? Falco has it easy for over 200 pages of banter with hardly a hint of suspense among the evident corruption. Davis is true to the modern archaeological finds at Fishbourne in that the construction of the royal palace hardly rises above its foundations. The story is more fun for its incidents and argot than plot and action. Falco's final apprehension of the miscreants makes little sense because it's so accidental. The slow pace of the first two-thirds of the story corroborates my previous suggestion that Davis, and Falco, are best when they stay close to Rome rather than gallivanting about the Empire into some provincial backwater like Palmyra, Corduba, or Britannia. This volume is not one of my favorites in the series.

This book should be read after Ode To A Banker because some issues and nefarious characters there continue here, along with Falco and his now familiar menagerie. Actually, this volume is the middle of a trilogy that concludes in The Jupiter Myth (still in hardback at this writing). The cover art on my pb copy (with the new circular mosaic theme) differs from that shown on Amazon.

The Old Gray Mare Ainýt What She Used to Be.
As a Ivy League trained classicist and fan of Lindsey Davis from the time of her very first Falco novel, "Silver Pigs," it's hard for me to say this: frankly and colloquially put, "A Body in the Bathhouse" really stinks. I had begun to sense a growing problem in her last few books- the plots had become thinner, the dialogue more contrived, even the characters seemed to be growing tired of themselves. I had hoped in this book the process would have been reversed, but "A Body in the Bathhouse" only completes the cycle of decline. You get the sense reading her pages that Ms. Davis merely threw together a number of unrelated, superficial characters and plots simply to meet a publisher's deadline. And speaking of the publisher: is anyone editing her series these days? According to the cover, Ms. Davis is an author of "internationally bestselling novels." So why does her editor allow all these supposedly Roman characters to speak in a low-end Birmingham argot that is almost unintelligible to the average American reader? (And I would guess, to quite a few Brits as well, not to mention the Aussies and all other English speakers around the globe.) Enough already! A bit of the King's English, please! And finally, while Ms. Davis' anti-gay bias has been hinted at almost from the beginning of this series, her increasing use of gay stereotypes to portray effeminate and evil men simply smacks of uniformed heterosexual bias. All in all, my recommendation is to wait for this one to come out in paperback, expect little when (and if) you read it, and simply hope for a sea change in future volumes.

Thoroughly enjoyable
Lovely job.This one was just plain fun once it got started.It reads well.I don't think Ms. Davis' strength has ever been the puzzle.No one would mistake her for Agatha Christie.On the other hand, she's a lot more enjoyable to read.Yes, one could wish the mystery were tidied up better, but then the whole thing might not be so nicely spiced.As it is, I enjoyed myself hugely.(Note the wonderful "Briton" playright who gets by without royalties by being popular with the general public and hence sharing in the ticket sales.Several rather delicious references to a Vespasian-era Shakespeare.We were amused.)

Superior detail--funny and rich
It's been a tough time for Roman informant Falco. First he and his father discover a decomposing body buried under the tiles of his bat