Lindsey Davis has published a whole series of tales about Marcus Didius Falco, a respected citizen of 1st C Rome and amateur sleuth. In this story Falco is living in retirement and his adopted daughter, the young widow Flavia Albia - an orphan from Britannia - has taken over his shoes.
An apparently random, but tragic, accident begins a sequence of events that seem, at first, to be unconnected. A child dies in a collision with a runaway cart; an elderly but healthy widow takes to her bed and is found, dead, a few hours later. A fish monger's son dies whilst resting, from shucking oysters, under a tree. The largely incompetent local law enforcement officers want the whole thing dropped quietly, marked down as accidents or natural deaths, but Flavia has other ideas.
With the help of the archivist from a local official's office, she begins to piece together answers, convinced that every one of these events is connected. Her attention, however, is distracted by a growing lust for the archivist and he for her. In spite of being warned about his character, she finds herself being drawn closer to him.
But who is the archivist and why is he so interested in steering her attentions in one direction? Is it that he has little or no authority and is looking to Flavia to help him raise his reputation for his own gain? Or is there some other, more sinister, motive?
The Falco stories are entertaining, and Lindsey Davis' insight into life in Rome during this period provides a fascinating backdrop to the action, but the plot and characters begin to feel a bit formulaic after reading a few of these books. Still, for witty entertainment they're worth reading.
The Ides of April is published by Hodder and Stoughton, ISBN 978-1-444-75581-7 (hardback), 978-1-444-75582-4 (paperback)
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