Albia is back - Roman baddies beware!

The family tragedy of a teenage daughter found dead in bed, punch ups between grannies, accusations of witchcraft (Emperor Domitian persecutes mathematicians and philosophers, so any suggestion of magic..!) is only the end of a thread of a tangle of scandal and crime in the affluent quarters of Rome, in which Albia is rather reluctantly engaged, at the request of her husband’s snooty and superficial ex-wife.

The spoiled adolescents of rich families behave just as underemployed, indulged youngsters have done, ever since some parts of human society was able to support idleness and an unearned sense of entitlement.
We also have middle-aged hippy parents, “Stoics”, like stinky old Cato, old ‘68ers, perhaps, without the apostrophe for 1968, enjoying nettle beer and mild dissident activity, on a decent unearned income from hardworking ancestors, but under Domitian’s paranoid and murderous rule, dangerous acquaintances - think McCarthyism!

There’s organised crime, working towards superficial respectability and “establishment” status, generation by generation ... nothing new under the sun!

I love the Falco family. They get around, cross class and ethnic barriers and translate 1st century life with humour, which must have been present then, but has been either censored out, or unrecorded, or lost over time in surviving written texts. There is a lot of historical background on the social life of the Roman Empire of the 1st century presented in this series in easily digestible form, much unknown or ignored until recently.
Albia is resilient, using her hideous childhood as a resource, rather than an excuse for self-pity, funny, and, not being Roman by birth, capable of seeing beyond the accepted norms, but adapting when required. She has outgrown her adolescent door slamming and flouncing, once enhanced by her insecurities of adoption into an alien culture, early
deprivation and abuse, lack of identity.

I look forward to hearing more of her, and her younger siblings, especially the wee brother who has Asperger’s, son of the outrageous and engaging snake-dancer Thalia, and, allegedly, Falco’s roguish father..

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Well read and touching mystery

I have taken to Flavia Albia, a feisty, sensible and often worried heroine and Lindsey Davis's investigative stories that tell us a lot about ancient Rome as well as giving us something to puzzle over.
As I get older I know I prefer mystery stories to the competitive horror of how cruel one person can be to another. There are two deaths in this story, one bewildering and one utterly grim and a great deal about the Roman middle-class. I have listened twice, enjoying it even more the second time round.
The Flavia Albia Audible books have a couple of different readers. I don't have a favourite and think they all have their strengths. Jane Collingwood does a fine job with Pandora's Boy.

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2 people found this helpful

Enjoyable although obvious.

The problem is it doesn't compare to the Falco series, which had so much humour.

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1 person found this helpful

Albia has finally arrived...

...thank goodness. Pretty good story, acceptable characters and quick pace. Our heroine resembles the Albia of the Falco series, finally.
Thank you.

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2 people found this helpful

another good story from Rome

The Flavia Albia tales of detection are good choices for audio books. The narration was excellent, with enough variation without over dramatising. The lightness of approach fits well with Lindsay Davis's writing style.
The story is less dramatic than some, with a good Poirot type denouement which revealed what readers will probably have deduced some time earlier. The interest lies in the society and culture of Rome in the time of Domitian. We are introduced to a smarter area of the city, the Quirinal.

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Best so far Flavia!

Great historical fiction. Lots of interesting background about life under Domitian, and a fine whodunnit too. The reader, and perhaps also the story, really shine here. Flavia has become more likeable and the episodes about Roman witchcraft are great.

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Slow Burn to Resolution

This novel continues to place Flavia Albia at the centre of things and maintains a nod to her domestic world. For me the plot was a slow burn and it took a while for things to accelerate. As in a Falco novel this includes an Agatha Christie device. By the end it felt like preparation for a significant next novel. The audio-book is performed excellently and with energy. I look forward to the next in the series.

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A fine addition to the Albia series

Good story well read and engaging. Albia is turning into Falcos worthy replacement as an informer

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Full of intrigue

Flavia finds herself getting more involved in family matters setting the scene for the next installment. I can't wait

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Starting to go off the boil

Not sure if this is a dip in the usual high standard, but Flavia is starting to come across all jolly hockey sticks and lacking the edge that Falco had, the constant references in this book of Falco made me pine for the old days, maybe a joint investigation to come, though voice wise i'm unsure how that would work.

Hopefully a blip and the best is to come

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