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Alexandria Audiobook
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(3.01) - 858 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In first-century-AD Rome, during the reign of Vespasian, Marcus Didius Falco works as a private "informer," often for the emperor, ferreting out hidden truths and bringing villains to ground. But even informers take vacations with their wives, so in AD 77, Falco and his wife, Helena Justina, with others in tow, travel to Alexandria, Egypt. But they aren't there long before Falco finds himself in the midst of nefarious doings—when the librarian of the Great Library is found dead, under suspicious circumstances.
Falco quickly finds himself on the trail of dodgy doings, malfeasance, deadly professional rivalry, more bodies, and the lowest of the low—book thieves! As the bodies pile up, it's up to Falco to untangle this horrible mess and restore order to a disordered universe.
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"If you liked the old cop series "Colombo", you'll love the exchanges in this book that shows just how little things have changed in big cities from Roman times from what we're seeing here and now in our big cities. The dialog in this book is entertaining, humorous and witty. The plot seems to have caught an Emperor's "inspector" while he was on holiday to take his wife and family to see the pyramids...of course he gets dragged into the local shananigans at the old library at Alexandria. Plots broil with politics and people scheme to become the head of that wonderful facility."
— Pauline (5 out of 5 stars)
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“The twisty plot with its various false leads and the author’s plausible depiction of ancient Alexandria make this one of the stronger entries in this solid historical series.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“What makes Davis’ long-standing series so indelible is the expert blend of Falco’s wisecracking observations and crazy family life with some masterly suspense…The mystery is intricately plotted, the characters are well drawn, and Falco is as engaging a protagonist as ever, still tough but wiser and more reflective, too.”
— Library Journal -
“The period detail is interesting; the characters, both main and secondary, are fully fleshed out.”
— School Library Journal
Alexandria Listener Reviews
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" Alexandria by Lindsey Davis is a great book looking forward to the next book. "
— Isabel, 10/23/2016 -
" I picked this up based on a list of "best" historical mysteries in a recent Wall Street Journal. Yes, there is quite a bit of interesting historical information here, but it's pretty fragmentary -- if you're really interested in learning something about ancient Alexandria, read the excellent "The Rise and Fall of Alexandria". If you're interested in a good detective story, look elsewhere. This is a silly compilation of lame deaths and murders, supposedly unified around the pending nomination of a new Alexandria librarian, and laced with various facts and guesses about life in ancient Alexandria. Written in the first person, in a conversational modern style, from the point of view of the detective (improbably named Marcus Didius Falco) the whole exercise has a false ring to it. Don't bother. "
— Al, 2/15/2014 -
" really enjoyed the historical parts an how she woven it togather with Mystery....awesome. "
— Frances, 2/15/2014 -
" not among the best of this series. "
— Siobhan, 2/5/2014 -
" Not my favourite in the series - maybe starting to get a bit stale. But I will still read the next in the series. "
— Charlotte, 1/18/2014 -
" A visit to Egypt by Falco, a wise-cracking imperial informant from ancient Rome. A solid entry in the series, I loved it. "
— Jenine, 1/15/2014 -
" Neat mystery. Set in Alexandria during the Classical period! "
— Isidro, 1/13/2014 -
" Another good Falco adventure. Probably one of my favorites. "
— Doug, 1/12/2014 -
" Books seem to be losing steam. "
— Evangelyn, 1/11/2014 -
" I returned it to the library unread, only got a couple of chapters in. Not for me. Rather dull protagonists, dull story didn't go anywhere soon enough for me. Getting impatient in my old age, won't put in the time if I don't get a glimmer of hope in the first few pages that I want more... "
— Robin, 1/9/2014 -
" Falco and cohort just never disappoint! Loved it! "
— Gemma, 10/12/2013 -
" It was great to be back in Falco's world--wonderful humor and interesting trip to Alexandria. Now for the long wait for the next one.... "
— Christy, 8/6/2013 -
" I loved reading about the history of ancient Egypt during the Roman occupation, but other than that I found this one of the poorest examples of the series. "
— Carey, 7/8/2013 -
" This was my first introduction to 'Marcus Didius Falco' and the whole story, the plot, the setting, the humour is brilliant. Although this isn't the first in the series, in fact, when I read it I didn't know about the series, so I was pleased to find that it was capable of standing out alone. "
— Philip, 11/12/2012 -
" Could not finish this.. or read more than 10-20 pages. Maybe it is because I had a stack of 12 books right there by my favorite authors though... ??? "
— Jan, 10/8/2012 -
" Some interesting info about Egypt and the workings of the Libraries at Alexandria. The story was good at the start, dragged a bit in the middle but then picked up again. Still a favorite series despite the occasional not so great entry. Always a joy to revisit Falco & family. "
— Phair, 9/8/2012 -
" Once again - an excellent mystery and wonderful characters and dialog "
— Jack, 6/17/2012 -
" This read like someone gave a writer for a soap TV show a book on history and told them to write a novel. "
— Frank, 4/27/2012 -
" Always enjoyable, equally so the second time around. "
— Bambola, 4/2/2012 -
" Out of all of the M.D. Falco, this one seemed like an odd man out. Don't know why, enjoyed it, but something seemed to be missing. "
— Kareemah, 1/31/2012 -
" Doesn't seem to have the spark and humor of the earlier novels. Or maybe I just burned out on good ol' Marcus Didius. "
— Jeri, 10/28/2011 -
" I LOVE this series featuring a P.I. from ancient Rome. Amazingly, even after 19 books, Davis keeps the series fresh and entertaining. "
— Cindy, 4/12/2011 -
" Falco in Egypt. Sweet. Well written, fun..try it. "
— Joe, 2/2/2011 -
" Inventive and well up to the usual Falco standard "
— Deb, 1/7/2011 -
" Fantastic addition to the Falco series. He's a thoroughly engaging character among dozens of memorable characters -- this was a wonderful tour through the halls of academia in Egypt, through the eyes of tourist and informer Falco and his cohorts (in this case, not literally cohorts...). Loved it. "
— Kim, 1/2/2011 -
" Not my favourite in the series - maybe starting to get a bit stale. But I will still read the next in the series. "
— Charlotte, 10/9/2010 -
" The one with the body in the library, the escaped Nile Crocodile and where the Pyramids will not be mentioned at all. Well almost... "
— Rachel, 10/7/2010 -
" not among the best of this series. "
— Siobhan, 7/23/2010 -
" Could not finish this.. or read more than 10-20 pages. Maybe it is because I had a stack of 12 books right there by my favorite authors though... ??? "
— Jan, 7/23/2010 -
" I didn't finish this book. really didn't like it "
— Joan, 4/20/2010 -
" Mystery set in ancient Rome. Always fun. "
— Alexandra, 3/5/2010
About Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis is an English novelist of historical fiction and best known for her award-winning historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire, the acclaimed Marcus Didius Falco series and the Flavia Albia series. Her novels have won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers’ Association Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award and in 2011 the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association for lifetime achievement. Born and raised in Birmingham, England, she read English at Oxford and worked for the civil service for thirteen years before becoming a writer.
About Christian Rodska
Christian Rodska has worked in theaters all over the United Kingdom and in the West End, and he has recorded hundreds of radio plays and poetry programs. Over the last thirty years he has worked regularly in television, from early programs such as Follyfoot and Doomwatch, to Taggart, Sharpe, and Wycliffe. He has recorded over one hundred audiobooks and has won several awards, including fourteen AudioFile Earphones Awards.