Well done!
Flavia Albia lives in Rome, 89 AD, and at 29 searches the the truth in investigations both of deaths and in other areas such as electioneering frauds which are viewed as appropriate for a woman of the times. She is following in the footsteps of her father, Marcus Didius Falco, a fameous private informer who has retired.
A widow for ten years, she becomes involved in a love affair with Manlius Faustis, a man whose family views her as below his class. She finds she loves him as their friendship deepens. He helps her with investigation into the death of man found crammed into a chest to be sold at an auction. Her charge is to find who he is, why he died, and how he came to be in this chest. At the same time she is to help Faustis with his friend's campaign who is among the candidates for the seats of new aediles in her section of Rome.
Albia discovers family connections both amongst the candidates and with the family of the murdered man. Amid political intrigue and the emotional ties of the families involved Albia and Faustis must pool their connections and knowlege to uncover what really happened to the man who died.
Flavia Albia lives in Rome, 89 AD, and at 29 searches the the truth in investigations both of deaths and in other areas such as electioneering frauds which are viewed as appropriate for a woman of the times. She is following in the footsteps of her father, Marcus Didius Falco, a fameous private informer who has retired.
A widow for ten years, she becomes involved in a love affair with Manlius Faustis, a man whose family views her as below his class. She finds she loves him as their friendship deepens. He helps her with investigation into the death of man found crammed into a chest to be sold at an auction. Her charge is to find who he is, why he died, and how he came to be in this chest. At the same time she is to help Faustis with his friend's campaign who is among the candidates for the seats of new aediles in her section of Rome.
Albia discovers family connections both amongst the candidates and with the family of the murdered man. Amid political intrigue and the emotional ties of the families involved Albia and Faustis must pool their connections and knowlege to uncover what really happened to the man who died.
Lindsey Davis is far and away the best author when it comes to the Roman detective genre. Her research is flawless, her dialog natural and unforced, and her humor deft and light. I was so disappointed to be coming to the end of the Falco series and was delighted to discover the Flavia Albia stories. I only regret that there aren't more.
