Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Davis' beloved character Marcus Didius Falco, an informer, or detective in modern parlance, provided a hard-boiled yet authentic insight into ancient Roman civilization. His captivating daughter, Flavia Albia, who has taken over her father's business, continues to do the same in her sixth case (after The Third Nero, 2017) when she investigates the suspicious death of a young woman rumored to have consumed a deadly love potion. Flavia adds a missing-person search to her to-do list when her husband, Manlius Faustus, famous for being struck by lightning at his wedding, disappears, probably owing to intermittent PTSD. She searches throughout the Rome of 89 CE, a time when the city was drowning in a toxic brew of loose morality and gangland conflict a miserable, lawless city rife with entitlement. The reader will be repeatedly astonished by the tricks Flavia has up her sleeve and how she uses them to fend off pursuing hit men with her remarkable street craft, even extricating herself from a sticky situation involving the dangerously well-connected witch Pandora (Flavia is not without some druidic know-how of her own). But it is by using the essentials of her trade methodical inquiry, reasoning, memory, and persistence that she provides a satisfactory conclusion to this complicated but lively tale. For fans of crime fiction set in the ancient world, this one is not to be missed.--Murphy, Jane Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Davis's solid sixth novel set in ancient Rome and featuring informer Flavia Alba (after 2017's The Third Nero), her latest case comes from an unusual source: Laia Gratiana, the rich, snooty ex-wife of Flavia's new husband, Manlius Faustus. An adolescent girl, Clodia Volumnia, has been found dead in her bed, and her parents are at odds over the cause. Her father, a mediator, believes that Clodia was poisoned by a love potion that his mother-in-law procured from Pandora, an herbalist suspected of witchcraft. But Clodia's mother blames her husband for nixing a romance, leading Clodia to die of a broken heart. Though she loathes Laia, Flavia agrees to investigate, even as she must deal with her husband's baffling disappearance. Her digging, which steps on some powerful toes, reminds her of Rome's dirty underbelly: "Among the Imperial monuments, the big houses of reclusive tycoons, the memories of long-gone demagogues and colonial adventurers lurked every kind of corruption." Davis's close attention to detail, such as a reference to Emperor Domitian's proscription against sidewalk cafés, makes the past vivid. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In the sixth installment (after The Third Nero) of Davis's "Flavia Albia" series, set in first-century CE Rome, a 15-year-old girl has died mysteriously in her bed. Was she poisoned by a love potion? Suspects include a group of entitled, vacuous young adults and their parents, and a local witch named Pandora, who has ties to one of the most dangerous gangs in the city. Albia seeks to determine how the child died while not attracting the wrath of the gang; at the same time, she is also searching for her husband, who has disappeared for reasons unknown. The always reliable Davis has written another compelling mystery conveying a vividly detailed ancient Rome, with characters who possess unique personalities and come from all walks of life. VERDICT A treat for fans of historical fiction or detective mysteries, who will want to read all the titles published by Davis. [See Prepub Alert, 1/8/18.]-Matt Schirano, Univ. of Bridgeport Lib., CT © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An ancient Roman sleuth learns that love can be fatal.October, 89 C.E. Marital bliss is tested when the ex-wife of private investigator Flavia Alba's husband, Tiberius Manlius Faustus, offers her an assignment. Even though it was Laia Gratiana who left Tiberius a decade ago, Flavia still has good reason to be wary: The assignment, investigating the suspicious poisoning death of a teenage girl named Clodia, will take Flavia to the far side of Rome, a considerable distance from Tiberius. But because money is tight, she agrees to meet Volumnius, the grieving father, and takes the job after he agrees to her terms. Clodia's faithful maid, Chryse, is a font of information about both Clodia's private desires and the family's problems. The former includes a secret crush, the latter volatile son Auctus, who's recently been sent abroad with the army. The questioning of multiple suspects, most of whom are less than candid, stimulates Flavia, but she also misses Tiberius acutely. Overhearing a group of raucous young men of Clodia's acquaintance, Flavia gets a more credible picture of the girl and a new idea about her murder. Unanswered questions swirl around Pandora, a mysterious herbalist Flavia has a particularly hard time pinning down for a meeting. The unexpected arrival of Tiberius boosts Flavia's spirits, and his assistance helps to solve the case, though not before a second sad killing.The sixth case for Davis' heroine (The Third Nero, 2017, etc.) boasts a brisk pace, a colorful cast, and her customary attention to period detail. Maps and a list of characters help armchair sleuths keep the story's twists straight. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
