Product Description'Delectably funny...A novel that gives new meaning to the term 'classic detective fiction.'' THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD In 70 A.D. in ancient Rome, no one is a saint. Or so thinks Marcus Didius Falco, a private investigator first introduced in the award-winning SILVER PIGS, who's trying to prevent a murder before it happens. When every man a woman marries dies, Falco knows there's smoke and fire--and he'll stop at nothing to untangle the Gordion knot that proves it.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - 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.
Rating: - 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.
Rating: - 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 elements that would be and should be found in Rome in AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop. In this ... Read More
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
Rating: - 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, ... Read More
- Venus in Copper
- A decent new case, but still witty character interaction
