C1996. FWFTB: olive, fatherhood, dancer, investigation, Baetica. The 8th outing of Falco the Informer. Nothing has really changed for Falco other than Helena’s pregnancy. He has still not managed to climb up the class ladder and he remains at odds with the hierarchy in general.I didn’t seem to enjoy this book quite as much as some of the previous ones so perhaps it was the politics of the matter that I didn’t quite get a handle on. The writing is still excellent with the historical facts well hidden by some excellent prose. Perhaps the absence of a few of my favourite characters influenced my thoughts and there were no new favourites in this one. This book is dedicated to Edith Pargeter better known as Ellis Peters (of Cadfael fame) who died in 1995. A little odd when the blurb on the back of the book talks fairly casually about “ With the passing of Ellis Peters, the title Queen of the Historical Whodunnit is temporarily vacant. Lindsey Davis is well suited to assume it..” (The Times). A little cold, I thought.A fairly salacious cover with a bare breasted lady sitting on a gentlemans lap! Not really a scene from the story this time....One of those books in a series that you have to read for fear that you lose some part of the underpinning.FCN: Marcus Didius Falco, Helena Justina, Marius Optatus, Marmarides, Prancer (!)“I wouldn’t trust him to hold my horse while I leaned down to tie my boot thong, but that went for any clerk.”
I liked this one, even though it was set almost entirely in Corduba and so most of our favorite Roman side characters are missing for most of the book. But there are a number of compelling new characters, and I actually hope to see some of them again. So, that's always good.The resolution of the plot is slightly . . . hmm, unconventional. And I actually liked that too.Sometimes, in wild moments I longed for a witness who would break the pattern and surprise me by croaking - under pressure of conscience or perhaps my own fingers squeezing their neck a little too tightly - that they were sorry to cause me extra work but they had mistakenly given me accurate answers. No doubt adding that it was quite unlike them, a moment of sheer madness, and they didn't know what came over them. . .
Set in 73 AD: Our heroes Falco and Helena, who are shortly expecting their first child, travel to Spain on a mission to track down a murderer and uncover shenanigans in the olive oil market.Not one of my favorites in this series, but these are consistently amusing. I prefer the ones that are set in the city of Rome, which so far is about every other book. So I'm looking forward to the next one.The details of the olive oil business were interesting, and I liked the depiction of a wild teenage party, Roman provincial style.
—Jamie
Our hero is in Spain during the time of the Roman Emperor Vespasian. There's been a murder (of a fellow investigator) and a near-fatal assault on the leader of the imperial spy agency in Rome. It's Falco's job to track down and bring the murderer to justice (which takes a turn at the end). In the meantime he has to sort out an olive oil growers' conspiracy and take care of his very pregnant companion, Helena Justinus. This book is not one of my favorite Falco adventures but it keeps the time line going and makes for a quick read so I gave it 4 stars.
—Denise
This was one of the best books in the series so far. An important imperial official, has asked Falco to investigate whether or not olive producers are attempting to form a cartel. Anacrites, the Chief Spy, has been brutally beaten, and may be dying. Helena Justina is 8 months pregnant. All clues are in southern Hispania. Of course, Helena and Marcus head to Spain (via the sea, his least favorite mode of transportation) to investigate. As usual, Falco encounters beautiful women, strong wine, more murder, and more than a few bumps, bruises, and lacerations. Lindsey Davis continues to provide good plotting and characterization, and at the same time, lots of authentic cultural and historical details. Another great read!
—Deb
