From Publishers Weekly
Ave Marcus Didius Falco! Once again Imperial Rome's wisecracking private investigator splendidly incarnates his time and placeas he uncovers a real estate development scam that proves the slum landlord is a long-established species. Fans of Silver Pigs and Shadows in Bronze will happily find Falco still sparring and making up with Helena Justina, the divorced daughter of a senator, carousing with his friend Petronius, captain of the Aventine Watch, obstructing his arch-enemy Anacrites, the Emperor Vespasian's chief spy, and trying to keep his mother and sisters at a comfortable distance. Here Falco is hired by two of the Hortensii, a group of freed slaves who have parlayed the legacy of their former owner into a fortune (which they display to vulgar excess), to investigate the thrice-widowed fiancee of one of their members. While Falco tries to prove that Severina Zotica has murdered her previous husbands, her betrothed is poisoned at a dinner with a notoriously unscrupulous developer and the detective must dig for other motives. Arson, evictions, skyrocketing rents, layered mortgage deals, another murder, near death for Helena and a brutal beating for himself spur Falco to ferret out the truth about the Hortensii and Severina. Period details, humor and Falco's modern sensibility add up to another sterling performance from Davis.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The author of Silver Pigs ( LJ 9/1/89) and Shadows in Bronze ( LJ 3/15/91) breaks forth with a new Didius Falco mystery set in the Rome of Vespasian. Falco, the ancient equivalent of a private detective, ferrets out information for two nouveau-riche women about a "professional bride" who wants to marry their husbands' business partner. When someone murders the partner, the fiancee hires Falco to find the murderer. Falco's good-humored but intelligent narration provides a fascinating and authentic re-creation of a Rome bustling with activity--even illegal land development schemes. A wonderful escape, especially for historical fiction/mystery readers. Previewed in Prepub Alert,
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.