Rome, AD 71. Marcus Didius Falco is desperate to leave the notorious Lautumiae prison—though being bailed out by his mother is a slight indignity.
Things go from bad to worse when a group of nouveau riche ex-slaves hire him to outwit a fortune-hunting redhead, whose husbands have a habit of dying accidentally, leaving him up against a female contortionist, her extra-friendly snake, indigestible cakes, and rent racketeers. All the while Falco tries to lure Helena Justina to live with him, a dangerous proposition given the notorious instability of Roman real estate. In a case of murder as complicated as he ever faced, Falco is at his very finest.
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“Davis’ ancient Rome is a rambling, weird, wonderful invention that at times resembles something from the broadest kind of farce…Falco is a treasure, and Davis is a genuine master of the smart-ass one-liner. What’s more, she helpfully begins this third Falco novel with a listing of the good guys and bad guys. Of course, no one said the list was exactly accurate.”
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Booklist (starred review)