[books 2016] Another Falco mystery

[inulro]

41. Two For The Lions by Lindsey Davis

A few years ago I read the first half of this series and then tailed off. I've read the first chapter of this a couple of times but couldn't get into it and thought maybe I'd had enough. Started it again on the bus/at lunch last week and got sucked straight in. Read the rest on the coach to and from London this weekend.

Standard Falco series stuff - Falco lands what he hopes is a lucrative contract as an auditor for Vespasian's census and is given the task of looking into the finances of various participants in the arena - gladiators, wild beasts etc and stumbles right into the killing of one of the lions to which convicted criminals are fed. This is, naturally, swiftly followed by the murder of a gladiator. For Reasons, the case unravels but Falco's entire family ends up in North Africa, where it all comes together again.

Because it's set in ancient Rome, even though it's mostly about a fairly clueless, smartass investigator, there's a lot of death and violence. Even so, the ending, where everything *really* all comes crashing down around him, is pretty dark.

And I have to read the next one really soon to find out exactly what Falco did bring to light about the sacred geese...

Comments

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

I recently re-read the lot. The last one, Nemesis, is very dark indeed - quite possibly because Lindsey Davis's husband died just before she wrote it. So ruminations on death and fate and grief - but bloody good. It leads nicely into the far lighter Flavia Albia series (she couldn't bring herself to write any more Falco). Flavia Albia goes more into the social aspects of Rome, the status of women, treatment of slaves etc, whilst also having a nice slow-burn romance subplot.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

I read the first two Flavia Albia books when they came out; I didn't know the context - that explains a lot.